In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians

Objective: Personal values guide, and are used to justify, behaviours both within and beyond organisational contexts. Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y are purported to vary in the values they espouse and hence their behaviours. The aim of this research was to examine and compare self-rat...

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Main Authors: Heritage, B., Breen, Lauren, Roberts, Lynne
Format: Journal Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44206
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author Heritage, B.
Breen, Lauren
Roberts, Lynne
author_facet Heritage, B.
Breen, Lauren
Roberts, Lynne
author_sort Heritage, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objective: Personal values guide, and are used to justify, behaviours both within and beyond organisational contexts. Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y are purported to vary in the values they espouse and hence their behaviours. The aim of this research was to examine and compare self-ratings and out-group perceptions of the importance of the four overarching clusters of values in Schwartz's circumplex model by generation. Method: A convenience sample of 157 participants (49 Baby Boomers, 47 Generation X, and 61 Generation Y) completed an online survey of self-rated values and perceptions of another generation's values. Results: Multivariate analyses identified that self-ratings of self-enhancement, openness to change, and conservation value clusters varied between generations (medium effect size), but self-transcendence did not. Out-group perceptions of generations varied across all four value clusters (very large effect size). We then compared each generation's self-ratings of value importance with perceptions of value importance provided by other generations (in-group/out-group comparisons). There were significant variations between self-ratings and perceived importance ratings provided by other generations for all three generations (large effect). Conclusions: Larger differences in other-ascribed than self-ascribed value importance across generations highlights the need to avoid actions based on generation value stereotypes, both within and beyond the workplace. Further research on a representative sample of the Australian population using a mixed-methods approach is recommended.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-442062020-07-22T06:33:28Z In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians Heritage, B. Breen, Lauren Roberts, Lynne Objective: Personal values guide, and are used to justify, behaviours both within and beyond organisational contexts. Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y are purported to vary in the values they espouse and hence their behaviours. The aim of this research was to examine and compare self-ratings and out-group perceptions of the importance of the four overarching clusters of values in Schwartz's circumplex model by generation. Method: A convenience sample of 157 participants (49 Baby Boomers, 47 Generation X, and 61 Generation Y) completed an online survey of self-rated values and perceptions of another generation's values. Results: Multivariate analyses identified that self-ratings of self-enhancement, openness to change, and conservation value clusters varied between generations (medium effect size), but self-transcendence did not. Out-group perceptions of generations varied across all four value clusters (very large effect size). We then compared each generation's self-ratings of value importance with perceptions of value importance provided by other generations (in-group/out-group comparisons). There were significant variations between self-ratings and perceived importance ratings provided by other generations for all three generations (large effect). Conclusions: Larger differences in other-ascribed than self-ascribed value importance across generations highlights the need to avoid actions based on generation value stereotypes, both within and beyond the workplace. Further research on a representative sample of the Australian population using a mixed-methods approach is recommended. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44206 10.1111/ap.12114 John Wiley & Sons fulltext
spellingShingle Heritage, B.
Breen, Lauren
Roberts, Lynne
In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title_full In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title_fullStr In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title_full_unstemmed In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title_short In-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of Australians
title_sort in-groups, out-groups, and their contrasting perceptions of values among generational cohorts of australians
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44206