Time-resolved culture maps derived from the Integrated Values Survey data (1981–2022)

Abstract

We demonstrate a method for deriving pairs of time-resolved two-dimensional [vertical traditional (bottom) - rational axis vs. horizontal survival (left) – self-expression axis] culture maps from the Integrated Values Survey data (IVS) which is an integration of the World Values Survey (WVS) and European Values Survey data. The IVS is composed of seven survey waves (average duration: 5.43 years) that were successively sampled from 1981 (start of Survey Wave 1) to 2022 (end of Wave 7). A pair consisting of a cross-country map and a survey respondent-level map is extracted from each wave via principal component analysis (PCA). In the cross-country map, countries are represented as points, while in the respondent-level map of a country, the survey respondents are depicted as points distributed about a mean location. The coefficient matrix from the country-level PCA is utilized to derive the respondent-level map. The cross-country map reveals the cultural variations of the participating countries while the respondent-level map of a country shows the variations of its national population as represented by the randomly selected respondents. The information content of each map is unique and complementary. We derived the connection between the mean location of the respondent distribution of a country and its corresponding location in the cross-country map. Tracking the temporal movements of country locations from 1981 to 2022 in the cross-country maps revealed that countries have generally moved towards the self-expression direction. We calculated the associated standard deviational ellipse (SDE) of the respondent distribution and used the SDE area as a measure of the degree of intra-national cultural diversity. We have observed that countries with lower degrees of cultural diversity (i.e., smaller SDE areas) placed greater emphasis on traditional and survival values. The capability to measure accurately the temporal evolution of national cultures allows peoples to understand each other better thereby avoiding costly conflicts between nationalities and countries.