You know, for kids!
May 16, 2014 10:05 AM Subscribe
Not everyone agrees on the best methods for raising kids. That becomes apparent when you examine the results from the 2010-2014 World Values Survey — 82,000 adults across 54 countries were surveyed to gain a better understanding of what they consider most important when raising a child, whether or not they were parents themselves. PBS NewsHour has an interactive quiz you can take to show which country has values closest to yours as well as a widget to compare the values of any two countries. You can see all the data in this google docs spreadsheet.
Most similar: Sweden
Least similar: Yemen
Prime reason: low ranking of importance of religion.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:10 AM on May 16, 2014 [10 favorites]
Least similar: Yemen
Prime reason: low ranking of importance of religion.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:10 AM on May 16, 2014 [10 favorites]
Well, I was already pretty sure I wasn't going to raise kids in Yemen or Jordan, but at least now I have quantifiable reasons!
posted by ChuraChura at 10:12 AM on May 16, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 10:12 AM on May 16, 2014 [5 favorites]
My opposite matches are Ghana, Pakistan, and Yemen. Places whose cultures I find to be among the richest and most interesting, certainly compared to my "matches" of Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.
posted by mykescipark at 10:12 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by mykescipark at 10:12 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Most similar: New Zealand
Least Similar: Trinidad and Tobago
posted by Area Man at 10:15 AM on May 16, 2014
Least Similar: Trinidad and Tobago
posted by Area Man at 10:15 AM on May 16, 2014
I wouldn't have guessed that Australia and Poland were so far apart.
posted by vapidave at 10:16 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by vapidave at 10:16 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was guessing Scandinavia before opening the page but I have no idea how to rank those.
posted by shothotbot at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by shothotbot at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2014
Most similar: Sweden
Least similar: Yemen
Yeah, that was my result when I first took it, after much agonizing over the hierarchy of all the choices, including whether faith or obedience should go in the bottom slot.
posted by rtha at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2014 [7 favorites]
Least similar: Yemen
Yeah, that was my result when I first took it, after much agonizing over the hierarchy of all the choices, including whether faith or obedience should go in the bottom slot.
posted by rtha at 10:17 AM on May 16, 2014 [7 favorites]
And just now, retaking without all the beanplating, I ended up with Australia as the most similar, and Yemen still in the least spot.
The other similars were Australia, Germany, and Sweden, with Rwanda and Pakistan rounding out the leasts.
posted by rtha at 10:21 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
The other similars were Australia, Germany, and Sweden, with Rwanda and Pakistan rounding out the leasts.
posted by rtha at 10:21 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
whether faith or obedience should go in the bottom slot.
That was my dilemma, too. I ended up putting faith last since I figured my hypothetical children that will never exist should be slightly more well-behaved than I was. I ended up with Sweden/Ghana.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:23 AM on May 16, 2014
That was my dilemma, too. I ended up putting faith last since I figured my hypothetical children that will never exist should be slightly more well-behaved than I was. I ended up with Sweden/Ghana.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:23 AM on May 16, 2014
Just saying, this post will be so meta if UKnowForKids makes a comment...
posted by symbioid at 10:24 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by symbioid at 10:24 AM on May 16, 2014
Am I the only one who thinks it strange that some value recognizing knowledge and learning is not on this list? It would have been first on mine, and I don't think that any of the others really captures it.
posted by the thing about it at 10:25 AM on May 16, 2014 [30 favorites]
posted by the thing about it at 10:25 AM on May 16, 2014 [30 favorites]
I say in a quiz that I don't value obedience, but I actually do want my kids to do what I've told them.
However, my wife and I do chuckle sometimes over the oldest daughter's smarter acts of rebellion and we both think the iron will she uses to resist our attempts to have her go to sleep at a reasonable hour is likely to serve her well in the future. So, maybe I'm not being too phony.
posted by Area Man at 10:26 AM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
However, my wife and I do chuckle sometimes over the oldest daughter's smarter acts of rebellion and we both think the iron will she uses to resist our attempts to have her go to sleep at a reasonable hour is likely to serve her well in the future. So, maybe I'm not being too phony.
posted by Area Man at 10:26 AM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
I fucking KNEW i was going to get Sweden. I even put religious faith at #3. Fuck I am so Swedish.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:27 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:27 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Azerbaijan first, Yemen last. Not sure how that works.
All the same, these night be the values but how do they gel with what actually happens?
posted by biffa at 10:30 AM on May 16, 2014
All the same, these night be the values but how do they gel with what actually happens?
posted by biffa at 10:30 AM on May 16, 2014
Australia, New Zealand, Germany.
Kinda knew that was coming.
posted by cooker girl at 10:31 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Kinda knew that was coming.
posted by cooker girl at 10:31 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Australia, Pakistan (but then the others: (New Zealand, Sweden) vs (Morocco, Nigeria))
I hope some of our resident conservatives chime in to see how they fare.
Tolerance, respect, creativity and perseverance are the key things for me. "Hard Work" is close, but I think perseverance and dedication indicate to me something just a bit different... It seems to value going towards a goal, generally one's own ideal goal, whereas "hard work" indicates, to me, Work in itself, a sort of Puritanical value, regardless of who it is for and what one gets out of it.
Interestingly, my folks were going to move to Australia before I was born. I always wonder what that'd be like. I'm kinda glad they didn't, but yeah... Life would be different, that's for sure.
posted by symbioid at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I hope some of our resident conservatives chime in to see how they fare.
Tolerance, respect, creativity and perseverance are the key things for me. "Hard Work" is close, but I think perseverance and dedication indicate to me something just a bit different... It seems to value going towards a goal, generally one's own ideal goal, whereas "hard work" indicates, to me, Work in itself, a sort of Puritanical value, regardless of who it is for and what one gets out of it.
Interestingly, my folks were going to move to Australia before I was born. I always wonder what that'd be like. I'm kinda glad they didn't, but yeah... Life would be different, that's for sure.
posted by symbioid at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've seen this metric used before, and I think it's pretty good as far as putting numbers to abstract cultural values goes. Perhaps this is more about what a undifferentiated average of people in a country feel that they SHOULD present as being important, rather than some actual truth of values. I'd be sort of interested to see the methods section of the report.
Anyway, I tried it a few different ways and got New Zealand (with tolerance as #1) the first time and Germany (with self expression as #1) the second.
After a bit of futzing around with the data in Excel, it's interesting that self-expression doesn't get a 1 rank (it gets as high as 5) for any country, and neither does obedience (it gets as high as 2). Other values lacking a 1 rank are unselfishness (capping at 3), perseverance (2), thrift (2), and imagination (4). The value with the most 1 ranks are responsibility and hard work, which both have 14.
The spreadsheet that they link to isn't very useful, but if you edit the URL a bit you can get a version which you can copy into your own Google Drive account and do whatever analysis you'd like to: link here.
posted by codacorolla at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014
Anyway, I tried it a few different ways and got New Zealand (with tolerance as #1) the first time and Germany (with self expression as #1) the second.
After a bit of futzing around with the data in Excel, it's interesting that self-expression doesn't get a 1 rank (it gets as high as 5) for any country, and neither does obedience (it gets as high as 2). Other values lacking a 1 rank are unselfishness (capping at 3), perseverance (2), thrift (2), and imagination (4). The value with the most 1 ranks are responsibility and hard work, which both have 14.
The spreadsheet that they link to isn't very useful, but if you edit the URL a bit you can get a version which you can copy into your own Google Drive account and do whatever analysis you'd like to: link here.
posted by codacorolla at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014
China (South Korea, Slovenia) /Colombia (Peru, Yemen)
Interesting.
posted by preparat at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014
Interesting.
posted by preparat at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2014
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
Spain
One of these things is not like the others...
posted by madajb at 10:38 AM on May 16, 2014
Kazakhstan
Spain
One of these things is not like the others...
posted by madajb at 10:38 AM on May 16, 2014
Similar Matches:
Australia
New Zealand
Germany
Opposite Matches:
Kuwait
Palestine
Yemen
My top 3 were determination, tolerance and imagination.
posted by sweetkid at 10:38 AM on May 16, 2014
Captain Obvious told me I like Sweden. Because there is no god, but let's be tolerant about it, FFS.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
madajb: "Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
Spain
One of these things is not like the others..."
Spainistan?
posted by symbioid at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014
Kazakhstan
Spain
One of these things is not like the others..."
Spainistan?
posted by symbioid at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014
Yes valuing obedience and "hard work" is as puritanical as it gets. "Hard work" is its own shibboleth, meaning different things to different tribes of laborers who would mock each others' notions but can all unite in their disdain for the under or unemployed. I definitely err towards my kids emerging with an anti authoritarian anti mindless bullshit platitude ethic, and it's hard to be their all powerful parenting overlord at the same time, but I can see the fruits of my labor growing and must brace myself for the truly rebellious phases... But "hard work" to me means "liberty is challenging, idle hands are the devil's playground, so you should be splitting logs 'n shit so you have no free time or energy for less admirable pursuits." It certainly stemmed from that.
posted by aydeejones at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by aydeejones at 10:39 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
Now it increasingly means "has a lot of money and played some role personally in getting some of it themselves."
posted by aydeejones at 10:41 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by aydeejones at 10:41 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Spainistan?Al-Andalus.
Anyway, I am a bit surprised at how low Sweden ranks unselfishness.
posted by Flunkie at 10:43 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Quiz or no quiz, I'm not moving to Uruguay to meet some Estonian dude to raise kids with.
Although I'm one of the world's biggest fans of imagination and have a surfeit of it myself, in my case it definitely wasn't something taught. Aside from the constant presence of lots of books, it was more actively discouraged. So I ranked the teaching of it to children lower than my appreciation of it in adults. Being a weirdo, though, I'd probably end up with a kid who DID need to have it taught to him or something.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:47 AM on May 16, 2014
Although I'm one of the world's biggest fans of imagination and have a surfeit of it myself, in my case it definitely wasn't something taught. Aside from the constant presence of lots of books, it was more actively discouraged. So I ranked the teaching of it to children lower than my appreciation of it in adults. Being a weirdo, though, I'd probably end up with a kid who DID need to have it taught to him or something.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:47 AM on May 16, 2014
Australia/Ghana.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:48 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by Rock Steady at 10:48 AM on May 16, 2014
Japan/Nigeria. That's unexpected!
posted by Houstonian at 10:51 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by Houstonian at 10:51 AM on May 16, 2014
What's also interesting is to then take your most-like country and compare it with the US.
posted by Houstonian at 10:53 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Houstonian at 10:53 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
rtha, I went with faith for last, on the grounds that obedience at least has *some* use. I.e., stopping when someone tells you are about to step out in front of a truck.
I ended up with Sweden on top every time, though the secondaries could vary depending on how I tweaked. Germany, Australia, New Zealand usually.
posted by tavella at 10:55 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I ended up with Sweden on top every time, though the secondaries could vary depending on how I tweaked. Germany, Australia, New Zealand usually.
posted by tavella at 10:55 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
New Zealand/Morocco
It felt weird putting self expression and imagination so far down (I went to art school, ffs), but other than faith and obedience, everything else seemed more important. And also samey: Independence, thrift, determination, hard work, responsibility -- aren't these basically all the same thing?
posted by Sys Rq at 10:57 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
It felt weird putting self expression and imagination so far down (I went to art school, ffs), but other than faith and obedience, everything else seemed more important. And also samey: Independence, thrift, determination, hard work, responsibility -- aren't these basically all the same thing?
posted by Sys Rq at 10:57 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
As they say it's "not an apples-to-apples comparison". Looking at that list I don't see any qualities I wouldn't want to teach my kids.
I also see a lot of overlap in these categories. Imagination and self expression, tolerance and unselfishness. Determination, hard work, and responsibility. Even independence and thrift go together. Of course that leaves you with faith and obedience which, depending on your point of view, fit together just as nicely as the rest.
Similar Matches:
Ghana
Pakistan
Nigeria
Opposite Matches:
Sweden
Germany
Australia
posted by zinon at 11:01 AM on May 16, 2014
I also see a lot of overlap in these categories. Imagination and self expression, tolerance and unselfishness. Determination, hard work, and responsibility. Even independence and thrift go together. Of course that leaves you with faith and obedience which, depending on your point of view, fit together just as nicely as the rest.
Similar Matches:
Ghana
Pakistan
Nigeria
Opposite Matches:
Sweden
Germany
Australia
posted by zinon at 11:01 AM on May 16, 2014
No option for obedience to take all 10 spots? No wonder today's youth are so messed up!
Also: HAIRCUTS!
posted by blue_beetle at 11:02 AM on May 16, 2014
Also: HAIRCUTS!
posted by blue_beetle at 11:02 AM on May 16, 2014
Yes valuing obedience and "hard work" is as puritanical as it gets. "Hard work" is its own shibboleth . . .
Valuing hard work for yourself and your loved ones is a game for chumps. If you instead value and inculcuate perseverence, determination, and responsibility, you'll accomplish more of real value -- and enough work will come your way to last you.
I'd like to see the rankings showing which countries value hard work most highly. I'm willing to bet that the trend line closely matches 1/GNP.
Apart from that, I'd have to say that different listed values are important to emphasize at different stages, obedience being the prime example. The survey doesn't address this, natch, but I'd think that that would be obvious.
posted by Herodios at 11:03 AM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
Valuing hard work for yourself and your loved ones is a game for chumps. If you instead value and inculcuate perseverence, determination, and responsibility, you'll accomplish more of real value -- and enough work will come your way to last you.
I'd like to see the rankings showing which countries value hard work most highly. I'm willing to bet that the trend line closely matches 1/GNP.
Apart from that, I'd have to say that different listed values are important to emphasize at different stages, obedience being the prime example. The survey doesn't address this, natch, but I'd think that that would be obvious.
posted by Herodios at 11:03 AM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
I did it a couple of times. Germany showed up both times under my "similar" list. My mother is German, so this is not hugely shocking.
posted by Michele in California at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by Michele in California at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014
What's also interesting is to then take your most-like country and compare it with the US.
Have a look at China & Japan.
posted by Herodios at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014
Have a look at China & Japan.
posted by Herodios at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014
Quiz or no quiz, I'm not moving to Uruguay to meet some Estonian dude to raise kids with.
Not that it lines up with my super scientific quizlet rankings, but that's totally my dream.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Not that it lines up with my super scientific quizlet rankings, but that's totally my dream.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
codacorolla: For me, it's that "self-expression" isn't a good in itself if the self you express is pretty shitty. Dressing up in a Klan costume and picketing the black family in your neighborhood is a form of self-expression but nothing I'd like my kid doing. Something similar with "unselfishness" -- sure, that can be great if it comes to sharing the common resources or paying taxes so you have a good society, but a lot of times what it really means for women is giving up their own dreams and desires so that others can have what they want. So they came after the really key values for me like tolerance, imagination and determination.
posted by tavella at 11:13 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by tavella at 11:13 AM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Apparently I should have my hypothetical kinder in Germany. (Second place: Sweden.)
posted by Jacqueline at 11:14 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by Jacqueline at 11:14 AM on May 16, 2014
Flunkie: Sweden/Antighana
Anti-Ghana?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:21 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Anti-Ghana?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:21 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Australia yes, Yemen no.
Like most quizzes, found this one annoying in the forced choices. I don't rank "imagination" above "self-expression", I would put them roughly at the same spot. Lots of these qualities are like that--they address different issues, you can't put one "above" another, more like "in situation X, this quality is important; in situation Y, this other one is."
Obedience is at the bottom, because that's something that we hope to have to emphasize less and less as he learns to become responsible; we want him to do the right things because he knows they are right, not because we said so, ultimately. And he's going to have to figure that out on his own more and more. Obedience is kind of like training wheels. But when they are too young to understand why they shouldn't run out in the street, it's important.
I would also have moved "religion" up to be parallel with "self-expression" in that I want him to learn about it, but it's up to him if he decides to follow one.
posted by emjaybee at 11:24 AM on May 16, 2014
Like most quizzes, found this one annoying in the forced choices. I don't rank "imagination" above "self-expression", I would put them roughly at the same spot. Lots of these qualities are like that--they address different issues, you can't put one "above" another, more like "in situation X, this quality is important; in situation Y, this other one is."
Obedience is at the bottom, because that's something that we hope to have to emphasize less and less as he learns to become responsible; we want him to do the right things because he knows they are right, not because we said so, ultimately. And he's going to have to figure that out on his own more and more. Obedience is kind of like training wheels. But when they are too young to understand why they shouldn't run out in the street, it's important.
I would also have moved "religion" up to be parallel with "self-expression" in that I want him to learn about it, but it's up to him if he decides to follow one.
posted by emjaybee at 11:24 AM on May 16, 2014
How are you guys even ranking these things? I looked at the list and didn't really even knew how to start providing a total ordering for the listed values.
Like others have mentioned above, the meaning of some of these is vague and isn't universal within a country, much less across all the countries involved.
posted by mulligan at 11:34 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Like others have mentioned above, the meaning of some of these is vague and isn't universal within a country, much less across all the countries involved.
posted by mulligan at 11:34 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't have guessed that Australia and Poland were so far apart.
Poland probably gets closer to Yemen and Ghana than Australia for valuing highly religious faith and obedience over tolerance and self-expression.
I'm from Poland and I got Sweden in the survey, but I'm aware that I'm not really representative.
posted by hat_eater at 11:36 AM on May 16, 2014
Poland probably gets closer to Yemen and Ghana than Australia for valuing highly religious faith and obedience over tolerance and self-expression.
I'm from Poland and I got Sweden in the survey, but I'm aware that I'm not really representative.
posted by hat_eater at 11:36 AM on May 16, 2014
How are you guys even ranking these things?
I put religious faith at the bottom. Once, I put Independent at the top, the second time I put Tolerant at the top. Then I shuffled things around until I felt okay with "um, yeah, that's more important to me than that" all the way down.
(Apparently, no country in the list does Independent as the first choice. But Sweden does Tolerant as the first.)
posted by Michele in California at 11:37 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I put religious faith at the bottom. Once, I put Independent at the top, the second time I put Tolerant at the top. Then I shuffled things around until I felt okay with "um, yeah, that's more important to me than that" all the way down.
(Apparently, no country in the list does Independent as the first choice. But Sweden does Tolerant as the first.)
posted by Michele in California at 11:37 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
How are you guys even ranking these things?
Bubblesort. It took a while.
posted by hat_eater at 11:43 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
Bubblesort. It took a while.
posted by hat_eater at 11:43 AM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
Sorry, it sounds flippant, but that was unintentional. I was comparing each subsequent pair, flipping them if it seemed sensible and moving to the next pair. After I reached the bottom, I started over. I kept repeating this procedure until I made a pass without flipping any pairs. As to the meaning, I tried not to overthink this. I'm satisfied with my results.
posted by hat_eater at 11:48 AM on May 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by hat_eater at 11:48 AM on May 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
Of interest from the actual study:
Findings and Insights
The Online Data Analysis has tools that let you chop and dice different variables. Plus maps!
posted by Room 641-A at 11:51 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Findings and Insights
The Online Data Analysis has tools that let you chop and dice different variables. Plus maps!
posted by Room 641-A at 11:51 AM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm kind of annoyed I can't anti-tag some things. It's important to me to teach rebellion, on some level, rather than obedience; there exist stupid rules and I wouldn't want my kids to be automatons. (Also despite any attempts I have to the contrary I'm very lawful myself; I expect my progeny might tend that direction too and could use some counter-nudging). Similarly I'm rather against religion and would much rather foster scientific curiosity. But it doesn't let me say "I would teach my children *the opposite* of this value", it only lets me rank it less highly.
posted by nat at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2014
posted by nat at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2014
Most similar: New Zealand
Least Similar: Ghana
I apparently value success at Rugby above all.
posted by arcticseal at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2014
Least Similar: Ghana
I apparently value success at Rugby above all.
posted by arcticseal at 11:54 AM on May 16, 2014
Poland probably gets closer to Yemen and Ghana than Australia for valuing highly religious faith and obedience over tolerance and self-expression.
I just discovered the comparison tool and I'm quite happy to eat my own words. Turns out I'm not such an outlier I thought I was. Or people are lying in surveys. Sorry for the threadhogging.
posted by hat_eater at 11:57 AM on May 16, 2014
I just discovered the comparison tool and I'm quite happy to eat my own words. Turns out I'm not such an outlier I thought I was. Or people are lying in surveys. Sorry for the threadhogging.
posted by hat_eater at 11:57 AM on May 16, 2014
If you take the averages over the data (which yeah, over weights small countries), the world's ranked list is:
1) Feeling of Responsibility
2) Tolerance and respect for other people
3) Hard Work
4) Independence
5) Religious Faith
6) Obedience
7) Thrift, saving money and things
8) Determination, perseverance
9) Unselfishness
10) Self-expression
11) Imagination
What's really interesting is if you conditionally format the table, you see which countries are really different from everyone else. For example, Hard Work is #3 world average - but it's dead last in Columbia and Peru. Imagination is #11 world average - but it's #4 in Sweden. Independence? #4 world average, but #10 in Rwanda.
Religious faith has the highest spread - it's either really important or not important at all, depending on the country. There's also fairly large disagreement on the importance of Hard Work and Obedience. In contrast, tight spreads around Tolerance, Feelings of Responsibility, and Imagination.
Kind of a bush league presentation of the data - the web quiz format/"what country are you most like " framing is all that useful is kind of a naked play at going viral.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 12:01 PM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
1) Feeling of Responsibility
2) Tolerance and respect for other people
3) Hard Work
4) Independence
5) Religious Faith
6) Obedience
7) Thrift, saving money and things
8) Determination, perseverance
9) Unselfishness
10) Self-expression
11) Imagination
What's really interesting is if you conditionally format the table, you see which countries are really different from everyone else. For example, Hard Work is #3 world average - but it's dead last in Columbia and Peru. Imagination is #11 world average - but it's #4 in Sweden. Independence? #4 world average, but #10 in Rwanda.
Religious faith has the highest spread - it's either really important or not important at all, depending on the country. There's also fairly large disagreement on the importance of Hard Work and Obedience. In contrast, tight spreads around Tolerance, Feelings of Responsibility, and Imagination.
Kind of a bush league presentation of the data - the web quiz format/"what country are you most like " framing is all that useful is kind of a naked play at going viral.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 12:01 PM on May 16, 2014 [6 favorites]
Also, imagination and self expression are pretty close to each other in terms of being ranked last most often. NoRelation just beat me to listing averages, but I was curious what country most resembled the averages and assembled a list based off that using the web-app in the FPP and it returned... "TOTAL". I guess the complete average was included in the data-set of quiz-returns for some reason? Strange...
After TOTAL Phillippines and Tunisia were next on similarity. Uruguay, Japan and Sweden were opposite matches.
posted by codacorolla at 12:05 PM on May 16, 2014
After TOTAL Phillippines and Tunisia were next on similarity. Uruguay, Japan and Sweden were opposite matches.
posted by codacorolla at 12:05 PM on May 16, 2014
It might be interesting to see this data for each country along with the option to group by socioeconomic status of respondents.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 12:11 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by gemutlichkeit at 12:11 PM on May 16, 2014
Right - the correlation coefficients vs. the averages are also really interesting. Top 10 countries most similar to world averages:
Philippines, Tunisia, Pakistan, Armenia, Libya, Singapore, United States, Qatar, Malaysia, Ukraine
Top 10 anti-correlated countries (which aren't similar to one another, just different from the average in some way):
Sweden, Japan, Germany, Uruguay, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, Australia, Peru, Slovenia
posted by NoRelationToLea at 12:13 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Philippines, Tunisia, Pakistan, Armenia, Libya, Singapore, United States, Qatar, Malaysia, Ukraine
Top 10 anti-correlated countries (which aren't similar to one another, just different from the average in some way):
Sweden, Japan, Germany, Uruguay, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, Australia, Peru, Slovenia
posted by NoRelationToLea at 12:13 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sweden.
Religious faith is dead last, but that has always been amusing to me: people who are very religious often talk of their religion in terms of it being "obvious" and the "truth", etc., but it also has to be indoctrinated, sorry, taught. I don't know anyone who, as a kid, was raised without religion who "found" it as a child.
I put obedience as second-from-bottom, but I do value consideration of others, which to an outsider in public situations should look like the same thing. That said, whether your kids aren't running and screaming in a restaurant because they're "obedient" or "considerate" doesn't matter, I appreciate it none-the-less. But I think they'll be better humans if it's for the latter reason.
posted by maxwelton at 12:30 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Religious faith is dead last, but that has always been amusing to me: people who are very religious often talk of their religion in terms of it being "obvious" and the "truth", etc., but it also has to be indoctrinated, sorry, taught. I don't know anyone who, as a kid, was raised without religion who "found" it as a child.
I put obedience as second-from-bottom, but I do value consideration of others, which to an outsider in public situations should look like the same thing. That said, whether your kids aren't running and screaming in a restaurant because they're "obedient" or "considerate" doesn't matter, I appreciate it none-the-less. But I think they'll be better humans if it's for the latter reason.
posted by maxwelton at 12:30 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
What's also interesting is to then take your most-like country and compare it with the US.
After doing that, moving to Uruguay seemed a little less extreme.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:34 PM on May 16, 2014
After doing that, moving to Uruguay seemed a little less extreme.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:34 PM on May 16, 2014
What's also interesting is to then take your most-like country and compare it with the US.
Way after the edit window closed: What I meant to say, or should have said, was to take your most-like country and compare it to the country in which you currently live.
posted by Houstonian at 12:38 PM on May 16, 2014
Way after the edit window closed: What I meant to say, or should have said, was to take your most-like country and compare it to the country in which you currently live.
posted by Houstonian at 12:38 PM on May 16, 2014
Most Similar: The Moon.
posted by srboisvert at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by srboisvert at 12:51 PM on May 16, 2014
I ended up with China, but I think the sorting is kind of weird. I ended up ranking things low when I thought that the parental figure was not necessarily the best teacher or exemplar of that virtue, but I think the idea is that you're supposed to rank these things by how YOU value them. But I sort of value them all! Hmm.
posted by selfnoise at 1:23 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by selfnoise at 1:23 PM on May 16, 2014
Canadian who got Germany / Ghana.
I'd really love to hear a theory on why Columbia and Peru placed Hard Work last. I know I placed it low at #9. My reasoning was 'work smart, not hard'.
posted by kitcat at 1:42 PM on May 16, 2014
I'd really love to hear a theory on why Columbia and Peru placed Hard Work last. I know I placed it low at #9. My reasoning was 'work smart, not hard'.
posted by kitcat at 1:42 PM on May 16, 2014
Also, imagination and self expression are pretty close to each other in terms of being ranked last most often.
I put imagination (and self expression) pretty high-ish in my ranking of what I wanted my kids to have. I am somewhat saddened to see it is often ranked dead last. Makes me feel this is something wrong with the world.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
-- Albert Einstein
posted by Michele in California at 1:48 PM on May 16, 2014
I put imagination (and self expression) pretty high-ish in my ranking of what I wanted my kids to have. I am somewhat saddened to see it is often ranked dead last. Makes me feel this is something wrong with the world.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
-- Albert Einstein
posted by Michele in California at 1:48 PM on May 16, 2014
I got Lebanon, Australia, and the U.S. What I've learned from this is that I don't know anything about Lebanon, because I would not have grouped those three together.
posted by gerstle at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by gerstle at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2014
I'm wondering if a lot of parents placed imagination towards the bottom because it comes more naturally than those other traits. So it doesn't have to be taught/instilled (more like, it needs to be allowed to flourish).
posted by kitcat at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by kitcat at 1:55 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I put all those Svenska values on top; obedience and faith on the bottom. Hard work wasn't too high on the list either. But the "your mileage may vary" cliche applies very much to parenting. Despite lazy slacker hippie parenting, our kid just graduated Magna Cum Laude in science from a very good school last week, which was pretty inexpensive for us due to her assiduous efforts in high school and her diligence in seeking out scholarships.
posted by kozad at 2:05 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by kozad at 2:05 PM on May 16, 2014
A few countries not listed:
Canada
UK
Ireland
Brazil
Italy
Greece
nearly all the Balkan states
Vatican
North Korea
Uganda
Iran
Saudi
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Mongolia
Indonesia
Portugal
Israel
Argentina
Ethiopia
Kenya
Sudan
posted by Herodios at 2:17 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Canada
UK
Ireland
Brazil
Italy
Greece
nearly all the Balkan states
Vatican
North Korea
Uganda
Iran
Saudi
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Mongolia
Indonesia
Portugal
Israel
Argentina
Ethiopia
Kenya
Sudan
posted by Herodios at 2:17 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Why is tolerance on the list, but not kindness? Or honesty?
/raised by wolves.
posted by vers at 2:24 PM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
/raised by wolves.
posted by vers at 2:24 PM on May 16, 2014 [4 favorites]
The "Crusader Kings II" side of me insists on pointing out that by far the single most important value to instill in your kids, and the kids of others in your realm, is contentedness. That way, when they grow up and become your vassal dukes, they won't particularly care how high you've set their taxes. And absolutely avoid instilling ambition in them, and try to avoid instilling envy, too.
Unless of course we're talking about your heir, in which case ignore contentedness and go straight for ambition.
The Crusader Kings II side of me is a jerk.
After typing the above, I decided to try this app as if I were playing CKII. Apparently, the CKII side of me would be most at home in Rwanda.
posted by Flunkie at 3:18 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Unless of course we're talking about your heir, in which case ignore contentedness and go straight for ambition.
The Crusader Kings II side of me is a jerk.
After typing the above, I decided to try this app as if I were playing CKII. Apparently, the CKII side of me would be most at home in Rwanda.
posted by Flunkie at 3:18 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Wow, Herodios, that's pretty disappointing.
Mine were +Japan -Trinidad. I assume Japan has something to do with responsibility, unselfishness, and determination. (Though I kinda said nuts to hard work; work smarter!) Funny thing is I've lived in Japan and I don't think I really want to do that again, nevermind raising a child in the hellscape that is public schools there.
posted by curious nu at 3:19 PM on May 16, 2014
Mine were +Japan -Trinidad. I assume Japan has something to do with responsibility, unselfishness, and determination. (Though I kinda said nuts to hard work; work smarter!) Funny thing is I've lived in Japan and I don't think I really want to do that again, nevermind raising a child in the hellscape that is public schools there.
posted by curious nu at 3:19 PM on May 16, 2014
I kinda think it is funny that Tolerance and Respect rank as high for the world as it does... because... come on - How many wars have been fought because this high ranking item was shifted conveniently down the list toward the bottom? Oh that's right. This is what we teach kids at home, because the societies as a whole have a tendency to beat that out of each other.
I ranked it at the top of my lower third because... kid - tolerance and respect should expected, but don't think for a moment that people won't turn the screws to you the moment they have power over you.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:28 PM on May 16, 2014
I ranked it at the top of my lower third because... kid - tolerance and respect should expected, but don't think for a moment that people won't turn the screws to you the moment they have power over you.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:28 PM on May 16, 2014
Sweden and Yemen for me.
posted by brundlefly at 3:29 PM on May 16, 2014
posted by brundlefly at 3:29 PM on May 16, 2014
A few countries not listed:
I understand North Korea (and maybe Vatican) but the others are quite curious. I poked around the site and didn't see it addressed, although I spot-checked a few of the countries and they do have Principal Investigators for at least some of the countries on the list.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:47 PM on May 16, 2014
I understand North Korea (and maybe Vatican) but the others are quite curious. I poked around the site and didn't see it addressed, although I spot-checked a few of the countries and they do have Principal Investigators for at least some of the countries on the list.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:47 PM on May 16, 2014
A few countries not listed:
And what about France?
I'd really like to compare Canada (me), Britain and the US.
posted by sneebler at 4:14 PM on May 16, 2014
And what about France?
I'd really like to compare Canada (me), Britain and the US.
posted by sneebler at 4:14 PM on May 16, 2014
Before I looked at the list, and thinking of how I interact with my nephews and nieces, I would have chosen a top five of:
Self confidence
Self awareness
Curiosity
Creativity
Common sense / ability to reason
This obviously threw me off when I actually tried the test!
Faith at the bottom was easy, with thrift and hard work lower down.
Imagination, toleration/respect and independence were my best fits at the top.
The whole middle were random - I thought they were all good values.
The original survey had participants list the values on a scale from important > not important, which seems a more robust approach. And one I might have actually shared on Facebook.
By putting faith near the bottom and independence & imagination near the top, and changing up the middle, I got a variety of closest countries. Palestine and Yemen, however, were always my opposites.
posted by kanewai at 4:26 PM on May 16, 2014
Self confidence
Self awareness
Curiosity
Creativity
Common sense / ability to reason
This obviously threw me off when I actually tried the test!
Faith at the bottom was easy, with thrift and hard work lower down.
Imagination, toleration/respect and independence were my best fits at the top.
The whole middle were random - I thought they were all good values.
The original survey had participants list the values on a scale from important > not important, which seems a more robust approach. And one I might have actually shared on Facebook.
By putting faith near the bottom and independence & imagination near the top, and changing up the middle, I got a variety of closest countries. Palestine and Yemen, however, were always my opposites.
posted by kanewai at 4:26 PM on May 16, 2014
Looking at this thing further clarified why parenthood is not for me. I simply have no desire to instill values in another human being. It sounds exhausting. And in reviewing the items on this list, the qualities I think I would rank as most important are the ones I'm most sorely lacking, so good thing I'm not responsible for imparting them to anyone else.
posted by HotToddy at 6:27 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 6:27 PM on May 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was thrown, too. Curiosity, courage, honesty, helpfulness (which to me is different from unselfishness), humor (in the sense of cultivating a positive outlook), thoughtfullness (not only of others but also of the world around us), patience, creativity/resourcefulness (which I guess are related to imagination & independence, but not at all the same)...
I also wonder how meaningful it is to compare across countries, since the words in traslation will carry their own connotations that are bound up in the language and culture. I'm not sure that what I have in mind when asked about "independence" is the same thing someone from Yemen might have. If they had relabled "obedience" as "honor" or "lawfulness" or "respect" (separating it out from tolerance), I would have ranked it very differently, and I wonder to what degree the translation of "obedience" was more like "respectfulness" or "dutifulness" and less like "conformity" or "servility" in the various languages.
posted by Westringia F. at 6:32 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
I also wonder how meaningful it is to compare across countries, since the words in traslation will carry their own connotations that are bound up in the language and culture. I'm not sure that what I have in mind when asked about "independence" is the same thing someone from Yemen might have. If they had relabled "obedience" as "honor" or "lawfulness" or "respect" (separating it out from tolerance), I would have ranked it very differently, and I wonder to what degree the translation of "obedience" was more like "respectfulness" or "dutifulness" and less like "conformity" or "servility" in the various languages.
posted by Westringia F. at 6:32 PM on May 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
I've found this weirdly fascinating. I've done it four times, now, tweaking and reconsidering my midrange values, and every single time, I've gotten Australia and NZ for the top matches, with Sweden or Germany for the third.
I'm also sort of bummed that there's not a way to compare more than two countries in a go--I'd love to see the data for various clusters of countries.
posted by MeghanC at 7:24 PM on May 16, 2014
I'm also sort of bummed that there's not a way to compare more than two countries in a go--I'd love to see the data for various clusters of countries.
posted by MeghanC at 7:24 PM on May 16, 2014
Trinidad is so small that whenever "our" views are reported like this I'm a little surprised I wasn't consulted. Based on the results, it seems they asked a congregation of assholes instead.
I got Japan, Australia, Sweden. Wish more countries had been included.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 10:39 PM on May 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
I got Japan, Australia, Sweden. Wish more countries had been included.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 10:39 PM on May 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
My husband is Swedish and I am a New Zealander. I took the test and it said "Most similar: Sweden. Second most similar: New Zealand". Pity we don't plan to have kids...
posted by lollusc at 5:27 AM on May 17, 2014
posted by lollusc at 5:27 AM on May 17, 2014
(I did, however, find it difficult to interpret the quiz. At first I ranked the values by what I most would want my children to grow up believing in, but then I more carefully read the question: "What should children be taught at home" and so I reconsidered. Some of these things I think you can't really teach, at least not directly. Some of them, I think are better taught outside the home than from the parents. And some of them are qualities I would want MY children to have, but are not necessarily things I think everyone SHOULD teach their kids.)
posted by lollusc at 5:31 AM on May 17, 2014
posted by lollusc at 5:31 AM on May 17, 2014
As a father, I have a limited amount of patience for inculcating values. Fuck values; I want to teach practices, behaviors, actions.
Lots of people "value" hard work but are lazy. Lots of people pay lip service to self-expression and imagination in the most trite and cookie-cutter ways imaginable. And lots of people use toleration as a club to be intolerant.
You are what you do when it counts, not what you rank on a survey.
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:24 AM on May 17, 2014 [4 favorites]
Lots of people "value" hard work but are lazy. Lots of people pay lip service to self-expression and imagination in the most trite and cookie-cutter ways imaginable. And lots of people use toleration as a club to be intolerant.
You are what you do when it counts, not what you rank on a survey.
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:24 AM on May 17, 2014 [4 favorites]
Where's politeness? I suspect the designers are or will be horrible parents. I'm 67% kidding.
posted by jpe at 8:40 AM on May 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jpe at 8:40 AM on May 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sweden. Most similar, Australia and New Zealand. I am a New Zealander, a bit more left and a bit more anarchist than most, so this fits very well with my self image and preconceptions.
I ranked independence and determination highest and religious belie and obedience lowest.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:39 AM on May 18, 2014
I ranked independence and determination highest and religious belie and obedience lowest.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:39 AM on May 18, 2014
Did anyone get Yemen as their first place?
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:29 AM on May 19, 2014
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:29 AM on May 19, 2014
"I've got lots of things I want to teach my children, but I didn't want to teach them any obedience and they decided not to learn any of the other things."
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:45 AM on May 19, 2014
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:45 AM on May 19, 2014
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Least similar Poland
Interesting. Thanks for posting this.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:07 AM on May 16, 2014