Social Explanations of Cultural Engagement Changes in Norway 1991 to 2004

Abstract

In this thesis, the author addresses the possible changing influence of social position and education on lifestyle choices in Norway. Based on a quantitative examination on media and culture participation in 1991 and 2004 in Norway, the author finds three types of behavioural pattern labelled Omnivores, Popvores, and Mediavores. Omnivores refers to a group of individuals who are engaged widely in all forms of culture. Popvores refers to a lifestyle group who mainly consume popular culture. Mediavores refers to a lifestyle group who keep themselves restricted to mass media if engaged in culture at all. From 1991 to 2004, Popvores and Omnivores increased in size while Mediavores decreased. The fastest growing type is Popvores. The cultural engagement changes in the population can be explained through both compositional change as the result of the education expansion, and an effect change for education. Higher tertiary education is increasingly associated with Popvores, while the connection to Omnivores is stable. The primary educated are increasingly likely Omnivores. Social positions, such as status and class, have no effect change in the same time period. Four main theories guided the research: individualisation, culturalisation, processing capacity theory, and status theory. None of the theoretical expectations regarding social change and lifestyles found any support in this thesis. The method the author used to create lifestyle is Latent Class Analysis. Re-prediction of cultural engagement changes is modelled with Multinomial Logistic Regression. In order to use survey data containing information from two occupational classification systems, the author has created a bridging system. Plots of lifestyle probabilities has also been created to visualise the development of participation with culture over time and to illustrate the separate and accumulative effects of different mechanisms involved in explaining lifestyle choices.