African Press International (API)

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.aftenposteneng

The values of Norwegians have shifted in the past couple years, showing a trend away from materialism and towards idealism � and the people are more satisfied now than they were before.

A wind of change is blowing Norwegian values in a more idealistic direction. PHOTO: OLAV OLSEN

Excerpts from the Norsk Monitor survey:

Pollution and environmental problems: “The situation is serious. Immediate and drastic measures are needed to solve the problems.” Completely or partly in agreement: 2005: 34% 2007: 47% Energy prices: “We should increase the price for all energy sources (gasoline, oil, paraffin, electricity, etc.) in order to reduce consumption and environmental pollution.” Completely or partly in agreement: 2005: 28% 2007: 43% Material goods: “I am lacking in certain material goods I need to live the way I want to live.” Completely or partly in agreement: 2005: 44% 2007: 38%

While the media constantly serves up the results of opinion polls, consumer statistics, market analyses and predictions, Norsk Monitor, a comprehensive biannual market-research survey, strives to map out Norwegians’ changing values, beliefs and attitudes over the years.

Subscribers pay some NOK 300,000 (USD 60,000) each for the results of the nationwide survey, which has been carried out every other year since 1985.

The 200-page report is based on questionnaire responses and extensive interviews with some 4,000 Norwegians about everything from how often they go to the movies, to how much organic produce they consume, to their religious and spiritual beliefs.

“All of the answers are used to draw up a kind of map that shows what powers are influencing us,” explained Erik Dalen, a director in research firm Synovate (formerly MMI), which produces the biannual report.

Dalen says the survey gives important insight into more than consumption, opinions and behavior. “We’ve developed a tool that can measure more than how much TV we watch or which party we vote for,” he told newspaper Aftenposten. “We can measure the socio-cultural development in Norway.”

And according to Dalen, the winds have shifted in the past couple years. “Ever since we began [the survey] in the mid-80s, we’ve seen Norwegians getting more materialistic,” said Dalen. “We’ve become more and more preoccupied with enjoyment, consumption, and things.”

Change underway
The latest results, however, show that for the first time in more than 20 years, Norwegians are now becoming more worried about the environment, more interested in the differences in the world, and more positive towards foreign aid �- and they are more satisfied, too.

“Our satisfaction didn’t grow when we were moving in a materialistic direction,” commented professor Ottar Hellevik, also involved in the Norsk Monitor survey. “We’ve changed our course, and are moving from materialism towards idealism.”

Hellevik says that Norwegians are now back at the same place on the “idealism/materialism axis” as they were in the early 1980s.

___________________________________

API