3SC social values
This review of Michael Adams's book Sex in the Snow has a good description of how 3SC works:
Adams uses a technique of cluster analysis (known somewhat mysteriously as the 3SC system). This is a type of multivariate clustering and mapping technique that uses a two-dimensional grid - one axis being 'individual vs. social inclinations' and the other being 'traditional vs. modern values'. Through their responses to a detailed questionnaire, individuals can be pigeon-holed into the grid and classified. Entire groups can be analyzed this way and placed into logical groups (or 'tribes' as the book terms them because they share ideals and aspirations). Voila! A psychographic mapping (geography, in Adams' words) of the adult population.
I've always been fairly cynical about this kind of research. But this morning I heard that General Motors is using 3SC data to shape its product lines. And I got to thinking, maybe these "tribes" (ugh, hate that term) could be used as really coarse personas in information product development.
If nothing else, knowing that Disengaged Darwinists, Anxious Communitarians and Thrill-Seeking Materialists are the target users of a product might inform some early research, design and architecture decisions. (It's no replacement for talking to real users, and we always have to be careful to check our assumptions. But it's a way of getting people to think about users very early in the development cycle.)
(Also of interest: Urban Tribes.)
