Parent-Offspring Value Transmission in a Societal Context

Abstract

This article attempts to put intrafamilial value transmission into a societal context. It points out that psychological value transmission discourse and sociological/political science discourse about value change are utterly disconnected up to now. Using data from a small value transmission study of 98 university student- parent triads from East Germany as illustration material, the article tries to show why a unified research approach is necessary. All conservation values were more important for the parents’ generation than the off- spring, whereas the reverse was found for hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction values. Intergenerational value stability was found for self-transcendence versus self-enhancement values. Value change and value transmission are interrelated but not strictly parallel processes. Gender effects seem to be stronger than transmission effects. Finally, this article suggests a somewhat utopian research design that may permit a complete disentanglement of societal value change effects from intrafamilial value transmission effects.