Abstract
Applying the values construct in the social sciences has suffered from the absence of an agreed-upon conception of basic values, of the content and structure of relations among these values, and of reliable methods to measure them. This article presents data from over 70 countries, using two different instruments, to validate a theory intended to fill part of this gap. It concerns the basic values that individuals in all cultures recognize. The theory identifies 10 motivationally distinct values and specifies the dynamics of conflict and congruence among them. These dynamics yield a structure of relations among values common to culturally diverse groups, suggesting a universal organization of human motivations. Individuals and groups differ in the priorities they assign to these values. The article examines sources of individual differences in value priorities and behavioral and attitudinal consequences that follow from holding particular value priorities. In doing so, it considers pr
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Values have been a central concept in the social
sciences since their inception. For both Durkheim (1893, 1897) and Weber (1905),
values were crucial for explaining social and personal organization and change.
Values have played an important role not only in sociology, but in psychology, anthropology,
and related disciplines as well. Values are used to characterize societies and
individuals, to trace change over time, and to explain the motivational bases
of attitudes and behavior.
Despite or, perhaps, because
of the widespread use of values, many different conceptions of this construct have
emerged (e.g., Boudon, 2001; Inglehart, 1997; Kohn, 1969; Parsons, 1951; Rokeach
1973). Application of the values construct in the social sciences has suffered,
however, from the absence of an agreed-upon conception of basic values, of the
content and structure of relations among these values, and of reliable empirical
methods to measure them (Hitlin & Piliavin, 2004; Rohan, 2000). This
article presents a theory intended to fill the part of this gap concerned with
the values of individuals (Schwartz, 1992, 2005a).
The
theory concerns the basic values that people in all cultures recognize. It identifies
ten motivationally distinct value orientations and specifies the dynamics of
conflict and congruence among these values. Some values contradict one another
(e.g., benevolence and power) whereas others are compatible (e.g., conformity
and security). The "structure" of values refers to these relations of
conflict and congruence among values, not to their relative importance. If
value structures are similar across culturally diverse groups, this would
suggest that there is a universal organization of human motivations. Of course,
even if the types of human motivation that values express and the structure of
relations among them are universal, individuals and groups differ substantially
in the relative importance they attribute to their values. That is, individuals
and groups have different value “priorities†or “hierarchies.â€ÂÂ
This
article explicates the theory of personal values and describes two different
instruments to measure the values it identifies. Data gathered with these
instruments in over 70 countries around the world have validated both the
contents and structure of values postulated by the theory. I will also examine some
sources of individual differences in value priorities and some of the behavioral
and attitudinal consequences that follow from holding particular value
priorities. In doing so, I will consider processes through which values are
influenced and through which they influence action.