Human Values Research Articles

Heritage Value Assessment and Landscape Preservation of Traditional Chinese Villages Based on the Daily Lives of Local Residents: A Study of Tangfang Village in China and the UNESCO HUL Approach

Traditional Chinese villages, recognized as national heritage sites, are invaluable cultural assets. Since 2012, efforts have focused on their preservation, though issues remain such as prioritizing authenticity over usability and material over cultural elements. This paper adopts the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, emphasizing the integration of physical heritage with daily life to shift value assessment. The fundamental argument of this paper is that the HUL method can serve as a new tool for preserving the historical heritage and landscape of rural areas, particularly in the context of assessing and formulating preservation frameworks for traditional Chinese villages. Through the case study of Tangfang village’s new conservation plan, the research demonstrates that the value of traditional villages lies in the continuous interaction between daily activities and physical space, including landscape, functional, and spiritual dimensions. The study concludes that a preservation framework based on local residents’ daily lives ensures more effective heritage conservation and landscape preservation by addressing both material and human values.

The Influence of a New Geopolitical Environment on the Peace and Security of the Western Balkans

Trends in the EU and NATO are certainly a part of global international efforts and communications along with being integral parts of the actions of those progressive forces that strive towards global peace, security, and social progress. Therefore, European trends cannot be taken out of the global context of international relationships or any other efforts to make positive changes in the world. The countries of the Western Balkans are faced with important political, economic, and security challenges, and should support one another in the process of their accessions to the EU and NATO and create the necessary conditions for the development of a better European defense and security relevant as regards the security interests of NATO. As part of democracy and humanity, their friends should help in the building of a safer geopolitical environment. In the search of a better solution, it is recommended to focus on the values and goals of all citizens and peoples of the Western Balkans. This primarily includes dignified living in a modern, prosperous, and democratic country. A country of this kind in the Western Balkans can exist only by being fully integrated in the European and global organisations and by respecting contemporary global standards. The future of the countries of the Western Balkans cannot rely on negative, narrow-minded concepts or approaches. Their future should be founded on universal human values. And not only the future of the Western Balkans, but the entire region where it is situated. All of us should understand that happiness and prosperity of one people in this region should not be built upon the misfortune of others.

The Operation of Moe: A Discourse Practice of Cyber Nationalism

Unlike the previous cyber-nationalism events characterized by anger and hatred, the "Panda Ya Ya" incident highlights a special form of "soft emotion." This paper focuses on the common representation of this soft emotion in both self-media and official media discourse practices: moe. Through Fairclough's discourse analysis, the specific mechanisms of its operation are explored to understand the emotional motivations in cyber nationalism. The study finds that at the levels of representation and style, the "moe discourse" in the Ya Ya incident is co-created by self-media and official media as: floating factual evidence, repeatedly performed legitimacy, and normalized political figures. However, there are characteristic differences in "time-space representation" and register between the two. The operation of moe discourse is premised on human participation, with the relationship between moe objects and humans essentially being "agented agency." Finally, the soft emotion manifested by moe discourse exhibits more significant network characteristics, relying on more universal human values, and more closely resembling the fulfillment of emotional needs. This can be viewed as a new, more powerful "commonality" resource in the development of cyber-nationalism. However, the operation of soft emotions in cyber-nationalism often remains in a state of "unfinished" without a directed outcome, becoming a kind of "emotional machine running idle."

Human Values in Buddhist Philosophy: A Review

The purpose of this study is to depict human values in Buddhist philosophy. This research is completed in three steps: 1. to present a brief overview on basic human values, 2. to present a brief overview on human values in Buddhist philosophy, 3. the need for human values in today’s society. Buddhist philosophy is a philosophy of human essence. This philosophy teaches people the true human values necessary to become complete human beings. That if held, human life can be shaped and inspired by true human values. And human values are the first condition for building order and just society. Human values refer to relatively stable beliefs composed of a number of attitudes. Human values are the thoughts, goals and objectives that govern and guide human behavior, practices and activities. Fairness, honesty and decency serve as the foundation of human values. Respecting elders, serving others, good manners, tolerance, fairness, honesty etc. are examples of human values. Human values accelerate the mental development of the individual. And by thus developing personality it paves the way for good governance and puts an end to social decay. A child acquires values from family, school, community, playmates, society and traditions. These rules are also the main criteria for the formation of human values. Basically the things that deserve to be human characteristics and qualities are human values. As a result of nurturing these human values, ideological, religious or sacred issues are awakened over time. Through the concept of emotional and ideological unity, human values emerge psychologically in a person, which order and improve the state, society and family. And in this world, the teaching of Buddhist philosophy has strengthened human values among mankind. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present basic human values and human values in Buddhist philosophy, the need for human values in today’s society as well. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#73-74; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2023 P 131-149

Making of Contemporary Indian Philosophy and Dilemmas of Demanded Change: A Critical Study of Swaraj in Light of Neo-Vedanta

One of the legacies of Western philosophical thought has been its evolution through movements and slogans such as modernism, postmodernism, existentialism and analyticism. These popular intellectual standpoints have contributed to making Western culture more dialogical and progressive. However, in contrast, exploration of socio-philosophical movements within the Indian philosophical tradition, except for ancient times, remains relatively uncharted territory. Acknowledging this variance, the present article investigates the evolution of contemporary Indian philosophy during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It examines the core unifying principle that bound together eminent figures such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, K. C. Bhattacharyya and numerous others of their category, all classified as Neo-Vedantists. Precisely, the philosophy or movement under scrutiny is Swaraj, illuminated through the lens of Neo-Vedanta, presenting a distinctive perspective on human values and change.

Migration scale, process, and impact in the Tiwanaku colonies: Paleomobility at the archaeological site of Omo M10.

Contemporary migrations show form and intensity of interaction between homeland and host communities to shape social dynamics and identities. We apply here a contemporary theoretical framework and biogeochemical analyses to elucidate the scale, processes, and impacts of migration in the Tiwanaku polity (6th-11th c. CE) by inferring the mobility of individuals interred at the Tiwanaku-affiliated site of Omo M10 (Moquegua Valley, Peru). For each of 124 individuals, we captured paleomobility across the life-course by analyzing up to four enamel and bone samples that formed during discrete developmental periods for radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and stable oxygen (δ18Ocarbonate(VPDB)) isotopes. At Omo M10, archaeological human enamel and bone values range from 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70632-0.72183 and δ18Ocarbonate(VPDB) = -13.4‰ to +1.7‰, with a mean of 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70763 ± 0.00164 (1σ, n = 334) and δ18O = -7.8‰ ± 1.9‰ (1σ, n = 334). Together with archaeological evidence, we interpret these data as evidence for multigenerational interaction between communities in the high-altitude Tiwanaku heartland and at the site of Omo M10. Our results suggest that one-fourth of individuals spent some part of their life outside of Moquegua and one in eight individuals from Omo M10 were first-generation migrants. Greater mobility of females and juveniles at Omo M10 indicates that gender and family were important social constructs in maintaining relationships and cultural continuity in provincial Tiwanaku life, and communities maintained autochthonous migration streams with Tiwanaku-affiliated populations throughout the south-central Andes. Intra-individual biogeochemical analyses of migration at Omo M10 contribute a nuanced perspective on the diverse experiences of multigenerational Tiwanaku colonies.

The Fiqh Paradigm in Strengthening Moderate Religiosity Through The Study of Kitab Turats in Pesantren

The purpose research is to find out the transmission of the fiqh paradigm in strengthening moderate religiosity through the study of kitab turats at Hidayatul Mubtadi'en Pekalongan Islamic Boarding School. Data were obtained through observation, interviews and documentation. This study confirms that the study of the book of Turats contains the dimensions of fiqh as a paradigm for strengthening the religiosity of its students, including the value of hifz'ird in strengthening humanist religiosity through the transformation of anti-violence values (al la unf) from the material of the book of Birrul Walidain and Tarbiyatul Walad. This value transformation can equip an ethical paradigm in upholding human values. The value of hifz ummah in strengthening pluralist diversity through the transformation of the value of tasamuh (tolerance), and i'tiraf al-'urf (friendly to culture) from the material in kitab at-Tibyan and kitab Hujjah Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah. This value transformation can equip students to have an ethical paradigm in behavior and beliefs that respect social and cultural diversity. Furthermore, the value of hifz waton in strengthening nationalist religiosity through the transformation of the value of love for the homeland (al-muwathanah) from the material of Kitab at-Tahliyah wa at-Targhib and Kitab Mukhtarul Ahadith. This value transformation can equip students to have an ethical paradigm in the form of moderate attitudes and views in maintaining the integration of state life. The findings of this study confirm that the values of maqasid sharia and tarbiyah can be integrated in the transmission of moderate religious education in Islamic education activities.

In defence of the desire for everlasting life: why secular faith cannot ground human meaning and solidarity

In this article, I argue that human meaning and value are grounded in an infinite horizon as opposed to the finite horizon of the building of a life. This infinite grounding of human meaning and value makes sense of and justifies the desire for everlasting life. I also argue that this infinite horizon can motivate an ethic of social justice better than the necessity of building a life within a finite timeframe could. In this article I take Martin Hägglund's This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom as representative of the position that meaning and value can only be made sense of in light of the horizon of death; and I draw on phenomenologist Michel Henry's concept of Life and Jean‐Luc Marion's concept of the saturated phenomenon to argue against that position. I then draw on Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and David Graeber to argue that social justice cannot be grounded in secular faith of temporal finitude but is rather best made sense of in view of an everlasting hope and a move to the infinite.

Cultural attachés: African literature, the CIA, and the hermeneutics of suspicion

Recent attempts to outline post-critical models of interpretation in literary studies have often fixated on suspicion, paranoia, or unmasking as their foils. But in the early decades of decolonization, it made sense to be paranoid: writers and artists were justified in suspecting that they were being covertly observed, funded, or promoted by para-state actors knee-deep in the Cold War battlefield of culture. Scholars have long debated whether and how covert state sponsorship for the arts matters. In postcolonial studies especially there has been a revival of interest in the CIA’s activities as a cultural patron through its proxy foundation, the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF). Recent research on the CCF has tended to concentrate on what its clandestine sponsorship means for aesthetic autonomy – the notion that the artist has or ought to have some relative autonomy from meddling outside forces, a cherished value of both modernism and mid-century humanism. Focusing on the CCF’s support for African modernism, this essay suggests that we need to look beyond autonomy as our default paradigm for assessing Cold War cultural patronage. Instead of joining the debate over what the CCF did or did not do to African literature, this essay asks: what did they even think they were doing? Drawing on research in the CCF archives, this essay argues that a better way to understand the CCF’s approach is as a practice of attachment. The aim here is to re-describe Cold War cultural patronage – and, along the way, to ask what scholars of decolonization and the Cold War might stand to learn by engaging with ongoing debates about methodology in the broader field of literary studies.

‘Ubuntu’ African Philosophy or ‘Ubuntu’ as a Philosophy for Africa

This paper tries to develop a tenable philosophical idea of Ubuntu, that is, more specifically, a crystallized and sanitized African indigenous ethical perspective. Africa as an idea seems to be a “contested” concept in this contemporary post-colonial era due to the influx of different nuances, races, values, and beliefs that are in contention. Should this be a source of worry? So far, Ubuntu theory and practice in Africa seem to have become emotive, politicized, and not inclusive enough due to grandstanding about ownership, poor conceptual and theoretical articulation, as well as antagonism from other related foreign dominant worldviews that wish to become the development paradigm for most African social and political systems. This raises relational and dialogical issues about meaning from an African viewpoint. The search for an African endogenous paradigm for development is urgent given the real consequences of a (neo)colonial tendency that has threatened and disadvantaged the development of most countries due to its dominant paradigms of alienation, exploitation, and marginalization. These values have altered or affected African behaviour and thinking. This transformation of the African personality raises issues about agency. The underlying values of a development paradigm or philosophy of development for Africa require an ethical basis for human existence in political and social order. Generally, social order in most parts of Africa is beset by the problem of a negative dominant social paradigm (DSP) or core social values of hatred, intolerance, the abuse of human rights, dehumanization, exploitation, authoritarianism, poverty, and oppression. This often leads to tension, violent conflicts, and wars. So to build a viable and stable endogenous paradigm for development in most African sociopolitical environments, we attempt to use the main pillar of interconnectedness among human beings, which is central to Ubuntu as a humane and humanistic social system, to underscore some key moral and democratic values required for human liberation and transformation. The research question is: What concrete elements or values of Ubuntu can be useful as paradigms of endogenous African development? Specifically, our findings suggest that Ubuntu ethics is defined by a set of human values central among which are reciprocity, the common good, peaceful relations, an emphasis on human dignity and the value of human life, as well as consensus, tolerance, and mutual respect. Thus, the paper argues for the possibility of utilizing Ubuntu ethical correlates as materials for establishing stable and viable development worldwide and specifically in Africa.

Research on Assessment Method for Cognitive Influence Factors of Nuclear Power Plant Operators Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Deep Learning of Electroencephalogram Signals

This study explores the factors influencing the cognitive processes of operators in digital nuclear power plants, with a focus on the correlation between these factors and electroencephalogram (EEG) features. Initially, based on expert consultations, seven factors were considered: stress, time, fatigue, procedural complexity, user interface experience, procedural clarity, and efficiency. From these, four were identified as the most crucial for each stage of the cognitive process, highlighting their significant roles in influencing cognitive performance and potentially correlating with distinct EEG characteristics. These were assessed using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) to determine the weightings of influences across the cognitive stages of monitoring, decision making, and execution. Employing a simulated scenario of a steam generator tube rupture, subjective questionnaires were utilized to gauge participant perceptions of influencer impacts at each stage, calculating human factors fuzzy synthetic values. Concurrently, EEG signals were segmented by operational steps, extracting around 114 features across the time, frequency, and time-frequency domains, which were then dimensionally reduced to 17 principal components via adaptive principal components analysis (APCA). A correlation analysis was performed between the human factors fuzzy synthetic values and the APCA-reduced EEG features of participants. Subsequently, the EEG feature columns of the eight selected participants were used as inputs to construct a transformer-based self-attention network model to evaluate the participants’ human factors fuzzy comprehensive values. The findings confirm the transformer model’s efficacy in assessing these values, evidencing a significant correlation between the EEG features and human factors fuzzy synthetic values. Integrating FAHP with machine learning methodologies, this model proficiently estimated operators’ cognitive states during various cognitive processes, significantly enhancing human-machine interface design and the operational safety and efficiency at nuclear power plants.

Leadership Agency in UN Peace Operations

ABSTRACT There is a growing interest in the role of individual mission leaders in UN peace operations in peacekeeping studies. However, the concept of ‘agency’ has remained latent in much of this literature. This omission presents a risk of concept stretching and concept ambiguity as scholars continue to explore this topic. In this paper, I analyse the different ways in which the agency of mission leaders has been (implicitly) conceptualized thus far and argue that the existing literature pays insufficient attention to how the scope for individual agency can be context-dependent. Furthermore, I contend that mission leaders are too rarely seen as real human beings, with personalities, background experiences and values. I build on sociological and principal/agent-theories to develop the concept of ‘personal identity’ and then formulate a set of conditions under which the room for individual agency in UN peace operations is enhanced or reduced. Subsequently, I demonstrate the added value of this approach by conducting an illustrative case study of Patrick Cammaert’s tenure as Commander of MONUC’s Eastern Division between 2005-2007. The article shows that investigating the interaction between structure and real-world agents leads to a more holistic and sophisticated understanding of the behaviour of peacekeeping leadership.

A new approach for risk assessment of pulmonary toxicants: a preliminary study using didecyldimethylammonium chloride.

Current human risk assessments often rely on animal toxicity data to establish point of departure (POD) values, followed by the application of uncertainty factors. Consequently, there is growing interest in alternative toxicity testing methods that reduce reliance on animal models. In this study, we propose a novel approach for inhalation toxicity risk assessment that integrates in silico and in vitro methods. Human primary alveolar epithelial cells were exposed to aerosolized didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) to assess cytotoxicity. This was followed by transcriptome analysis and biological pathway investigation, utilizing adverse outcome pathway (AOP), to calculate the POD. Additionally, human DDAC exposure was simulated using a multiple-path particle dosimetry (MPPD) model to predict exposure levels in the human alveolar region via inhalation. The results from in silico and in vitro studies were then compared, and a comprehensive risk assessment was performed. The POD for AOP 452 key events-oxidative stress, inflammation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), apoptosis, and autophagy-was found to range between 19.0 and 23.89ng/cm2, according to benchmark dose calculation tools. The estimated human exposure to DDAC in the alveolar region under actual exposure conditions was 0.164ng/cm2/day, resulting in a margin of exposure (MOE) ranging from 121 to 145, suggesting caution regarding DDAC inhalation exposure. This study presents a novel risk assessment method that compares estimated human inhalation exposure values to in vitro results, applying the human equivalent concentration concept. Our findings demonstrate the potential for conducting human risk assessments using both in silico and in vitro methods as alternatives to traditional in vivo studies.

Beyond selfishness: the interaction of income and human values in shaping Europeans’ ideology

ABSTRACT The left-right scale of political orientation plays a pivotal role in shaping individual behaviour and government policies, particularly in Western countries. Although rational choice theory suggests that individuals with lower (higher) incomes lean towards left-wing (right-wing) redistributive policies, empirical evidence has challenged this classical view. Building on social and evolutionary psychology, cognitive dissonance theory, and experimental evidence, I argue that resolving this question requires disentangling the role of different human motivations in individuals with different personal and contextual attributes, specifically economic status. Using the European Social Survey and Schwartz’s scale of human values to estimate models of individuals’ political orientation, this paper estimates the joint and interacting ideological effects of household income and human values after controlling for possible income endogeneity. The results confirm that the classical view of ideology is useful but too simplistic. The ideological bias of human values is persistent, though economic circumstances act as a moderating variable in this relationship: Human values play a weaker role in shaping political orientation for citizens of lower economic status. The article illustrates the power of interactions to define complex profiles of citizens and proposes a research agenda.

Crop rotation diversity and tillage effects on soil and wheat grain nutrient concentration in an organically-managed system

Consumer demand for high quality organic produce in Canada has in recent years contributed to the development of a more sustainable organic agriculture system that increased productivity without decreasing soil fertility. The objective of this 4-yr field study was to determine if an organic system with diversified crop rotations under reduced tillage would produce high quality spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain and improve soil fertility. A simplified rotation (SR) consisting of a forage pea (Pisum sativum L.) green manure (GM)-spring wheat sequence and a diversified rotation (DR, forage pea GM-oilseed-pulse crop-spring wheat sequence) were compared under two tillage intensities (high tillage [HT] and low tillage [LT]). The oilseed alternated between mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), and the pulse alternated between field pea and lentil (Lens culinaris L.). Generally, nutrient concentrations in wheat grain were mostly significantly higher under LT than HT and in the DR compared with the SR. In addition, tillage-rotation system influenced soil zinc, calcium, magnesium, and sodium concentrations. However, grain Cd concentration was higher in the LT treatment under the DR sequence relative to other treatments. Our results indicate that organically managed diversified crop rotations under reduced tillage can produce wheat grains with high nutritional value for humans and livestock but may not increase soil micronutrient concentrations.

Management and paradigm influence: A call for paradigm shift

This article critically examines the influence of the dominant paradigm in management, characterized by its emphasis on profit maximization and individualism, which has resulted in profound socio-economic and environmental challenges. The methodology involves an exploration of the historical evolution of management practices and an analysis of how these practices have primarily served shareholder interests while often neglecting broader impacts on employees, customers, and society. The results of this examination highlight the need for a paradigm shift that prioritizes ethical considerations, social responsibility, and sustainability in management decision-making processes. By advocating for this shift, this article encourages organizations to realign their objectives to balance financial performance with the goal of serving humanity more effectively. The conclusion emphasizes that this reorientation not only addresses contemporary management challenges but also fosters long-term sustainable success. Ultimately, this article’s significant contribution lies in its call to elevate human values in management decisions, thereby creating business models that positively impact society as a whole.

Aversion to external feedback suffices to ensure agent alignment

Ensuring artificial intelligence behaves in such a way that is aligned with human values is commonly referred to as the alignment challenge. Prior work has shown that rational agents, behaving in such a way that maximizes a utility function, will inevitably behave in such a way that is not aligned with human values, especially as their level of intelligence goes up. Prior work has also shown that there is no “one true utility function”; solutions must include a more holistic approach to alignment. This paper describes apprehensive agents: agents that are architected in such a way that their effective utility function is an aggregation of a partial utility function (built by designers, to be maximized) and an expectation of negative feedback on given states (reasoned about, to be minimized). Agents are also capable of performing a temporal reasoning process that approximates designers’ intentions in function of environment evolution (a necessary feature for severe mis-alignment to occur). We show that an apprehensive agent, behaving rationally, leverages this internal approximation of designers’ intentions to predict negative feedback, and, as a consequence, behaves in such a way that maximizes alignment, without actually receiving any external feedback. We evaluate this strategy on simulated environments that expose mis-alignment opportunities: we show that apprehensive agents are indeed better aligned than their base counterparts and, in contrast with extant techniques, chances of alignment actually improve as agent intelligence grows.

Social Values and Students Holistic Education among Selected Secondary Schools in Mbale District, Uganda

In many of the secondary schools today, much attention is put on achieving grades and numbers in the schools. There is little attention put to in the building of value-based learners and the environments that are materialistic and place a high value on the material world has taken precedence over the humanistic world. There is little emphasis on the advancement of children's ethical and spiritual growth, favoring individualism that stresses egoism, worldly success, and the pursuit of pleasure via lifestyle. This has led to the dehumanization process, in which material qualities are exalted while human values—such as moral, ethical, and religious—are diminished and abandoned. Unconsciously, educators give up on moral and spiritual principles since they are seen as antiquated, outmoded, not modern, and unsatisfactory. Instead, they are supplanted by the dominance of materialistic principles, which are ranked higher. Contrary to those views, a good and comprehensive education system creates the necessary human capital and knowledgeable workers to take our societies to greater heights. Holistic education focuses on representing core ideals for a more just world for people and other living things. It offers a means of advancing the discussion of resource distribution beyond the financial to include the philosophical significance of love in creating a more just society. It draws attention to the need for and change toward a more spiritual and holistic strategy for developing empathy and kindness. It offers forums for conversations about eschewing the competitive mindset fostering an inward journey of learning, kindness, compassion, and empathy. These days, the focus of the educational system is mostly on gaining a lot of knowledge, passing tests, and getting credentials for jobs in the future. A comprehensive education program is essential in the educational system to give students the human values and the hard and soft skills they need. This essay examines the types of values that serve as a potent stimulant for excellent teaching practices and, consequently, support learning that is holistic. It examines rationalizations and describes how values can be used to strengthen beneficial student outcomes in all 1 RODRIGUES, Zuleide Blanco. Education: A study based on the UNESCO report on the four pillars of knowledge domains of growth on all levels—intellectual, moral, social, emotional, and spiritual. The research design for the study was mixed methods, utilizing combines quantitative and qualitative methods. We as well utilized Questionnaires for collection views plus statistics from head teachers, facilitators (teachers), parents and other school stakeholders. Literature of published and unpublished works on social values and students’ holistic learning in Uganda and other countries was reviewed. In data analysis, both both numerical and qualitative data analysis methods were applied. The investigation drew upon collected superior data which focused on individual discourses regarding Students are taught moral and religious principles as part of the process of developing their character in school and how these values influenced them for social transformation into individuals with the ability to face obstacles in life with morality and direction. It was framed in the 4 foundations of learning according towards UNESCO's Knowledge: Jacques Delors in the Delors Commission Report (1966), wherein this report, Education is viewed as one of the main tools available to promote a deeper and more harmonious form of human development and, in turn, to lessen poverty, exclusion, ignorance, oppression, and war, rather than as a miraculous remedy or a magic formula that will open the door to a world in which all ideals will be realized. This lifelong education is built on the following principles: Learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be1

A behavioral signature for quantifying the social value of interpersonal relationships with specific others

The idea that individuals ascribe value to social phenomena, broadly construed, is well-established. Despite the ubiquity of this concept, defining social value in the context of interpersonal relationships remains elusive. This is notable because while prominent theories of human social behavior acknowledge the role of value-based processes, they mostly emphasize the value of individual actions an agent may choose to take in a given environment. Comparatively little is known about how humans value their interpersonal relationships. To address this, we devised a method for engineering a behavioral signature of social value in several independent samples (total N = 1111). Incorporating the concept of opportunity cost from economics and data-driven quantitative methods, we derived this signature by sourcing and weighting a range of social behaviors based on how likely individuals are to prioritize them in the face of limited resources. We examined how strongly the signature was expressed in self-reported social behaviors with specific relationship partners (a parent, close friend, and acquaintance). Social value scores track with other aspects of these relationships (e.g., relationship quality, aversion to losing relationship partners), are predictive of decision preferences on a range of tasks, and display good psychometric properties. These results provide greater mechanistic specificity in delineating human value-based behavior in social contexts and help parse the motivational relevance of the different facets that comprise interpersonal relationships.

Reflections on an Inclusive Boundary Worker

This essay is part of a Thematic Collection of Science, Technology & Human Values on the work of Adele E. Clarke (1945–2024).