Permission to Reprint VALS™ Information

The VALS™ team frequently receives requests to reprint information about VALS in books, newsletters, or other publications. VALS materials are copyrighted and are unavailable for use without express written permission from Strategic Business Insights (SBI). We are happy to grant this permission on a case-by-case basis. To obtain permission, you must:

• Download and print out the VALS™ Reprint Permission Form.
• Complete and sign the permission form.
• Return the completed permission form to SBI with the following materials:
  • The text that discusses VALS. If you plan to reprint VALS materials in a chapter of a book, please send a copy of the entire chapter. If you plan to reprint VALS materials in a newsletter, please include a copy of the entire newsletter.
  • Graphics, tables, or charts relating to VALS that will appear in your publication.

SBI will check your text and graphics for accuracy, send any necessary corrections to you, and return the permission form to you signed by a VALS team member. Once you receive the signed permission form from us, you may use the VALS materials (incorporating any changes or corrections made by SBI) in your publication.

Terms of Use

By completing and signing the reprint permission form, you agree to the following terms:

• The first mention of VALS™ must include the trademark symbol.
• The source line reads: Source: Strategic Business Insights (SBI); www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals .
• SBI will approve text and graphics for accuracy before publication.
• When the final publication is available, you will send a copy of it to SBI for our records.
• The permission to reprint pertains to that specific request only. If you want to use the material for subsequent purposes, you must reapply for permission.
• VALS materials are copyrighted and are unavailable for use without express written permission from SBI.

VALS™ Fact Sheet

Before sending us the proposed text of your publication, please check your facts against the following list. It includes several important details about VALS that people frequently question or misunderstand.

• VALS, originally developed by SRI International (a nonprofit research organization in Menlo Park, California), is now owned and operated by Strategic Business Insights (SBI).
• VALS is a consumer psychographic segmentation system because it is based on psychological traits and several demographics that correlate with consumer behavior—hence, psychographics.
• The VALS Survey questionnaire is based on a $1.5 million development effort and several large national surveys of consumer opinion that SRI International conducted between 1987 and 1992. These surveys allowed SRI to identify the psychological traits and key demographics that have a strong correlation with a large range of consumer preferences about products, activities, and media. The current VALS Survey questionnaire is the third version based on this kind of extensive empirical research. VALS is now wholly owned and operated by SBI.
• Clients often ask how we can know about product, service, and activity preferences from the short VALS Survey. The answer is that the VALS Survey on our web site is our VALS-typing tool. Its purpose is to identify a person's VALS type. In addition, we gather consumers' product, service, leisure-activity data, and additional demographics and attitudes by integrating the VALS Survey questionnaire into larger custom or syndicated survey questionnaires. For example, we integrate the VALS Survey questionnaire into SBI's Consumer Financial Decisions MacroMonitor survey, giving us a source of detailed financial behavior by VALS types. We also integrate it into various client-specific surveys, and Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC's (MRI's) Survey of the American Consumer.
• VALS is not an acronym. The first VALS system was based on social values, and at the time, VALS was an acronym for Values and Lifestyles. However, the current VALS system is based on psychological traits instead of social values, so we dropped Values and Lifestyles but retained the VALS brand.
• VALS 2 and iVALS are no longer in use.
• VALS™: The Psychology of Markets includes VALS™ (valid in all of North America), Japan-VALS™ (also referred to as JVALS™), U.K.-VALS™, and GeoVALS™ (which identifies the concentration of the VALS types by U.S. zip code or block group).
• For academics and others interested in learning more about VALS and the psychological traits and demographics that underlie consumer decision making, the VALS team has published a special handbook: Understanding U.S. Consumers. You can purchase Understanding U.S. Consumers for $60.00 plus shipping charges through the VALS™ Store.
• You can determine your VALS type by completing the VALS Survey online.
• For answers to other frequently asked questions about VALS and the VALS survey, see our Survey Help and VALS FAQ page.