Values in Muslim Countries. A Review of Cultural Value Studies

Master's Thesis , 2015 , 74 Pages , Grade: 1,7

Cultural Studies - Miscellaneous

The objective of this thesis is to understand whether Muslim groups have any shared values which are distinct from other groups and to understand what cultural values the Muslim groups possess. Like any other religion, Islam influences societies’ cultures of which it is the dominant faith. However, this research aims to understand whether it has a major cultural effect so that Muslim groups can be distinguished from other religions’ groups on the basis of cultural values.

Besides, it is also important to understand whether all Muslim groups share the same values when regional or climate effects are controlled for. House et al. (2004) state that region has influence on cultural values of societies. Climate also has effect on cultural even though it is not significant as regional influence.

Another objective of this research is to identify whether there are value differences between Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Sunni faith is based on following Prophet Muhammad’s example path and rules described in Koran. In contrast, Shia faith is based on the path of Prophet Muhammad and his direct family members’ religious and spiritual teachings (Farah and Samad, 2015).

Contents

1. Introduction
1.1. Problem setting
1.2. Objective
1.3. Structure of the thesis

2. Value Theory
2.1. The Definition of Value
2.2. Human Values and Cultural Values
2.3. Conceptual framework of major value studies
2.3.1. Rokeach
2.3.2. Hofstede
2.3.3. Inglehart - World Value Survey
2.3.4. Schwartz
2.3.5. The GLOBE Study
2.4. Comparison
2.4.1. Comparison of studies – different classification systems
2.4.2. Particular issues of Muslim values
2.5. Conclusion for the research

3. Method
3.1. Methodologies of major value studies
3.1.1. Hofstede
3.1.2. Inglehart - World Value Survey
3.1.3. Schwartz
3.1.4. The Globe Study
3.2. Countries covered

4. Results (supported by relevant research papers)
4.1. Hofstede
4.2. Inglehart - World Value Survey
4.3. Schwartz
4.4. The Globe Study

5. Discussion

6. Summary

Bibliography

Appendix

List of Figures

Figure 1: Three levels of uniqueness in mental programming

Figure 2: The Onion: Manifestation of culture at different levels of depth

Figure 3: Theorized structure of culture-level value types

Figure 4: Cultural level pattern of intercorrelations among values

Figure 5: Economic levels and locations of 80 societies on cultural map

Figure 6: The impact of industrialization on traditional/secular-rational values

Figure 7: The impact of post industrialization on survival/self-expression values

Figure 8: Co-plot map of 76 national groups on seven cultural orientations

List of Tables

Table 1: Convergent validity coefficients between GLOBE scales and Hofstede scales

Table 2: GLOBE future orientation and Inglehart’s modernization and post modernization dimensions

Table 3: GLOBE future orientation and Inglehart’s modernization and post modernization dimensions

Table 4: Convergent validity coefficients between GLOBE scales and Schwartz’s scales *=p<0.01

Table 5: Two dimensions of cross-cultural variation: Aggregate-level analysis

Table 6: Countries included in the research and the studies they included

Table 7: Counties which will be compared to Middle East Muslim countries

Table 8: Countries which will be compared to Middle East Muslim countries

Table 9: Hofstede’s country scores included in this research

Table 10: The GLOBE Study's country scores included in this research

Appendix

Table A 1: The countries surveyed with the IBM questionnaire and the languages used

Table A 2: Countries included in World Value Survey waves and type of state

Table A 3: Nations covered by Schwartz Value Survey, 2008

Table A 4: Countries participating in GLOBE

List of Abbreviations

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1. Introduction

Islam means to surrender to the will of God, according to the Koran which is the holy book of Islam. Islam was formed in Arabia and spread to all over the world since the seventh century (Fam, Waller and Erdogan, 2004). The name of the Islamic law is Sharia and it has its sources from Koran. Sharia governs followers’ all life decisions, behaviors and duties in most of Muslim countries. There are strict rules on what to wear, how to travel, how to treat guest or what to eat. Almost all aspects of life are defined by the Sharia.

There are seventy-two countries which have at least (?) a million Muslim citizens each around the world. More than half of Muslims in the world live in Asia-Pacific countries and about twenty percent live in the Middle East and North Africa. The Muslim population in the world is rapidly increasing. It is projected that the Muslim population will increase from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion in 2030. The population growth rate is twice as high compared to the rest of the world (www.perforum.org, 2011).

Muslim societies are mostly poor and underdeveloped. There are economic inequalities between social classes and the income distribution is uneven (Norris and Inglehart, 2011). Middle East Muslim countries like Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia enjoy significantly high gross domestic income (GDI) per capita, which pushes them up on Human Development Index (HDI). Those countries are oil rich and gain most of their income from that (Branine and Pollard, 2010). However, Muslim countries with a high HDI have fewer years of average schooling compared to non-Muslim countries. Besides that, Muslim countries like Turkey and Malaysia have high Gini indeces reflecting the inequality in the income distribution (The World Bank, 2015).

Mindsets of people in developed countries have been changing from religious thinking towards more secular ways of thinking. However, the number of religious people around the world has been increasing as can be seen at the example of the Muslim population. Overall, the importance of religion is expected to increase, since the fertility rates of traditionally religious cultures like Islamic ones are higher than that of secular ones. An increasing proportion of traditional religion will be the driving force behind cultural change in the near future (Norris and Inglehart, 2011).

People are born within and significantly affected by their culture, most of the time even without any awareness. Culture is described by Hofstede et al. (2010, pp.23) as “our own culture is to us like the air we breathe, while another culture is like water – and it takes special skills to be able to survive in both elements”. Culture affects people’s beliefs, values, lifestyles, ambitions and intentions by expectations they face every day (Schwartz, 2008). Cultures distinguish people from one group to another. It is a legacy from older generations which is transferred to new ones.

Culture is the sum of meanings, rituals, symbols, beliefs, norms and values that are transferred. Moreover, there are strong interactions between those elements into a social group which creates a curtain culture. Culture influences interpretation of daily life events, pictures, advertisements and everything else. International companies adapt their advertisements to local culture of a country (Kalliny and Gentry, 2007). In the core of the construct “culture” are values (Hofstede, 2001). Values give people goals and motivation in life and they shape the rules of social groups.

1.1. Problem setting

Religion is believed to effect culture and Islam is one of the major religions in the world. It has strong influence on culture which affects followers’ values and daily life behavior (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 2011). Islam also has an influence on values of culture like any other religion (Kalliny and Gentry, 2007). Besides, there are also non-Islamic values inherited from national traditions (Branine and Pollard, 2010). When non-Islamic values are excluded, it is not clear how much cross-cultural difference there between Muslim societies. It is known that Islam has an influence on cultures, but if it have the same influence on all Muslim societies is an issue not resolved.

There are various value studies in the 20th century literature which analyze the role of values in different cultures. The main studies in the value field are from Rokeach (1973); Hofstede (2001); Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010), Inglehart and Welzel (2005), Schwartz (1999, 2006, 2008) and The GLOBE Study (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, Gupta, 2004). However, none of them solely focuses on Muslim cultural values and none of them classifies Muslim countries or groups such that their explicit values can be identified.

1.2. Objective

The objective of this thesis is to understand whether Muslim groups have any shared values which are distinct from other groups and to understand what cultural values the Muslim groups possess. Like any other religion, Islam influences societies’ cultures of which it is the dominant faith. However, this research aims to understand whether it has a major cultural effect so that Muslim groups can be distinguished from other religions’ groups on the basis of cultural values.

Besides, it is also important to understand whether all Muslim groups share the same values when regional or climate effects are controlled for. House et al. (2004) state that region has influence on cultural values of societies. Climate also has effect on cultural even though it is not significant as regional influence.

Another objective of this research is to identify whether there are value differences between Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Sunni faith is based on following Prophet Muhammad’s example path and rules described in Koran. In contrast, Shia faith is based on the path of Prophet Muhammad and his direct family members’ religious and spiritual teachings (Farah and Samad, 2015).

1.3. Structure of the thesis

First, Chapter 2 presents the various definitions of values given by different studies. The relationship between value and culture will be explained in detail. Distinction between human values and cultural values will be described. The conceptual framework of different values studies will be listed and the studies will be compared. At the end of Chapter 2, a justification for selection of the value studies in this thesis is given.

Chapter 3 describes the methodologies used in relevant studies, which are: Hofstede, Inglehart – World Value Survey, Schwartz and The GLOBE Study. The chapter gives detailed information about the sample size, reliability, correlations between studies and some statistics. The second part of Chapter 3 gives information about the Muslim countries included in this study and the countries chosen to be compared with them as well as the reasons behind the decision.

Chapter 4 includes the results of the relevant studies. The results are focused on cultural values of Muslim countries and their comparison groups. The results are interpreted in the light of relevant quantitative and qualitative research papers from literature which focus on Muslim societies included in this research.

Chapter 5 discussed results of this research and explains limitations.

2. Value Theory

2.1. The Definition of Value

Rokeach has one of the leading views with significant influence on the current value definition. According to Rokeach (1973, pp.13), value is “an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence”. Values lead people to evaluate social issues, to make choice between alternatives and to decide what is morally right. They give an idea about what is socially acceptable and the best way to present oneself to a community. They are the core of conduct for making a comparison between alternatives.

Values are not tied to any specific object or situation. They guide decisions, actions and judgments which lead to behaviors. Behaviors are expression of values and attitudes of a person. As a summary, according to Rokeach, values can be seen as a source of behaviors and attitudes, which are aimed to created specific end states. The main function of values is to increase the self-respect when that end-state is reached or when people spend effort to do so, like honesty or wisdom.

Value systems represent the organizartion of values in a culture. They are used to identify which values are more important or preferred over others. Values in a system can be either modes of conduct or end states of existence. Rokeach claims that personal experiences create the differences between the values systems of individuals (Rokeach, 1973). Culture has influence on behaviors of individuals mainly due to their value systems (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 2011).

Figure 1 shows the levels of uniqueness of personality, culture and human nature according to Hofstede (2010). On the one hand, human nature is universal; hence it is common to every human being. On the other hand, the term culture differs from human nature and personality. Anger, love, fear and joy are common to all people; however, how feelings are managed differs from culture to culture. The culture a person is raised in has strong influence on his or her personality. Personality is unique to a person and it is partially learned and inherited. So culture is learned in a social group.

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Figure 1: Three levels of uniqueness in mental programming

Source: Hofstede et al., 2010

The GLOBE Study (2004, p.15) defines culture as “shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or meanings of significant events that result from common experiences of members of collectives that are transmitted across generations”. Especially shared language, ideological belief systems, ethnic heritage, and history have an impact on the culture of a social group.

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Figure 2: The Onion: Manifestation of culture at different levels of depth

Source: Hofstede, 2001

Figure 2 represents four concepts that manifest culture. Hofstede (2001) claims that, those four concepts together cover all dimensions of a culture. Symbols are the most superficial concept and they are shared within the members of the culture. Symbols have particular meanings which can change between cultures. Heroes are real or imaginary people who are known in a culture. They can be role models to people belonging to that culture. Rituals are socially required and favored activities within a culture. It is necessary to perform the rituals to obtain acceptance and desired ends in a social group. Similar to Rokeach, Hofstede also accepts values as the core of a culture.

Hofstede has been significantly influenced by Rokeach’s research and his definition of values. Hofstede (2010, p.9) describes values as “broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others. Values are feelings with an added arrow indicating a plus and a minus side.” Values are gained and shaped in early life of a person. In short, Hofstede (2010) states that values are software of the mind.

Schwartz has numerous studies on basic human values and cross cultural values. Schwartz has also been influenced by Rokeach’s lead on human values. However, he developed more structured definition of values compared to Rokeach. Schwartz evolved Rokeach's definition by separating it into five formal parts. Schwartz (1992) describes values as “concepts of believes, pertain to desirable end states or behaviors, transcend specific situations, guide selection or evaluation of behavior and events, and are ordered by relative importance”. A person or a group needs to have values in order to be able to survive since they have motivation effect and they give goal to life.

Later, Schwartz (1999, pp.24) modified his definition of values as “conceptions of the desirable that guide the way social actors select action, evaluate people and events, and explain their actions and thinking”. Values lead people towards their life choices; hence they are person’s guiding principles. They help a person to distinguish between right and wrong, desirable and undesirable. The priority of values is expressed in the way social groups behave and operate. To a certain extent, values explain and justify the behaviors of the members of a social group.

2.2. Human Values and Cultural Values

Cultural values do not reflect the individual values and they are not necessarily similar to each other (Bond, 1988). Schwartz has identified separate value dimension structures; one for cultural-level and individual-level values. To identify the cultural value dimension, the appropriate level of analysis are not individuals but societies (Schwartz, 1999).

Schwartz stated that basic values are universal since they are based on universal requirements of mankind. The requirements that Schwartz based his study of basic values on are biological needs of an individual, coordinated social action and welfare need of group (Schwartz, Cieciuch, Vecchione, Davidov, Fisher, Beierleim, Ramos, Verkasalo, Lönnqvist, Demirutku, Dirilen-Gumus and Konty, 2012). Cultural values, on the other hand change from nation to nation. For example, Hofstede (2001) states that some nations have collectivist values and others have individualist values, which lead toseparate expression in their behaviors.

Human values are defined at the individual level and each person has a unique value system. Similarly, each social group has different value sets. The source of the difference is not just region but also identity, religion, climate and institutions. Identity means visible features, language or religion and institutions means visible rules or laws. Institutions have influence on group members as to which rules to follow.

Values are the core of the culture and they are transferred from generation to generation, from parent to child. Because of those transfers, cultural values are very stable and change very slowly (Hofstede at al., 2010). Cultural values are learned from older generations and transferred to younger ones. Human values do not change between cultures and they are at individual levels.

Cultural values are internally or externally shared values of a social group and can be changed by the desired responses of societies (Schwartz, 2008). Cultures adapt to external or internal changes and challenges. Cultures are developing and differentiating as a result of challenges they face (House et al., 2004).

Values can be emphasized by a social leader and they can be used to justify the leader’s actions. They are intangible and they lead to group about desirable results or end states. Cultural values of a group are learned by constant exposure to those values in a daily life. On the other hand, individual values are the result of the culture of a group and individual experiences. A new member of a group adopts values of the group by those daily exposures.

Even though there are significant differences between members in a group, they have shared cultural values. In addition, members of a group also learn to order values according to the priorities of the group. The order of priorities leads to cultural values (Schwartz, 1999).

2.3. Conceptual framework of major value studies

2.3.1. Rokeach

Rokeach (1973) focused his studies on human values and he integrated culture into human values. According to his research, values are more personal and importance of a value differs from person to person. In short, values are personal standards. Culture uses values as controlling mechanisms. Values are learned in a culture, developed by experience and they are consequential for behaviors. Values lead people to make judgments in daily life and to solve social problems.

Rokeach (1979, p.48) says “individual values are socially shared conceptions of the desired conceptions that are the learned results of external and internal forces acting upon a person”. People are distinguished not by their instrumental and terminal values but their ways of structuring their values. The structures of values enable people to choose between different alternatives.

Rokeach (1979) states that values may change with time and experience. A value change can be caused by: a new standard creation, an abrupt destruction, an attenuation of values, extension of events and objects, elaboration of a value, specification, limitation by confronting other values, explication, consistency and intensity. Values are intrinsically connected and any change in any value will cause other values to change. The more central a value is, the more it contributes to the change of the other values.

He classified human values in two different types: instrumental values (modes of conduct) and terminal values (end-states of existence). Instrumental values are the chosen ways to realize the end states of existence whereas terminal values are end-state of existence are conceptions which a person aims to realize. Instrumental values are the way to realize goal and terminal values are like the goals. Values give sense to basic human needs and wants.

Instrumental values lead us to behave in a certain way such as in a responsible manner. Rokeach (1973) divided instrumental values into moral values and competence values. Moral values are interpersonal and ignoring those values creates guilt in the person for misbehaving. Competence values are not interpersonal but intrapersonal values. Disobeying those values does not create guilt but leads to shame in the sense of personal insufficiency. According to Rokeach (1979), behaving irresponsibly leads to guilt but not to a feeling of shame. On the contrary, being logical is increases the feeling of competence but it has limited effect on interpersonal feelings. Behaving honestly and lovingly are moral instrumental values and behaving imaginatively and logically are competence values.

Rokeach (1973) divides terminal values also into personal and social values. On the one hand, personal terminal values, such as wisdom, are intrapersonal and self-centered. On the other hand, social values are interpersonal and society centered, such as world peace. Instrumental and terminal values are assumed to be different from each other; however they are still interconnected. One terminal value can be instrumental to another terminal value.

2.3.2. Hofstede

Hofstede (2001) builds his study on cultural values and he accepts values as the core of a culture. The research focused on desirable values and desired values. Desirable values are related to people’s perception about how the world should be and desirable values are related to peoples wish for themselves. He empirically found that each social group has cultural dimension which can be measured relative to other cultures. Based on his view that values constitute the core of a culture, Hofstede (2001) examined the cultural values of social groups and he identified six major value dimensions: power distance, collectivism versus individualism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term versus short-term orientation and indulgence versus restrained. Long-term versus short-term orientation and indulgence versus restraints dimensions were added based on World Value Survey Data. Six dimensions together shape a model of differences among the national cultures. Countries in the model are characterized by a score on six dimensions (Hofstede, 2010).

Power Distance (Hofstede et al., 2010):

Hofstede et al. (2010, p.61) define power distance as “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions or organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally”.

Hierarchy is a part of daily life in large power distance societies. Subordinates choose to have dependence on their superiors. Emotional ties are important between the superiors and the subordinates. Subordinates try to avoid any disagreement with their superiors and prefer not to have direct contact with them. In large power distance societies, employees prefer more autocratic bosses, instead of consultative bosses. Organizations are more centralized and groups are led by few superiors. Children are raised to accept their parents’ leadership and decisions on their life. Respect for older members of society is expected and dependence on parents is desired. The older members of society are expected to lead younger ones and to take care of them until adulthood. Even after adulthood, those younger members are expected to show their respect and dependence to older members.

In low power distance cultures consultation is more important than authority. Employees are not afraid to confront their superiors and bosses act like adults to their subordinates. Decisions in low power distance culture are not made by superiors but by majority vote or majority idea. Employees feel no difficulty in reaching their bosses and discussing their problems with them. There is less dependence on older family members and children are expected to make their decision on their own. The purposes of families are to raise independent individuals who are capable of surviving on their own.

Collectivism versus Individualism (Hofstede et al., 2010):

Social groups, which give higher priority to the group than to an individual, are collectivist societies. Most cultures are collectivist. There, power and well-being of the group is more important than an individual. Mostly people live in big families, which may include grandparents, uncles or other relatives. Collectivist cultures live as group even though there may not be any biological relations. Every member of a group feels attached to the group and has responsibilities to the rest of the group. The loyalty to the group is very high and members identify themselves with the group. The feeling of security is provided by being member of a group or family.

Individualist cultures are rare and those cultures put interest of individual ahead of the interest of a group. Children are raised in nuclear families which just include two parents. Individuals in such a culture think for themselves and they try to have distinct identity from others. Individuals are not dependent on the family or group they belong and they are judged by their individual characteristics. Unlike collectivist cultures, individualist societies expect children to leave their parents’ home when they can earn their living. Any healthy and mature person in an individualist culture is expected to not depend on his or her family. To summarize, the individuals have close and intimate relationships in collectivist cultures whereas in individualist cultures, the relationships between the groups’ members are not close and strong. Masculinity versus Femininity (Hofstede et al., 2010):

Hofstede et al. (2010) define masculinity on a society level where male roles are strictly concentrated in materialist aspects of life; they are competitive and assertive while female roles are more focused on emotional values. Females are expected to be modest, caring and concentrated on emotional needs in life. Feminine societies on the other hand are not concentrated on gender roles and there are no distinctions between the roles of males and females in a society. Both males and females are expected to be caring, modest and concerned about emotional needs in life.

In masculine societies, being ambitious, responsible and decisive are perceived to be male characteristics whereas being caring, understanding and sensitive are considered as female characteristics. The role of mother and father are distinguished clearly: the father is concerned with facts and the mother is concerned with emotions. The roles of men and women are learned during childhood and men are expected to be tough, whereas women are expected to be more emotional. There is a double standard towards men and women in those cultures. Boys are raised to fight difficulties and girls to be more emotional and to not fight back difficulties. It is commonly observed that the father works whereas the mother stays at home and takes care of the children. Masculine societies are more competitive, hence the norm for being successful is to be the best in a group. Being competitive is admired and encouraged. Achievements are rewarded and the criterion for reward tends to be the results.

Feminine cultures consider genders to be more equal compared to masculine cultures. There is no very strict line between the roles of women and men in the society. Both genders can be focused on emotions and facts. The double standard towards men being wealthier and stronger than women is not emphasized. In feminine cultures, both parents tend to work and they are expected to share the both earnings and the expenses.

Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede et al., 2010):

Hofstede et al. (2010, p.191) define uncertainty avoidance as “the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situation”. People are in need of rules, written or unwritten, to avoid ambiguity and stress of the unknown. Degree of clarity differs from culture to culture and some have higher tolerance to unknown situations. Anxiety occurs when people have no tolerance to the unknown and the solution is reducing the level of vagueness.

Weak uncertainty avoidance culture show lower levels of anxiousness. Emotions are not expected to be shared and expressed. Stress is expected to be internalized and it is not socially acceptable to speak louder and make hand gestures to explain oneself. People in those societies are more agreeable and less aggressive with higher self-control. There are no strict opinions or rules against avoiding unfamiliar risks. Rules are not strict and they are perceived to be reflections of the common sense. Rules can be adapted and changed based on the improved needs of the society. People in this culture are more open to new experiences and relaxation. Open questions and discussions are not discomforting and having a unique point of view is appreciated.

Strong uncertainty avoiding cultures are more sensitive to dangers and unknown risks. Laws and rules are highly appreciated. Members have an internal need of order to control their anxiety levels. There are strict rules and perceptions against danger. Members are not open to new experiences and ideas. People have the need to know exact answers to problems and accuracy is deeply valued. Strong uncertainty avoidance cultures have more concerns about their future and their health. However, for such cultures, familiar risks are not sources of anxiety.

Long-term versus short-term orientation (Hofstede et al., 2010):

The idea of Long-Term versus Short-Term Orientation dimension comes from the Chinese Value Survey (CVS) conducted between 1983 and 1985, in 23 countries around the world. The CVS compared the Chinese culture with the Western culture to understand individual value differences between the two cultures (Bond, 1988). One of the dimensions did not correlate with any of Hofstede’s dimensions mentioned above. Hofstede’s dimensions were created based on available data collected from IBM survey and there were no relevant questions to long-term versus short-term orientation in the original study. The data used in 2010 publication of Hofstede et al. come from World Value Survey (WVS) data, which was analyzed by Michael Minkov in 2007. The long-term orientation was redefined based on his complementary research.

On the one hand, long-term can be defined as focusing on future qualities which may be gained by dedication. On the other hand, short-term orientation focuses on past and current qualities; which lead to making decisions based on current conditions.

Long-term oriented cultures are factual and determined. Decisions are made based on facts and goals rather than emotions. Humility, flexibility and adaptability are highly praised qualities in such cultures. Education and self-enhancement are encouraged; admitting being wrong is an acceptable behavior. Success or failures are both results of effort.

Short-term oriented cultures have stronger belief in national pride and family ties. Children are affected by their parents’ and elders’ world views and beauty perceptions. Members tend to be more religious and consistent with ideas and world views. Saving face is an important element of the culture since being wrong is not acceptable and members avoid focusing on negative information about themselves.

Indulgence versus Restrained (Hofstede et al., 2010):

This dimension as well was added based on Michael Minkov’s analysis of WVS. Indulgence value is about feeling right to enjoy basic human needs and want without any restraints. Cultures which have indulgence value are focused on having fun and enjoying life. The sense of having the freedom to behave according to own wills is source of indulgence. On the other hand, feeling strict social norms, which result in change of actions, creates restraints.

Indulgence results in happiness and life satisfaction. Members of an indulgent culture have happier memories and feelings compared to restrained cultures. The level of optimism and an expectancy of bright future are higher. Members of the society smile more and smiling is not considered to be a sign of being unserious. In addition, indulgence societies feel healthier and have better prospects about having children.

Restrained cultures have the feeling that they do not have control over their future. Members are concern about their lives and pessimism is a natural way of thought. They spend less effort on socializing and making friends. Culture does not support extrovert members who socialize. The moral controls are stricter and members feel the pressure of the culture. Leisure and free time have less meaning for restrained societies. The approach to foreign cultures is not positive and preservation of own culture is important.

2.3.3. Inglehart - World Value Survey

Inglehart and Welzel (2005, p.2) analyzed WVS data in order to understand global values and they come out with a result that is “…socioeconomic modernization, a cultural shift towards rising emphasis on self-expression values, and democratization are all components of a single underlying process: human development”. Socioeconomic status of nations has significant impact on their values and to which value cluster they belong.

Inglehart and Welzel (2005) identified two value dimensions based on WVS data that cultural values in globe can be explained with: self-expression versus survival and secular-rational versus traditional autonomy. Value differences between nations have its roots from socioeconomic development and advancement. The progression from the agrarian to the industrial lifestyle changed people's world views. Their values have shifted from traditional autonomy values to secular-rational ones. The second change in values is, from survival values to self-expression values. It happens when nation’s working class shifts from industrial sector to service sector. Societies which created major socioeconomic development face significant value differences between members. As an example; younger generations have more self-expression values than older generations and they may not understand the reason why older generations have respect to authorities.

Secular-rational versus traditional authority:

The source of traditional authority is traditional religious believes. There is a shift from traditional authority to secular-rational values as a consequence of education and socioeconomic development. Dogmatic believes are replaced by secular believes with the increasing level of education and technology. The Industrial Revolution is believed to bring secular-ration thinking to masses. Societies learn to minimize effect of nature with technology and that decreased their dependence of religion. However, the shift from traditional authority value to secular-rational values does not decrease the power of authority. The need for authority is about decreasing uncertainties in life. In industrialized societies, uncertainty avoidance is satisfied by technology and education instead of institutionalize religion (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005).

The raises of secular-rational values corrode the importance of traditional values and the importance of religion as an identity. Members of secular culture do not distinguish members by their religions, and they become indifferent to such characteristics (Norris and Inglehart, 2011).

Self-expression versus survival (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005):

Survival is more critical priority to be able to stay alive, compared to self-expression. Underdeveloped societies must focus on how to survive and then, they can focus on self-expression. As a result, post-industrialized nations have self-expression values and agrarian nations have survival values. In post-industrialized societies, there is no need for strong family ties for protection and safety, government or society gives support to unfortunate individuals.

Inglehart and Welzel (2005) clustered individualism, autonomy and self-expression values all together. They believe those three values result in humanism and improvement. Societies will be more human centered, not ego centered whether those values are employed.

Self-expression values are about liberty and freedom. In those societies culture encourages its members to act as individuals and to use their free-will. Members search for ways to self-fulfillment and expression. Freedom is important factor for society compared to survival value societies. The culture is individual centered; members are not led by group leaders or family elders’ choices which leads to democracy and humanism. High self-expression values are one of the main drivers of democracy and gender equality in societies. Since human development is result of self-expression, no matter gender, it affects all members of society to have freedom and autonomy.

2.3.4. Schwartz

Schwartz (1992) was influenced by Hofstede’s studies on cultural values. Schwartz (1999) bases his model on three dimensions including seven value types. He builds the theory on three basic issues every society face; the relation between group and individual, responsible behavior preserving social fabric and the relation between humans and the world.

Embeddedness (Conservatism) versus Autonomy (Intellectual and Affective):

The issue of relation between the society and the individual, identified by Schwartz, resulted in embeddedness versus autonomy dimension. Cultures with conservatism value have desire to keep status-quo as it is. Society is sensitive about tradition and order. Members belong to big families or groups. Social relations give meaning to members’ lives (Schwartz, 1999). There are no individual goals; instead members are focused on reaching the goal of the group into which they are embedded. The main values grouped under embeddedness are social order, obedience and respect for tradition (Schwartz, 1999, 2008).

Cultures characterized by autonomy, encourage their members to individually create ideas, learn and think. Each member is perceived to be sovereign in society. There are two types of cultural autonomy: intellectual and affective. Intellectual autonomy is about intellectual independency (Schwartz, 2008). It is desired that the society members develop themselves and come up with their own ideas. Broadmindedness and curiosity are main ingredients of intellectual autonomy. Affective autonomy is cultural expectation about individual search for pleasant experiences in life. Individuals seek affective positive involvement. Affective autonomy includes pleasure and exciting life values (Schwartz, 1999, 2008).

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• College: Technical University of Munich (Degree programme in Consumer Affairs)
• Grade: 1,7
• Author: Fatmegyul Aliosman (Author)
• Publication Year: 2015
• Pages: 74
• Catalog Number: V312642
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668116252
• ISBN (Book): 9783668116269
• Language: English
• Tags: values, muslim, countries