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Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits

Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits

Published on: September 27, 2019

Is modernization widening cultural differences?

Thomas Talhelm¹

¹University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL, USA.

|March 12, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Contrary to popular belief, modernization is increasing cultural differences, not shrinking them. New evidence suggests modernization provides resources that amplify pre-existing cultural values, leading to greater divergence between nations over time.

Keywords:

China capitalism culture culture change free trade globalization modernization rice theory values

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits

Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits

Published on: September 27, 2019

Area of Science:

Cultural psychology
Sociology
Behavioral genetics

Background:

Classic modernization theory posits that societal development leads to increased individualism and reduced cultural variation.
However, emerging evidence challenges this assumption, suggesting a more complex relationship between modernization and cultural differences.

Purpose of the Study:

To present counterintuitive evidence that modernization can increase, rather than decrease, cultural differences.
To propose a new theoretical framework, the 'seed model,' to explain these divergent findings.

Main Methods:

Analysis of 40 years of data from the World Values Survey to track changes in national values.
Development of the 'seed model' to conceptualize how modernization interacts with pre-existing cultural beliefs.

Main Results:

Contrary to classic modernization theory, nations have become more dissimilar in their values over the past 40 years.
The World Values Survey data indicates an increase in cultural variation, not convergence.

Conclusions:

Modernization may not uniformly lead to cultural convergence; it can amplify existing differences.
The 'seed model' provides a new lens for understanding how modernization impacts cultural diversity across various domains, including psychology and behavioral genetics.