Generational Differences in Social Values and its Determinants: a Case Study of Hashtgerd City

Iran in recent decades has experienced great economic, social, political and cultural changes. It is expected that the flow of modernization, industrialization and urbanization changes people's values and attitudes. This article analyzes the evolution of social values and their determining factors by comparing three generations in Hashtgerd city. A sample size of 379 people (163 young, 175 middle-aged, and 41 older adults were determined. The results showed that there are significant differences in the value systems of different generations. Traditional values among the younger generation tend to decline. However, these differences are not enough to be interpreted as conflict of generational values. Even presenting a classification of material/post-material values as suggested by Inglehart would not be possible. In fact, the younger generation insists on a combination of traditional and modern values or material and post-material ones. On the one hand, the younger generation put less emphasis on material values than older generations, and is less willing to participate in a religious ceremony. On the other hand, they cannot accept relationship outside of marriage, and emphasize on participation and parental consent in mate selection, national values, and money. The results of regression analysis showed that among the younger generation, communications and media type have a significant impact on social values. Among the middle-aged generation, social values are affected by three variables: life satisfaction, social and economic status; and type of media and among older adult generations, social values are influenced by life satisfaction.