Millennials' Values and Social Interest: Examining Generational Research
Pittsburgh - April 18, 2010
As a precursor to its upcoming Developmental Psychology Certificate Course, Park Manor Academy of Psychology (PMAP) has been researching whether or not changes are occurring in societal values of generational cohorts. Specifically of interest, are the somewhat inconsistent findings that Millennials, the generation of Americans born between the years 1980 and 2000 (exact dates vary depending upon definitions used by different researchers), are more interested in money and leisure, more interested in their own needs than those of others (1), yet also interested in either helping others or not, depending upon which study is examined (1, 2). Values of helping oneself and helping others do not often co-exist according to, Psychology Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University (2). "This leads to at least two interesting questions," according to Dr. William Kelly, Director of Park Manor Academy of Psychology. "First, which value seems most representational of this generation, helping others or helping themselves, and second what does this mean for social interest?" Social interest can be defined as one's interest in the greater good. Examples of social interest include helping others to better themselves and grow. These values are hallmarks of the helping professions such as psychology, counseling, and social work.
In a survey of Millennial American college freshmen (3), being well off financially is a top personal goal for today's upcoming generation. While this finding has remained somewhat consistent for several years, the present Millennial cohort general indicated they were more likely to be interested in money and less interested in helping others in need compared to their parents. "According to the data, it seems that many individuals of the Millennial generation are indicating they seem to have some internal conflict over doing either only what is best for themselves and doing what might be needed of them by society," said Kelly. "Recently, I met with a group of college students enrolled in a counseling course about their career choice. These were students actively training for the helping professions. Many of the students voiced a concern about whether or not their career choice would limit their ability to have a high income and have high social status," Kelly continued.
Therefore, the inconsistency is not only in the data regarding Millennials' interest in helping others versus just helping themselves, but also within themselves. The internal conflict is not simple to deal with. While helping professions do provide many with advanced training the ability to be financially well off, a large part of the helping professions has always been to help those in need. In other words, to help the poor and indigent who need mental health and social services. "It will be interesting to see what the individuals of this generation choose," said Kelly, who runs a tuition-free psychology certificate program. "Will they focus on taking care of themselves or will they make sacrifices to help others? Only time will tell."
Sources:
Twenge, J.M. (2009). Generational changes and their impact in the classroom: Teaching generation me. Medical Education, 43, 398-405.
Twenge, J.M. (2010). "The empathic civilization": Narcissism or empathy? The me generation or the we generation? The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jean-m-twenge/the-empathic-civilization_b_455766.html
College Board and Art and Science Group, LLC. (2008). Research dispels millennial theories. Retrieved from http://www.artsci.com/studentpoll/v6n2/index.aspx.
