Dimensions of culture in intra-cultural comparisons

The goal of the present study is to supplement inter-cultural comparison of values as a cultural dimension by intra-cultural comparisons, and to go beyond comparisons of single values representing cultural dimensions by studying value patterns on the individual level. Therefore, relationships among general (individualism, collectivism) and domain-specific (familyand child-related) values and the transmission of values in three generations of one family were analyzed. The sample consisted of 100 complete triads of three generations (grandmothers, mothers, and adolescents). The results showed that the individual value orientations of these three generations differed in the expected direction. Individualistic values were more supported by the younger and less by the older generation. While individualism did not show significant relations to other specific values, collectivism was the most powerful dimension to predict familyand child-related values. Individualism and collectivism clearly turned out as separate dimensions with different functions for the individual value system. The value structure of grandmothers as compared to the younger generations showed more internal consistency. A relative transmission of values was obvious for the adjacent generations. The results are discussed from the perspective of cultural change and stability, and the relation among cultural dimensions and individual value orientations.