
Full Answer
What are the nine lifestyle types?
Mitchell used statistics to identify attitudinal and demographic questions that helped categorize adult American consumers into one of nine lifestyle types: survivors (4%), sustainers (7%), belongers (35%), emulators (9%), achievers (22%), I-am-me (5%), experiential (7%), societally conscious (9%), and integrated (2%). The questions were weighted using data developed from a sample of 1,635 Americans and their significant others, who responded to an SRI International survey in 1980.
What is Vals research?
VALS (" Values and Lifestyles") is a proprietary research methodology used for psychographic market segmentation. Market segmentation is designed to guide companies in tailoring their products and services in order to appeal to the people most likely to purchase them.
What is at the bottom of the VALS?
At the bottom of the rectangle are the Survivors, who live complacently and within their means without a strong primary motivation of the types listed above. The VALS Framework gives more details about each of the groups.
What is the VALS2 program?
The VALS2 program has two dimensions. The first dimension, Self-orientation, determines the type of goals and behaviours that individuals will pursue, and refers to patterns of attitudes and activities which help individuals reinforce, sustain, or modify their social self-image. This is a fundamental human need.
Why was VALS2 changed to VALS?
In 1991, the name VALS2 was switched back to VALS, because of brand equity.
What are consumers driven by?
Consumers driven by knowledge and principles are motivated primarily by ideals. These consumers include groups called Thinkers and Believers. Consumers driven by demonstrating success to their peers are motivated primarily by achievement. These consumers include groups referred to as Achievers and Strivers.
What is the second dimension of self-orientation?
The second dimension, Resources, reflects the ability of individuals to pursue their dominant self-orientation and includes full-range of physical, psychological, demographic, and material means such as self-confidence, interpersonal skills, inventiveness, intelligence, eagerness to buy, money, position, education, etc. According to VALS 2, a consumer purchases certain products and services because the individual is a specific type of person. The purchase is believed to reflect a consumer’s lifestyle, which is a function of self–orientation and resources.
Major Meanings of VALS
The following image presents the most commonly used meanings of VALS. You can down the image file in PNG format for offline use or send it to your friends by email. If you are a webmaster of non-commercial website, please feel free to publish the image of VALS definitions on your website.
All Definitions of VALS
As mentioned above, you will see all meanings of VALS in the following table. Please know that all definitions are listed in alphabetical order. You can click links on the right to see detailed information of each definition, including definitions in English and your local language.
What does VALS stand for in text
In sum, VALS is an acronym or abbreviation word that is defined in simple language. This page illustrates how VALS is used in messaging and chat forums, in addition to social networking software like VK, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Snapchat.
What is Vals research?
What is Values And Lifestyles (VALS) Research? The VALS Research, based on a customer's values and lifestyles, refers to a market research tool developed by social scientist Arnold Mitchell and his colleagues at SRI International in order to study motivation behind consumer purchase decisions.
How many types of VALS are there?
Determined on this basis, there are 8 VALS types which are used to study a customer:
What are the three main motivations for consumer attitudes?
Creating the consumer personas is defined by the process shown in the flowchart. VALS includes three primary motivations that explain consumer attitude: 1. Ideals. 2. Achievement. 3. Self-expression. A person's tendency to consume goes beyond age, income, gender or education.
When market segmentation based on customer psychology has to be done, what is the research technique?
When market segmentation based on customer psychology has to be done, Values And Lifestyles (VALS) is one of the research techniques to carry out psychographic segmentation.
How many categories are there in management dictionary?
Browse the definition and meaning of more similar terms. The Management Dictionary covers over 2000 business concepts from 5 categories.
What does VALS stand for?
What’s it: VALS stands for values, attitudes, and lifestyles, a framework for psychographic segmentation. It combines psychological and demographic characteristics to explain consumer behavior. Under the VALS framework, customers in the target market are divided into eight groups based on two dimensions.
What are the two dimensions of a VALS?
Meanwhile, the second dimension represents the primary motivation of consumers: ideals, achievement, and self-expression. These two dimensions describe the dynamics underlying consumer self-expression, decisions, and purchasing patterns.
What is a maker?
Makers represent low resource consumers who are motivated by self-expression. They are practical people who value independence. They focus on family, work, and physical recreation. They are less interested in the broader world outside their focus. As consumers, they value practical and functional products.
How many categories can companies divide consumers into?
Companies can divide consumers into the above eight categories. Each category shows different consumer preferences and behavior. Finds unique communication channels and messages for each segment. It enables a more effective and efficient communication strategy.
Why do innovators dare to take risks?
Thus, they are open to new ideas and technologies. They dare to take risks because they have the highest income and abundant resources. They are responsible for people with high self-esteem. All of this allows innovators to enjoy any or all self-orientation.
Why is image important to innovators?
Image is important to innovators because it is an expression of taste, independence, and character. They prefer goods or services that make life better. Thinkers are people who have high resources and are motivated by ideals. They are mature, responsible, and highly educated professionals.
What is a believer?
Believers consist of people who are low resources and motivated by ideals. They are conservative consumers. Their buying and consumption behavior is relatively predictable, where they like products with established brands. Their lives are centered on the family, place of worship, community, and nation.
What is a survivor in a vals framework?
Survivors – The class of consumers in the Vals framework with the least resources and therefore the least likely to adopt any innovation. As they are not likely to change their course of action regularly, they form into brand loyal customers. An example can include old age pension earners living alone for whom the basic necessities are important and they are least likely to concentrate on anything else.
What is the difference between an achiever and a striver?
The achievers are said to be high resource consumers but at the same time, if any brand is rising, they are more likely to adopt that brand faster. Strivers – Low resource consumer group which wants to reach some achievement are known as strivers. These customers do not have the resources to be an achiever.
What is Vals in psychology?
Vals – Values attitude lifestyle. Vals which is also known as values attitude and lifestyle is one of the primary ways to perform psychographic segmentation. All three terms are intangible in nature and therefore give an idea of the inert nature of the consumer. If you know what your consumer is thinking, you would know what kind ...
What is the class of consumer at the top of the Vals framework?
Innovators – The class of consumer at the top of the vals framework. They are characterized by High income and high resource individuals for whom independence is very important. They have their own individual taste in things and are motivated in achieving the finer things in life.
What is the group of consumers who have high resources but also need a mode of self expression called?
Experiencers – The group of consumers who have high resources but also need a mode of self expression are known as Experiencers. Mostly characterized by young adults, it consists of people who want to experience being different.
What are some examples of thinkers?
Thinkers – A well educated professional is an excellent example of Thinkers in the vals framework. These are the people who have high resources and are motivated by their knowledge. These are the rational decision making consumers and are well informed about their surroundings. These consumers are likely to accept any social change because of their knowledge level.
What are the X and Y axis of Vals?
The X axis consisted of primary motivation (explained below) and the Y axis consisted of resources such as income, education, confidence etc. Thus these two factors were determined to be critical to define the values attitude and lifestyle of any consumer.

Overview
VALS ("Values and Lifestyles") is a proprietary research methodology used for psychographic market segmentation. Market segmentation is designed to guide companies in tailoring their products and services in order to appeal to the people most likely to purchase them.
History and description
VALS was developed in 1978 by social scientist and consumer futurist Arnold Mitchell and his colleagues at SRI International. It was immediately embraced by advertising agencies and is currently offered as a product of SRI's consulting services division. VALS draws heavily on the work of Harvard sociologist David Riesman and psychologist Abraham Maslow.
Mitchell used statistics to identify attitudinal and demographic questions that helped categorize ad…
VALS
Researchers faced some problems with the VALS method, and in response, SRI developed the VALS2 programme in 1978; additionally, SRI significantly revised it in 1989. VALS2 places less emphasis on activities and interests and more on a psychological base to tap relatively enduring attitudes and values. The VALS2 program has two dimensions. The first dimension, Self-orientation, determines the type of goals and behaviours that individuals will pursue, and refers t…
Criticisms
Psychographic segmentation has been criticized by well-known public opinion analyst and social scientist Daniel Yankelovich, who says psychographics are "very weak" at predicting people's purchases, making it a "very poor" tool for corporate decision-makers.
The VALS Framework has also been criticized as too culturally specific for international use.
Segments
The following types correspond to VALS segments of US adults based on two concepts for understanding consumers: primary motivation and resources.
• Innovators. These consumers are on the leading edge of change, have the highest incomes, and such high self-esteem and abundant resources that they can indulge in any or all self-orientations. They are located above the rectangle. Image is important to them as an expression of taste, inde…
See also
• Advertising
• Data mining
• Demographics
• Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
• Marketing
Further reading
• Hanson, Ralph E. (2011). Mass Communication: Living in a Media World.
• Lawson, Rob Lawson & Todd, Sarah (2002). "Consumer Lifestyles: A Social Stratification Perspective". Marketing Theory. Vol. 2. p. 295.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
• Olson, Peter (2005). Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy.
External links
• Strategic Business Insights Official website (was formerly SRI Consulting Business Intelligence)