VALS (Wikipedia)

VALS ("Values, Attitudes 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.

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.^[1]

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 partners, who responded to an SRI International survey in 1980.^[2]

The main dimensions of the VALS framework are primary motivation (the horizontal dimension) and resources (the vertical dimension). The vertical dimension segments people based on the degree to which they are innovative and have resources such as income, education, self-confidence, intelligence, leadership skills, and energy. The horizontal dimension represents primary motivations and includes three distinct types:

• 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.
• Consumers driven by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk taking are motivated primarily by self-expression. These consumers include the groups known as Experiencers and Makers.

At the top of the rectangle are the Innovators, who have such high resources that they could have any of the three primary motivations. 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.

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.^[1] VALS has also been criticized as too culturally specific for international use.^[2] Researchers faced some problems with the VALS method and SRI developed the Vals 2 programme in 1978 and significantly revised it in 1989. VALS2 puts less emphasis on activities and interests and more on a psychological base to tap relatively enduring attitudes and values. VALS2 has two dimensions. The first dimension –Self orientation, determines the type of goals and behaviours that individuals will pursue, and refers to pattern of attitudes and activities which help individuals reinforce, sustain or modify their social self-image. This is a fundamental human need. The second dimension- Resources-reflects the ability of individuals to pursue their dominant self orientation that 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 VALS2, 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.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

It's Always Personal - My Survey (annekreamer.com)

Your primary type is a SPOUTER.

Spouters are charismatic and exciting, saying more than members of any other group that people “tend to follow what I do more than they follow others.” They are fun to be around and their natural energy can enliven tough situations, yet while only one in five people is a Spouter, the ways in which they express their feelings, carrying their emotions on their sleeves, undoubtedly cause them to be responsible for a seemingly disproportionate share of the emotional incidents in the workplace. Whether or not one is enjoying their company, Spouters can take up a lot of the air in the room. These people tend to challenge themselves and – primarily -- others, often blaming colleagues for whatever is going wrong. They tend to feel that they have insufficient power even though they believe that they see the big picture more clearly than others. While the typical Spouter considers herself a “creative person,” she also believes that her success is mainly about luck, less about performance. Spouters talk more than they listen. They are considerably more anxious than any of the other groups. They tend to be heavier drinkers and smokers, and prefer to hit something for the sake of catharsis rather than to reach compromise through conversation. Interestingly, compared to people in the other three groups, Spouters are far more accommodating of tears in the workplace, and not just because they tend to provoke them – Spouters also cry at work themselves significantly more than any of the four types. Spouters probably benefit the most from body-mind relaxation techniques that can be effective in helping to manage the stresses that often trigger tears.

Your secondary type is a BELIEVER.

Believers (27%) think of themselves as relatively happy people who find solace by trusting in the stabilizing, civilizing power of larger principles and the greater good– their faiths, their organizations, their ideals, their country -- and feel unhappy when those values are compromised. Being appreciated for their work, staying true to their mission and their principles are central. Believers possess high degrees of fortitude deriving their most important sense of inner strength from external sources, such as religious belief or commitment to causes. Most Believers don't consider themselves natural leaders, but they are by and large satisfied with their lives. This group skews slightly female and they have a solid sense of self. They're less comfortable as a group than Solvers or Spouters with their own expressions of emotion – although they are comfortable with others expressing emotion in the workplace. Unlike Spouters, these people listen more than they speak and prefer to tell the truth, but don't tend to go out on a limb to make a point. They fall back on the foundations of their social networks to find personal resiliency. Believers can be helpful in emotionally charged situations: during stressful times at work they can help lift others out of the immediacy of a single moment and help the organization focus on the larger mission.

Source: http://www.annekreamer.com/personalsurvey/survey