The K factor, societal hypometropia, and national values: A study of 71 nations

•A dimension of subjective culture is extracted from World Values Survey data.•The dimension is defined by important values for children as described by their parents.•It is significantly correlated with “societal hypometropia” (similar to a K factor).•Differences on societal hypometropia/K factor are embedded in national values.

A number of studies have used national behavior-related statistics to propose measures of a so-called “K factor”, or societal “hypometropia”. The reported variants of this dimension reflect societal differences in mating strategies, risk-acceptance, and aspects of time orientation, such as delay of gratification. Until now, no clear analog to this dimension had been found in paper-and-pencil studies of subjective national culture, focusing on values, beliefs, attitudes, or other worldviews. The present study analyzes values for children from the World Values Survey. A factor analysis across 71 nations partly replicates Inglehart’s two dimensions of national culture and extracts a third factor, defined by importance of thrift, responsibility, and independence versus obedience. It creates a clear contrast between East Asia and Africa and resembles a somewhat similar dimension of national culture by the Chinese Culture Connection. It is also associated with societal hypometropia. Thus, the K factor/hypometropia has an analog in national values.