ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the role of society in forming generations. Values, the political climate, main changes in society and other factors that influence a generation will be dealt with. Research from sociology and marketing will be used in framing in the context that shaped the values of Generation Y, with many references to baby boomers, a generational cohort that in many respects provides an interesting contrast to Generation Y. Key elements of society, e.g., individualism versus collectivism; the attention society pays to institutions and authorities; voluntarism versus determinism, etc., contribute to the analysis of societal elements and forces that lay the foundation of how individuals’ attitudes and behavioural traits are developed. All of these factors influence the society that individuals grow up and come of age in.
