A values Study done in the 1960’s by Paul and Sherry Ray concluded that there was a small and growing group of individuals whose values were very different from the then majority. Paul and Sherry dubbed them the Cultural Creatives.
At the latest study, the Cultural Creatives make up at least one quarter of the world’s population and most think that they are alone in their values.
This check list is from their work.
You are likely to be a Cultural Creative if you...
1. ...love Nature and are deeply concerned about its destruction
2. ...are strongly aware of the problems of the whole planet (global warming, destruction of rainforests,
overpopulation, lack of ecological sustainability, exploitation of people in poorer countries) and want
to see more action on them, such as limiting economic growth
3. ...would pay more taxes or pay more for consumer goods if you could know the money would go to
clean up the environment and to stop global warming
4. ...place a great deal of importance on developing and maintaining your relationships
5. ...place a lot of value on helping other people and bringing out their unique gifts
6. ...do volunteering for one or more good causes
7. ...care intensely about both psychological and spiritual development
8. ...see spirituality or religion as important in your life, but are concerned about the role of the Religious
Right in politics
9. ...want more equality for women at work, and more women leaders in business and politics
10. ...are concerned about violence and abuse of women and children around the world
11. ...want our politics and government spending to put more emphasis on children's education and well-
being, on rebuilding our neighborhoods and communities, and on creating an ecologically
sustainable future
12. ...are unhappy with both the Left and the Right in politics, and want a to find a new way that is not in
the mushy middle
13. ...tend to be somewhat optimistic about our future, and distrust the cynical and pessimistic view that is
given by the media
14. ...want to be involved in creating a new and better way of life in our country
15. ...are concerned about what the big corporations are doing in the name of making more profits:
downsizing, creating environmental problems, and exploiting poorer countries
16. ...have your finances and spending under control, and are not concerned about overspending
17. ...dislike all the emphasis in modern culture on success and "making it," on getting and spending, on
wealth and luxury goods
18. ..like people and places that are exotic and foreign, and like experiencing and learning about other
ways of life.
Careful Consumers: CCs are the kind of people who buy and use Consumer Reports on most consumer durables goods, like appliances, cars, consumer electronics. For the most part, they are the careful, well-informed shoppers who do not buy on impulse. They are likely to research a purchase first, and are practically the only consumers who regularly read labels.
Desire for authenticity: CCs are the ones who brought the criterion of "authenticity" to the marketplace. They lead the consumer rebellion against things that are "plastic", fake, imitation, poorly made, throwaway, cliche style or high fashion. If they buy something in a traditional style they want it to be authentically traditional; Smith and Hawken garden tools speak to this desire for authenticity, as does much of the natural foods industry.
Stories, whole process and systems: CCs appreciate good stories, and want views of the "whole process" of whatever they are reading, from cereal boxes to product descriptions to magazine articles. They like a systems overview: they want to know where a product came from, how it was made, who made it, and what will happen to it when they are done with it. They hate to read mail or articles that come in bullet points and race to the bottom line (unless they are very time pressed and donÕt care much about the topic). They also want symbols that go deep, and, more than most Americans, they actively dislike advertising and children's TV.
Arts and culture: Most CCs are aggressive consumers of the arts and culture. They actively go out and get involved in it. They are much more likely than most Americans to be involved in the arts as amateurs or pros, and are more likely to write books and articles, and to go to meetings and workshops about creative endeavors.
Readers and radio listeners, much more than TV watchers: Cultural Creatives buy more books and magazines, listen to more radio, including classical music and NPR, and watch less television, than any other groups. About half of them are regular book buyers, which is far more than the general public. They are literate and discriminating, and dislike most of what is on TV. They demand good information, and have exceptionally good deception-detectors for ads and for misleading corporate or political claims in the media. They are particularly unhappy with the quality of TV news.
The Foodies: They're the "foodies" - people who like to talk about food (before and after), experiment with new kinds of food, cook food with friends, eat out a lot, do gourmet and ethnic cooking, and try natural foods and health foods.
Soft innovation: They are not the technology innovators who buy the latest and greatest in computers, and many are just getting onto the Internet. But they are at the leading edge of many cultural innovations: CCs tend to be innovators and opinion leaders for some knowledge-intensive products, however, including magazines, fine foods, wines and boutique beers.
Home is important, but they buy fewer new houses than most people of their income level, finding that new houses are not usually designed with them in mind. So they buy resale houses and fix them up the way they want. They don't like status-display homes with impressive entrances, columns, gables: theirs are more inward-looking and hidden from the street by fences, trees and shrubbery. They tend to prefer established neighborhoods with a lot of trees and privacy, and want to stay far away from tract houses in treeless suburbs
