Values Patterns Across Cultures

Nations around the world have been associated with civilizations by Samuel Huntington and others. He argues that groups of societies unify because they share a common culture. While this thesis satisfies the test of common sense, it has not been measured in any depth. This dissertation looks at more than 60 societies grouped into eight cultures. Strong, statistically significant evidence along eight values dimensions supports the idea of shared values in six of the eight civilizations studied. Each civilization is distinct from each of the others. Likewise, generatioal cycles have been proposed by Strauss and Howe, among others. Among economically advanced civilizations, statistically significant evidence supports generational cycles across the same values dimensions. In less developed civilizations, values are typically coherent across generations, but cyclical values differences have emerged among generations born after WW II.