The malleability of cultural values : overcoming conceptual and methodological challenges

Understanding cultural change remains central to social science research. The growing availability of long-term data has renewed interest in analyzing cultural change, sparking debate over its mechanisms. Most scholars agree that existential insecurity influences value change (scarcity hypothesis), but whether it occurs across generations or also within lifetimes remains debated. Inglehart's socialization hypothesis, now represented by the settled disposition model, argues that values formed in pre-adulthood remain stable, with change occurring mainly through intergenerational replacement and limited individual adaptation (Restrepo Ochoa & Vaisey, 2024; Kiley & Vaisey, 2020; Vaisey & Kiley, 2021). However, Tormos (2019) and Akaliyski & Tormos (forthcoming) challenge this, presenting evidence of substantial within-individual value change in Western societies, favoring the alternative active updating model. Using panel and repeated cross-sectional data combined with diverse modelling strategies, we provide empirical evidence for this alternative perspective. We address key debates in cultural change, including individual vs. societal shifts, the often-misunderstood implications of age, period, and cohort effects, and the importance of triangulating across data sources and country contexts. We advocate for a theory-driven approach that considers both exogenous and endogenous influences on value dynamics, reviewing mechanisms of change and discussing improved modelling strategies for understanding these complex processes.