about VALS

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What does VALS stand for? VALS  is not an abbreviation. Originally, VALS was based on social values, and at that time VALS was an acronym for Values and Lifestyles. However, currently, VALS is  based on selected psychological traits and key demographics instead of values, so we dropped Values and Lifestyles but retained the VALS brand. What is VALS used for? U.S. VALS segments English-speaking adults ages 18 years and older on the basis of   psychological traits that correlate with purchase behaviour and key demographics, enabling users to understand not just what, but why consumers exhibit certain  preferences and attitudes. Marketers, strategic planners, new-product designers and others use VALS to: Segment their customers and prospects o Select targets o Position brands, products, and even policies to the targets o Develop communications that resonate with and motivate targets to take o action. Imagine, for instance, that a company must design a new kind of software program, knowing only that most of its potential users are between 30 and 40 years old and have a college education. VALS goes beyond the demographics to add the human  psychological details: preferences for control or freedom, tradition or novelty, information or stimulation, hands-on activity or intellectual abstractions.

3. What What are primary primary and and second secondary ary VALS VALS types? types? A person's primary VALS type is the group with which the individual has the strongest affinity—the group with which the individual has the most characteristics in common. An individual's secondary VALS type is the group that the individual is next most like. Secondary VALS types can expand the number of consumer groups in the system and enable marketers to target on a more granular level. 4. The VALS Survey is so short. How do you know about product, service, media, and activity preferences by VALS type if you ask these questions only? The purpose of the VALS Survey on our Web site is to identify a person's VALS type. In addition, we gather consumers' product, service, media, and activity data by integrating this short VALS Survey into larger custom or syndicated questionnaires. For example, the VALS Survey integrates into Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC's (MRI's) Survey of the American Consumer , our own Consumer Financial Decisions'' MacroMonitor survey, and various client questionnaires on topics of  Decisions specific interest to them. 5. How did did the the VALS VALS Survey Survey quest questionn ionnair airee develop? develop? The VALS Survey questionnaire (35 attitude and four demographic questions) is  based on a $1.5 million development effort and several large national surveys of  consumer opinion that SRI International, a nonprofit research organization in Menlo Park, California, conducted between 1987 and 1992. These surveys allowed SRI to identify the psychological traits and key demographics that have a strong correlation with a large range of consumer preferences about products, activities, and media. The current VALS Survey questionnaire is the third version based on this kind of  extensive empirical research. VALS is now wholly owned and operated by Strategic Business Insights (SBI), whose headquarters is on SRI International's Menlo Park  campus.

6. How will my answers to the VALS questions be used? Any information that links your responses to your identity (for example, through your  IP address or e-mail address) is strictly confidential. Thus, we will never sell, give away, or otherwise reveal the connection between who you are and what you enter. The only way we use the information you enter is at an aggregate level—we group your responses with those of other individuals who have responded to the VALS questions in a similar manner. The identities of the respondents are anonymous. 7. So why are you providing the VALS Survey to the public? The primary reason is to expose students and potential users to the concept of   psychographic segmentation. In addition, we occasionally conduct short online surveys of our own to understand the Internet population better and to guide the creation of new, Internet-specific research tools. 8. Some of the questions in the VALS Survey seem overly simplistic. Why? The questions in the VALS Survey measure very basic individual motivations with as little confusion as possible. Therefore, we refer to commonplace, concrete activities or  interests, and we ask the questions in straightforward and simple terms. 9. Why do many of the questions in the VALS Survey seem to ask the same issue? Asking repeatedly about an issue provides a more accurate measure of opinions about that issue. For instance, a single question permits an opinion to fall into only 1 of the 4 numbered response categories; with two questions, an opinion may fall into 1 of 16 categories (four times four). Asking about the same issue in different ways also reduces the possibility that respondents may misunderstand what we want to know. 10. Are you aware that some of the questions in the VALS Survey are politically incorrect? We are measuring how people think, not prescribing how they should think. If you find a question objectionable, please register your disagreement by selecting the "mostly disagree" option. 11. What are the weaknesses of the VALS Survey? Out of malice or curiosity, people can always provide false answers to this kind of  survey. The more accurate the responses, however, the more trustworthy the results. Added problems arise through the misinterpretations or ambiguities inherent in the use of words. Because no conversation or interactivity exists to clear up possible misinterpretations or ambiguities, the VALS Survey asks more than one question about each topic. Finally, words themselves characterize only a small portion of  human experience. Future tests may be more sensory and more interactive, much like a multimedia game. 12. Where can I find information about VALS 2 and/or iVALS? Originally, VALS was based on social values (such as values about military spending and abortion rights). Over time, social values shift. VALS 2 was the name that we used when we revised VALS in 1989. Today, VALS is based on enduring  psychological traits that correlate with purchase behavior. In 1991, we shifted back to the original name—VALS—because of its brand equity. iVALS is no longer a part of  the VALS family of products because it became less applicable as the Internet evolved. Given the explosive growth of the Internet user population, looking at Internet behavior through the standard VALS system is appropriate and sufficient. The VALS types exhibit distinct behaviors on the Internet just as they do in traditional consumer marketplaces. 13. May I have permission to reprint VALS information in my book or newsletter? SBI frequently receives requests to reprint information about VALS in books, newsletters, or other publications. VALS materials are copyrighted and are

unavailable for use without express written permission from SBI. However, we are happy to grant this permission on a case-by-case basis. Please see the VALS Reprint Permission page for instruction on how to obtain permission. 14. How can I learn more about VALS? In response to frequent inquiries, the VALS team published a special handbook—  Understanding U.S. Consumers —for anyone who is interested in learning more about the psychological traits and demographics that underlie consumer decision making. You can order Understanding U.S. Consumers from the VALS™ Store. The VALS  program also periodically makes other special materials available to professors and other academic professionals.