What do you value most in life...Your car? Your watch? The ice on your necks and wrist? How many hoes you've got? Or are you so materialistic that you don't bother with traditional values like these?Now that my tongue has been removed from my cheek I shall proceed.
A great poet once said;
"We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl".
No, wait...that was Madonna. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that the we're in the year 2009 and this is a sick, sick world we live in. What does it say about society when freedom of speech means less to people than the size of the rims on their car? Martin Luther King Jr. would be turning in his grave...
However, as much as the 21st century appears to be a materialistic world there are still many people who hold traditional values and place these values above material posessions regardless of what others may think.
Our values play a huge role in our purchase process. When buying a car do we think more about what safety features the car has and how environmentally friendly it is, or do we only care that the windows are tinted and that it's sitting on 20 inch rims? Chances are that most people who live in the real world and not in some fantasy land where they hang out on yachts with P Diddy and 20 supermodels for company would go for the former of the two.
Whether values play a part in the purchase process depends mainly on the level of involvement that the product requires from the consumer. Items with a very low level of involvement (such as toiletries and everyday consumable items) will generally not be purchased as a result of the consumer's values. Items that require a high level of involvement (cars, houses, electrical goods and expensive items) will be directly affected by the consumer's set of values.
For instance, if I were to buy a new car, not only would I be considering the features the car includes (central locking, alloy wheels, power steering, etc) but also whether it would impress my mates aswell. Some might say this is shallow, but I have a reputation to maintain, alright!?! A mother and father with two children would probably be more concerned with the safety features on the car and how many tesco bags worth of shopping they could fit in the boot. The reason for the difference in what matters mainly boils down to a difference in values. Where I have nothing more to worry about than whether the car would aid me in my quest to be the most egotistical man in the world, a family have more important things to worry about, and thus safety features would be far more vital to them than what other people may think of the car's appearance.
Having taken the VALS test it seems I am a mixed up bundle of values. I came out primarily as an experiencer but secondarily as an achiever.
According to the website "experiencers are motivated by self-expression" and are "avid consumers and spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. Their purchases reflect the emphasis they place on looking good and having "cool" stuff." Most of this seems in-keeping with my attitude to life. My Topman store card 
statement would certainly support the claim that I spend a "comparitively high proportion" of my income on fashion. However, as I came out secondarily as an achiever the website states that I am "Motivated by the desire for achievement. Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect this focus and are structured around family, their place of worship, and work. Achievers live conventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. They value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery."...
statement would certainly support the claim that I spend a "comparitively high proportion" of my income on fashion. However, as I came out secondarily as an achiever the website states that I am "Motivated by the desire for achievement. Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect this focus and are structured around family, their place of worship, and work. Achievers live conventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. They value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery."...Hmm. So from what I can see I'm shallow, desperate to be seen as cool and something of a "free spirit". Yet as an "achiever" I'm a conservative family man who respects authority (HA!) and lives a predictable life...so that's cleared that up then?!?
I would suggest taking the test and seeing what you come out as. It would certainly be interesting to see what results other people got and if they are as much of a contradiction as mine, because I'll be honest, it's still puzzling me.
To finish this off on a nice note (and in keeping with the musical theme of this post) I'd like you all to follow the link below and watch the video, but particularly to listen to the words of the song. For those of you who ARE caught up in this materialistic world we live in, it may well knock you into shape. In future decades our acestors may well look upon the words of this man as not only a great lyrical achievement, but more of a mission statement that tells us all exactly what matters in life...or maybe not.
1 comment:
This is fantastic - best one yet. You are a real philosopher. Great reflection on the VALS test too
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