comparative value priorities of chinese and new zealand

Life stage
Opportunities, demands, and constraints associated with life stages may cause age
differences in values. In early adulthood, establishing oneself in the worlds of work and
family is the primary concern. Demands for Achievement are great, both on the job and
in starting a family. Challenges are many, opportunities are abundant, and young adults
are expected to prove their mettle. These life circumstances encourage pursuit of
Achievement and Stimulation values at the expense of Security, Conformity, and
Tradition values.
In middle adulthood, people have established family, work, and social relations that
they are committed to preserve. Most are approaching the highest level of achievement
they will attain. Work and family responsibilities constrain risk-taking and opportunities
for change wane. Such life circumstances are conducive to more emphasis on Security,
Conformity, and Tradition values and less on Stimulation and Achievement values. The
constraints and opportunities of the pre-retirement life stage reinforce these trends. With
retirement and widowhood, opportunities to express Achievement, Power, Stimulation,
and Hedonism values decrease further. In contrast, the importance of security and the
investment in traditional ways of doing things make Security and Tradition values more
important.
Together, the analyses based on cohort experience, physical ageing, and life stages
imply positive correlations of age with security, tradition, and conformity values. The
analyses also imply that Stimulation, Hedonism, Power and Achievement values
correlate negatively with age.
We can investigate these assumptions using data from Schwartz (2005b) in Figure 3.12.
Schwartz believes the pattern of correlations for age fits the order expected according to
the structure of values quite well. Age correlates most positively with Tradition values,
and the correlations decrease in both directions around the motivational circle to
Stimulation, with only a small reversal for Benevolence and Universalism.
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