Thank you for taking the time to complete this brief social values survey!

Your individual position among the social values tribes is plotted as a dot on our map of sociocultural values above this text. Your individual position plot on the map can be interpreted along two major explanatory dimensions, or axes of social values. The first axis, shown here as the horizontal or x-axis, describes a general orientation of values toward being either socially or individually predisposed, that is, either "Social" or "Individual". The second axis of explanation of social values, shown here as the vertical or y-axis, describes a general orientation toward the acceptance versus rejection of long-standing social norms in society that is either deferential, labelled "Tradition", or questioning, labelled "Modern".

Taken together, these two axes form four general quadrants of explanation or meaning underlying people's values. Canadians in the upper right are fundamentally motivated by needs for stability, security and financial independence in their lives. Those in the upper left most seek social status, and traditional communities and institutions. Meanwhile, those with values that place them in the lower right primarily search for personal control and self-fulfillment. And finally, Canadians in the lower left pursue, above all else, novelty, new experiences and new frontiers.

The average position of your tribe as a whole, as well as the positions of the other tribes in your age range, are also shown. If you are a Pre-Boomer, born before 1946, there are three tribes in your age "cohort" (or range); if you are a Boomer, born between 1946 and 1966 inclusive, there are four tribes among your age peers; and it you were born after 1966, you are a GenXer, with an even more diverse number of six different social values tribes in your age range.

For a more complete explanation of social values, their main explanatory axes, the map regions that result from these, and the way we go about creating the Canadian social values tribes, please refer to either of Michael Adams' books on this topic, Sex in the Snow; and Better Happy Than Rich: Canadians, Money and the Meaning of Life.

However, in addition to Michael's books describing our tribal analysis, you can click on the tribe names on the map now to find out more about the characteristics of your tribe and each tribe in your age cohort. (If you do so, you will also be able to follow links to descriptions of all the other tribes outside your age grouping. )