| Abstract: | The author argues that social changes cause personality changes, and that personality changes cause social changes. This mutual feedback effect lies at the heart of the problems of social forecasting. Any valid system of forecasting requires a study of social changes ; but such a study itself necessitates an investigation of personality structures and individual values. The weak links in the causal chain of social change are the source of changes in values and the effect of values upon social goals. The author describes the limited evidence that research into values has provided, and examines critically the methodology employed. He suggests an alternative-but potentially complementary-approach and describes specific problem areas ; finally he reasserts his ultimate goal of a theory of social change. |
