His research also shows that millennials place greater emphasis on hedonism than Generation X and Baby Boomers, while safety has become increasingly important across all generations.
Generations and their values
Leijen analyzed 12 years of data from the LISS panel, which followed 1,599 Dutch participants aged 16 to 84. He discovered that values such as safety and self-direction have gained importance for many people, while values like stimulation and power have become less significant.
“With millennials, the youngest generation in the study, we see that their values continue to evolve, whereas values among older individuals remain much more stable,” explains Leijen. However, some values, such as hedonism, are already highly consistent among millennials. This generation places significant emphasis on enjoying life and having fun, often considering it as important as caring for others and the world.
“The idea of having fun in life is often equally important to their sense of social responsibility,” Leijen notes. “Interestingly, this focus on pleasure has increased significantly from one generation to the next. For the oldest generation, hedonism is not a major value, but it is for the youngest. You might expect hedonism to decline as people age, but our research shows the opposite. Hedonism remains remarkably stable. This suggests that millennials will likely continue to value pleasure just as much in 40 years as they do today.”
Societal issues
Leijen’s research demonstrates that shifts in personal values are closely linked to opinions on key societal issues, such as marriage, euthanasia, and income inequality. “What we consider important in our personal lives directly shapes how we think about broader societal topics,” Leijen explains. Conversely, changes in societal attitudes can also influence underlying personal values. This interplay illustrates how values and attitudes reinforce one another.
the role of culture in shaping values
Leijen also examines how culture influences preferences in healthcare. In countries with stronger social norms, such as Turkey and Norway, individual freedom is more constrained, and deviations from the norm are more readily criticized. As a result, the preference for professional care is more strongly tied to values like tradition and preservation.
Consider norms related to behavior: Can you sing in public or marry someone of the same sex? The stricter the norms, the more people conform. “In countries where following social norms is highly valued, we see people more often opting for professional medical care. In contrast, in countries with a looser culture, alternative choices, such as self-medication or doing nothing, are more common,” says Leijen. This highlights how the relationship between values and behavior is shaped by cultural context.