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Eurobarometer Data Service

Value Orientation (Inglehart Materialism/Postmaterialism Items)

There is a lot of talk these days about what this country's goals should be for the next ten or fifteen years. On this card are listed some of the goals that different people say should be given top priority. Would you please say which of them you yourself consider to be most important in the long run ? And what would be your second choice?

Standard items (A):

  1. Maintaining order in the nation 
  2. Giving people more say in important government decisions
  3. Fighting rising prices
  4. Protecting freedom of speech

Additional items (B):

  1. Maintaining a high level of economic growth
  2. Making sure that this country has strong defence forces
  3. Seeing that people have more say about how things are done at their jobs and in their communities
  4. Trying to make our cities and countryside more beautiful

Additional items (C):

  1. A stable economy
  2. Progress towards a less impersonal and more humane society
  3. Progress towards a society in which ideas count more than money
  4. The fight against crime

Additional items (D):

  1. Guarantee greater job security
  2. Make our society more human
  3. Raise salaries
  4. Guarantee the participation of workers in the management of enterprises
     

NOTE: Usually the corresponding Materialism/Post-materialism (Inglehart) Index is included in the respective Eurobarometer data set. Please notice that the construction of this index is not consistent over time with respect to the treatment of MISSING VALUES (Don't Know / Not Ascertained to one or both basic variables). The original INRA data set editions collapse all MISSING VALUES into the index category MIXED. It is strongly recommended to check the codebook documentation and recode the missing values where necessary.

  • For a the theoretical background of this variable, see Ronald Inglehart: The Silent Revolution: Changing Values and Political Styles among Western Publics, Princeton University Press, 1977.
     
  • The standard Inglehart items and the corresponding materialism/post-materialism index variable are also available in the Mannheim Eurobarometer Trend File 1970-2002
ZA Study Number Eurobarometer Fieldwork Month Fieldwork Year Question Number (1) Variable Name (2)
0626 ECS70 2-3 1970 - V63-V66(8)
0628 ECS73 9-10 1973 Q.33/Q.34 V27/V28 (3)
0989 5 5-6 1976   (4)
0990 6 11 1976 Q.117 V17/V18 (5)
0991 7 4-5 1977 Q.113 V9/V10 (5)
0992 8 10-11 1977 Q.114 V11/V12 (5)
0993 9 5-6 1978 Q.114 V11/V12 (5)
0994 10 10-11 1978 Q.119/Q.120 V16/V17 (5)
1036 11 4 1979 Q.157 V67/V70 (6)
1037 12 10 1979 Q.115 V12/V13 (7)
1038 13 4 1980 Q.135 V31/V32
1039 14 10-11 1980 Q.120 V14/V15
1206 15 4 1981 Q.121 V9/V10
1207 16 10-11 1981 Q.234 V49/V50
1208 17 3-4 1982 Q.146 V77/V78
1209 18 10 1982 Q.234 V35/V36
1318 19 3-4 1983 Q.247 V161/V162
1319 20 10 1983 Q.156 V38/V39
1320 21 3-4 1984 Q.139 V14/V15
1321 22 10-11 1984 Q.229 V127/V128
1541 23 3-4 1985 Q.135 V14/V15
1542 24 10-11 1985 Q.158 V20/V21
1543 25 3-4 1986 Q.126 V15/V16
1544 26 10-11 1986 Q.154 V45/V46
1712 27 4 1987 Q.135 V15/V16
1713 28 10-11 1987 Q.139 V21/V22
1714 29 3-4 1988 Q.138/Q.139 V67/V68 (3)
1715 30 10-11 1988 Q.128 V63/V64
1750 31 3-4 1989 Q.128 V15/V16
1751 31A 7 1989 Q.131 V20/V21
1752 32 10-11 1989 Q.7 V16/V17
1753 33 3-4 1990 Q.6 V16/V17
1960 34.0 10-11 1990 Q.14 V71/V72
1961 34.1 10-11 1990 Q.5 V20/V21
1962 34.2 10-11 1990 Q.6 V26/V27
2031 35.0 3 1991 Q.6 V22/V23
2032 35.1 3 1991 Q.4 V20/V21
2081 36 10-11 1991 Q.6 V23/V24
2141 37.0 3-4 1992 Q.6 V22/V23
2241 37.1 4-5 1992 Q.5 V21/V22
2242 37.2 4-5 1992 Q.3 V17/V18
2294 38.0 9-10 1992 Q.6 V22/V23
2346 39.0 3-4 1993 Q.6 V24/V25
2347 39.1 5-6 1993 Q.4  
2459 40 10-11 1993 Q.15 V32/V33
2563 42 11-12 1994 Q.3 V34/V35
2936 47.1 3-4 1997 Q.4 V39/V40
3205 52.1 11-12 1999 Q.12  
3903 59.0 1-2 2003 Q.3 (9)  
4414 64.2 10-11 2005 QA33a/b  
4415 64.3 11-12 2005 QB20-QB22 (10)  
4744 69.2 3-5 2008 QD6  
5000 73.1 1-2 2010 QB24 (11)  

(1) With the exception of Eurobarometer 5 all question numbers and variables refer to the standard items (A).

(2) Please note that the variable names refer to the final ICPSR/ZA codebook editions, if available.

(3) all 12 items, asked separately in three groups (A/B/C) and all together including the least important choice

(4) all 12 items, multiple response format, asked for the most, second most and least important choice

(5) minor country specific variations in category 4

(6) standard items only asked in Denmark (V69/V70), all other countries (V67/V68) asked items (B)

(7) minor country specific variations in categories 2 and 4

(8) standard items with minor variations (V65/V66) and additional item group D (V63/V64)

(9) Different question wording: Out of these statements, could you choose the two top priorities for any authority (local, national or European)? Standard items A modified: (1) to maintain law and order; (2) to give as many people as possible an influence in important political decisions; (3) to prevent price rises; (4) to protect freedom of expression; (5) other (spontaneous); (6) DK.

(10) Different question context with selected, modified and new items: People sometimes think about what the aims of our society should be for the next ten years or so. In your view, which of the following is most important for our society: Q20 (1) ensuring economic development for prosperity and social well-being; (2) passing on an undamaged environment to the next generation; Q21 (1) protecting freedom of speech and human rights; (2) fighting crime and terrorism; Q22 (1) having strong European companies to compete in global markets; (2) reducing economic inequalities among people in Europe.

(11) Different question context with two standard items only: Which of the following do you think is most important? (1) protecting freedom of speech and human rights; (2) fighting crime and terrorism