Schwartz Value Survey Research Articles

Values and Personal Life Investment in Middle-Age: Measures and Relations

The present study analyzed the factor structure of Schwartz Value Survey (SVS; 46 items) and the personal life investment (PLI; 10 items) scale, as well as the mutual relations between these two measures. The 50-year-old participants (n = 217–224) were drawn from the ongoing Finnish Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personal and Social Development. For the SVS, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the 14-factor structure: achievement, tradition, stimulation, hedonism, security, conformity, power, universalism (with sub-factors of societal concern, tolerance and protecting nature), benevolence (with sub-factors of caring and dependability) and self-direction (with sub-factors of autonomy of action and autonomy of thought). Using these 14 factors, the CFA confirmed the existence of higher-order factors with both two (person-focused and social-focused dimensions) and four factors (self-transcendence, self-enhancement, conservation and openness to change). In assessing personal life investments, three factors emerged using CFA: soul-searching (items of cognition, independence, life reflection and death), basic needs (sexuality, family and work) and pleasure (health, leisure and friends). The three PLI factors and 14 SVS items related to each other in some ways. For example, soul-searching correlated statistically significantly and positively with all three of universalism’s sub-factors (societal concern, tolerance, and protecting nature). Basic needs correlated positively with achievement and benevolence (dependability). Finally, pleasure correlated positively, for example, with benevolence (caring), and hedonism.

The Title Ethnos in Kazakhstan: Psychological Aspects of Value Sphere

Results of investigation of the structure of value sphere of Kazakhstan's title ethnic group are described. Analysis of value orientations enabled us to ascertain the factor structure of value sphere of Kazakhstan's title ethnic group and to approach a better understanding of ethno psychological peculiarities of value sphere of Kazakh people in modern sociocultural conditions. Theoretical foundations of the given investigation are Schwartz's and Rokeach's conceptions of human values. Schwartz Value Survey, Rokeach Value Survey, Fantalova's method of the value orientations system diagnostics (modified by Kolmogorova, Kashirsky), modified Kuhn's The Twenty Statements Test ‘Who am I’ were used. Such set of methods was chosen both for assessment of the structure of value sphere and comparative analysis of methods according to their informative strength in the value sphere. Schwartz Value Survey proved to be a most powerful method in comparison with other methods used. Respondents were from 20 to 55 years old (N=100). The sample is gender biased (12% male, 88% female). All respondents were townspeople and office workers. Latent factors in the order of decreasing of their significance for the structure of value sphere of Kazakhstan's Title Ethnic Group may be characterized as follows. Dominant values are: competence, purposefulness, orderliness. Depressed values are: ability to maintain own opinion, national value of belonging to title ethnic group, initiative. Thus, results of factor analysis enable us to make conclusion that the structure of value sphere of Kazakhstan's title ethnic group is many-sided and includes both individual and group, social values. First, most important value orientations are showing that individual values, enabling to reach social success, success in work activities are predominating. Value orientations related to principles of ecological expediency, maintenance of traditions and equal rights, freedom are also significant. The interesting detail consists in essential representation in the structure of value sphere of value orientations showing relations with others, namely, desire to be useful, to act for others. It is possible that last, depressed values are related to newest Kazakhstan's history of soviet period when possibilities of following national system of values were not encouraged, on the contrary, they were restricted and some actions were prohibited. From our point of view, this circumstance must be taken into account by decision makers forming the system of national values.

Confrontando estruturas de valores: um estudo comparativo entre PVQ-40 e PVQ-21

Esforcos tem sido realizados para desenvolver escalas de mensuracao capazes de traduzir o constructo e a estrutura de valores. Entre as existentes estao as escalas SVS - Schwartz Value Survey e o Portrait Values Questionnaire com 40 e 21 itens (respectivamente PVQ-40 e PVQ-21). As duas formas desse ultimo questionario apresentam aplicabilidade mais ampla, por possuirem uma menor quantidade de itens e terem os itens redigidos de forma menos abstrata do que a SVS. Nao foram encontrados, no entanto, estudos que comparem as duas escalas quanto a estrutura de valores obtida a partir de sua aplicacao, objetivo a que este estudo se propos a alcancar. A pesquisa foi realizada com uma amostra de 217 estudantes universitarios, aos quais foram aplicadas as escalas PVQ-40 e PVQ-21, em dois momentos distintos. Os dados foram tratados mediante Analise de Escalonamento Multidimensional Confirmatoria Fraca. Os resultados indicaram que ambas as escalas sao equivalentes quanto a estrutura de valores bidimensional e bipolar, porem foram encontradas divergencias entre ambas quanto a distribuicao no espaco dos valores dos tipos Estimulacao, Autodeterminacao, Poder e Realizacao.

What Kinds of Value Motives Guide People in Their Moral Attitudes? The Role of Personal and Prescriptive Values at the Culture Level and Individual Level

Opinions about moralized issues are arguably one of the most difficult issues in interpersonal dialogues given that they can result in intolerance and prejudicial behavior toward those with divergent moral beliefs. Recent research has shown that moral attitudes vary not only depending on the individual’s characteristics but also as a function of culture. Individuals from individualistic-oriented cultures exhibit more lenient judgments toward moralized issues than those from collectivistic-oriented cultures. What is unclear to date is what kinds of cultural value motives underlie these attitudes—Are they driven only by intrinsic value motives (personal values) or also by extrinsic value motives (prescriptive values in the form of societal expectations about what should be valued)? The cultural press to conform is arguably stronger if moral attitudes are predicted by the latter. Participants from eight countries ( N = 1,456) responded to a questionnaire containing a modified version of the Schwartz Value Survey assessing personal and prescriptive values. The results showed that personal value ratings of openness-to-change versus conservation at the culture and individual levels were predictive of individuals’ moral attitudes consistent with previous findings. Prescriptive value ratings of openness-to-change versus conservation also predicted individuals’ moral attitudes, but only at the aggregated culture level. This suggests that the prescriptive values concept is a truly group-level phenomenon and that attitudes toward moralized issues are guided by cultural values with normative qualities. We discuss the implications for intercultural contact situations.

Value Preferences of University Students as Predictors of Life Goals

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between value preferences and life goals, and find out to what extent values preferences predict life goals. The study consisted of 273 university students. A Schwartz Value Survey was conducted to determine the value preferences of the participants, and a Life Goals Scale was used to measure their purposes in life. Multi Regression Analysis was used to determine the predictive power of value preferences regarding life goals. According to the regression coefficients (β), values of safety, benevolence and conformity positively predict intrinsic life goals. However, only values of power and hedonism positively predict extrinsic life goals. It was found that values of safety, benevolence and conformity positively predict intrinsic life goals at a significant level. Similarly, values of power and hedonism positively predict extrinsic life goals at a significant level.

Values, attitudes, and frequency of meat consumption. Predicting meat-reduced diet in Australians

Reduced consumption of meat, particularly red meat, is associated with numerous health benefits. While past research has examined demographic and cognitive correlates of meat-related diet identity and meat consumption behaviour, the predictive influence of personal values on meat-consumption attitudes and behaviour, as well as gender differences therein, has not been explicitly examined, nor has past research focusing on ‘meat’ generally addressed ‘white meat’ and ‘fish/seafood’ as distinct categories of interest. Two hundred and two Australians (59.9% female, 39.1% male, 1% unknown), aged 18 to 91 years (M = 31.42, SD = 16.18), completed an online questionnaire including the Schwartz Values Survey, and measures of diet identity, attitude towards reduced consumption of each of red meat, white meat, and fish/seafood, as well as self-reported estimates of frequency of consumption of each meat type. Results showed that higher valuing of Universalism predicted more positive attitudes towards reducing, and less frequent consumption of, each of red meat, white meat, and fish/seafood, while higher Power predicted less positive attitudes towards reducing, and more frequent consumption of, these meats. Higher Security predicted less positive attitudes towards reducing, and more frequent consumption, of white meat and fish/seafood, while Conformity produced this latter effect for fish/seafood only. Despite men valuing Power more highly than women, women valuing Universalism more highly than men, and men eating red meat more frequently than women, gender was not a significant moderator of the value–attitude–behaviour mediations described, suggesting that gender's effects on meat consumption may not be robust once entered into a multivariate model of MRD attitudes and behaviour. Results support past findings associating Universalism, Power, and Security values with meat-eating preferences, and extend these findings by articulating how these values relate specifically to different types of meat.

Convergence and divergence of individual-level values: A study of Malaysian managers

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with Malay, Chinese and Indian being the dominant ethnic groups. This paper investigates the three ethnic cultures in Malaysia by examining the individual-level values of managers and professionals. Based on 528 responses to a Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) questionnaire, the paper identifies partial convergence of the value systems of Malay, Chinese and Indian people. It was found that the three ethnic groups do not differ significantly in the individualistic value dimensions of Self-enhancement and Openness-to-change. However, Malays are found to be more conservative and less self-transcendent than Chinese or Indians, while Chinese and Indians attribute the same importance to these two sets of values.

Does the Working Environment Influence Health Care Professionals' Values, Meaning in Life and Religiousness? Palliative Care Units Compared With Maternity Wards

ContextIncreased altruism, self-transcendence, and quests for meaning in life (MiL) have been found in palliative care (PC) patients and their families who experience the finiteness of life. Similar changes were observed in healthy subjects who were experimentally confronted with their mortality. ObjectivesThe study investigated how daily experiences of the transitoriness of life influence PC health care professionals' (HCPs) values, MiL, and religiousness. MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, the Schwartz Value Survey, the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation, and the Idler Index of Religiosity were used to investigate personal values, MiL, and private religiousness. HCPs working in PC (confronted with death) were compared with a control group of HCPs working at maternity wards (MWs) using multivariate models. Differences were considered to be statistically significant at P < 0.05. ResultsSeventy PC- and 70 MW-HCPs took part in the study (response rate 74.0%). No differences between the groups were found in overall MiL satisfaction scores. PC-HCPs were significantly more religious than MW-HCPs; they listed spirituality and nature experience more often as areas in which they experience MiL. Furthermore, hedonism was more important for PC-HCPs, and they had higher scores in openness-to-change values (stimulation and self-direction). MW-HCPs were more likely to list family as a MiL area. They assigned more importance to health and scored higher in conservation values (conformity and security). Duration of professional experience did not influence these results. ConclusionBasic differences in values, MiL, and religiousness between PC-HCPs and MW-HCPs might have influenced the choice of working environment because no effect of job duration was observed. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Cultural Diversity and Saccade Similarities: Culture Does Not Explain Saccade Latency Differences between Chinese and Caucasian Participants

A central claim of cultural neuroscience is that the culture to which an individual belongs plays a key role in shaping basic cognitive processes and behaviours, including eye movement behaviour. We previously reported a robust difference in saccade behaviour between Chinese and Caucasian participants; Chinese participants are much more likely to execute low latency express saccades, in circumstances in which these are normally discouraged. To assess the extent to which this is the product of culture we compared a group of 70 Chinese overseas students (whose primary cultural exposure was that of mainland China), a group of 45 participants whose parents were Chinese but who themselves were brought up in the UK (whose primary cultural exposure was western European) and a group of 70 Caucasian participants. Results from the Schwartz Value Survey confirmed that the UK-Chinese group were culturally similar to the Caucasian group. However, their patterns of saccade latency were identical to the mainland Chinese group, and different to the Caucasian group. We conclude that at least for the relatively simple reflexive saccade behaviour we have investigated, culture cannot explain the observed differences in behaviour.

Culture and Entrepreneurship: The Case of Latin America

The aim of this paper is to contribute to an increased knowledge of the cultural values and the entrepreneurial activity that are present in countries with different levels of development. Within the group of developing countries, we focus our analysis on the case of Latin America.The study uses data from the Schwartz value survey (svs) to measure cultural values, and Global entrepreneurship monitor (Gem) for information regarding entrepreneurship. The results show that cultural variables, together with the rate of entrepreneurial activity, clearly distinguish developing countries from developed ones. Higher entrepreneurial activity is found in countries with lower levels of development; however, the cultural value dimensions of autonomy and egalitarianism are associated with higher development levels. In the specific case of Latin America, the results reveal the existence of two groups of countries. Firstly, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela have higher rates of entrepreneurship and, at the same time, a greater prevalence of some cultural values (notably embeddedness, but also Hierarchy). In contrast, another group of countries in the region—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico—is characterized by the presence of opposing cultural values (autonomy and egalitarianism), more in line with those corresponding to developed countries.The paper concludes with a discussion of the results, including some interesting implications, from both academic and policy perspectives. In the case of Latin America, a certain combination of cultural values (embeddedness and egalitarianism) may be leading to higher start-up rates. Thus, promoting these values could contribute to entrepreneurship and economic development.

A New Socio‐economic Order: Evidence About Employees' Values' Influence on Corporate Social Responsibility

Realization of a socio‐economic order depends crucially on human values, including employees' personal values. The main purpose of this article is a requisitely holistic examination of the influence of employees' personal values on their attitudes towards economic, environmental and social aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Schwartz values survey questionnaire was used to measure employees' personal values and 25 statements referring to economic, environmental and social aspects of CSR. Results reveal that personal values most strongly influence employees' orientation regarding economic results, whereas the impact on their attitudes towards environmental and social concern is weaker. From all sub‐dimensions of values, only universalism values influence all three aspects of CSR, whereas five sub‐dimensions, also having significant impact, influence either one or both the other two aspects of CSR. Results help managers reflect upon the preferred patterns for development of enterprise employees' behaviors related with CSR. The sample includes 909 employees' responses from Slovenian enterprises, obtained in 2010 and 2011. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

National culture, entrepreneurship and economic development: different patterns across the European Union

The aim of this paper is double. Firstly, it contributes to identifying the specific role of national culture as a variable that helps explain the level of economic development and reinforces the effect of entrepreneurship on the income level. Secondly, a deeper understanding of these relations in the case of the European Union is sought. In this study, data from two different sources have been used. The Schwartz Value Survey measures seven cultural orientations that are then grouped into three bipolar dimensions (embeddedness vs. autonomy, hierarchy vs. egalitarianism and mastery vs. harmony). The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor provides information regarding entrepreneurial activity. Using linear regression analysis, cultural and entrepreneurial variables are able to classify countries according to their development level, explaining over 60 % of the variance in Gross Domestic Product per capita. The role of culture is complex, with geographical elements being significantly relevant. In the case of Europe, some common elements conform what could be called “a European culture”: autonomy and egalitarianism clearly predominate over embeddedness and hierarchy, while harmony tends to prevail over mastery. Nevertheless, four well-defined groups of countries within the European Union emerge. Central and Northern Europe is closer to this European stereotypical culture, while English-speaking countries, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean area exhibit their own differentiating elements each. These differences also exist with regard to entrepreneurial activity (overall Total Entrepreneurial Activity, necessity and opportunity-driven activity). Each of the four regional entrepreneurial cultures is characterized by a different entrepreneurial dynamics that may be plausibly explained by culture and income.

North and South Latin America

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the national cultural clusters myth, studying the relationships between individual cultural values and preferred leader behaviour of working businesspeople in “Latin American” samples from Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The set of research questions to be addressed are: Are the rankings of value dimensions by businesspeople different between “Latin American” Chile and Mexico? Are the rankings of preferred leader behaviour dimensions different between Chile and Mexico? Are the predictive relationships of leader behaviour preferences by value dimension priorities different between Chile and Mexico?Design/methodology/approachIn an investigation of the relationships amongst preferred leader behaviour and individual value dimensions, the study employs field survey research using two experimental but well established and documented instruments, the Schwartz Values Survey and the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire. Comparisons between results from two samples from Chile and Mexico are carried out.FindingsTwo samples from large cities in Latin America, Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico, are compared using preferred leader behaviour dimensions and individual values and their relationship to one another. Significant sample and gender sub‐sample differences were observed for preferred leader behaviour, indicating that the perception of preferred leader behaviour priorities differed between businesspeople in Santiago and Guadalajara. Results indicate a general preference in both samples for a Parental Leader style, nurturing in Chile and stern in Mexico, and managerial leaders should be a source of enjoyment and pleasure in business; indications are that engaging in business is an enjoyable endeavour. Gender (sex) differences were observed between samples for preferred leader behaviour. Due to several demographic differences in job level and age in the samples, further work is required to verify the differences observed.Research limitations/implicationsSamples are from two cities, Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico, with an obvious requirement for studying additional regions in the country. Interpreting the findings is challenging and needs to be clarified though further focus group studies to assist in interpreting similarities and differences.Practical implicationsPractical applications of the outcomes of the study are that the results can be used to inform managerial leadership training and development and practice for expatriate and local managerial leaders working in the two cities.Social implicationsThe authors’ literature review and data analyses have some social implications as they found contradictory and misleading discussions of the relative placement of Mexico, Chile, and other countries in South, Central, and North America using cultural value dimension studies that need to be rationalised in further research.Originality/valueThe study is of value to practitioners and researchers interested in managerial leadership in Latin American countries.

Brief report: Early adolescents' value development at war time

Values are considered relatively stable individual characteristics, and there is little research to date on the conditions that underlie value-priorities change. This small-scale short-term longitudinal study tested whether a major life event of war changes the priority that early adolescents assign to values. Thirty-nine Israeli adolescents completed the Schwartz Values Survey on four occasions—at the beginning, middle, and end of the 2006 Israeli–Lebanese war during which their hometown was bombed. As hypothesized, anxiety-based values of tradition, power, and security increased in importance, while conformity values decreased in importance. Anxiety-free values of benevolence, universalism, self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism decreased in importance. Achievement values decreased and then increased in importance. Despite methodological limitations, the findings demonstrate that value development, at least during early adolescence, can take place rather quickly under circumstances of major traumatic events such as war.

How and when do personal values guide our attitudes and sociality? Explaining cross-cultural variability in attitude–value linkages.

This article examines how and when personal values relate to social attitudes. Considering values as motivational orientations, we propose an attitude-value taxonomy based on Moral Foundation Theory (Haidt & Joseph, 2007) and Schwartz's (1992) basic human values theory allowing predictions of (a) how social attitudes are related to personal values, and (b) when macro-contextual factors have an impact on attitude-value links. In a meta-analysis based on the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992) and the Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al., 2001; k = 91, N = 30,357 from 31 countries), we found that self-transcendence (vs. self-enhancement) values relate positively to fairness/proenvironmental and care/prosocial attitudes, and conservation (vs. openness-to-change) values relate to purity/religious and authority/political attitudes, whereas ingroup/identity attitudes are not consistently associated with value dimensions. Additionally, we hypothesize that the ecological, economic, and cultural context moderates the extent to which values guide social attitudes. Results of the multi-level meta-analysis show that ecological and cultural factors inhibit or foster attitude-value associations: Disease stress is associated with lower attitude-value associations for conservation (vs. openness-to-change) values; collectivism is associated with stronger attitude-value links for conservation values; individualism is associated with stronger attitude-value links for self-transcendence (vs. self-enhancement) values; and uncertainty avoidance is associated with stronger attitude-values links, particularly for conservation values. These findings challenge universalistic claims about context-independent attitude-value relations and contribute to refined future value and social attitude theories.

Innovativeness of IT Managers - Exploring Influences of Personal Values on IT Managers’ Innovativeness

Our research aims to establish the influence of IT managers’ personal values on their innovativeness. We examine the directions and intensities of considered influences related with the survey which included 208 IT managers’ responses from Slovenian enterprises, obtained in 2012. Schwartz values survey questionnaire was used for measuring IT managers’ personal values and typical behavior of managers in most innovative IT enterprises was used for measuring IT managers’ attitudes toward innovativeness. Exploratory factor analysis reveals proposed measure as reliable. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the selected influence. Findings from hierarchical regression analysis reveal that the values on the level of high-order dimension of self-transcendence have positive association with typical innovative behavior. Values’ sub- dimension of power has negative association with typical innovative behavior, while achievement has positive association with innovative behavior. High importance of ambition, success, freedom, and helpfulness has a positive association with typical innovative behavior, while a high importance of wealth, detachment, and accepting ‘my portion’ in life, has a negative association with typical innovative behavior.

A Validation Study of a Russian Version of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) Using Cognitive Interviewing

The aim of this study is to validate a Russian version of the Schwartz Value Survey using cognitive interviewing. This paper aims to explore the issue of whether respondents interpret the values proposed in the survey in the way intended by the author. An analysis of the results reveals problems with understanding the wording, which are due both to subtle differences in translation and the cultural context. The findings of the qualitative analysis allow for a better understanding of the quantitative data. A number of recommendations are given to the researchers applying this Russian-language SVS.

Exploring relationship between value- and life-orientation and job satisfaction

Purpose/objective: The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between value- and life-orientation and job satisfaction, as well as determining the influence of gender, age and cultural group within the selected South African organisational context. Problem investigated: The success of a diverse organisation in a complex globalised world is largely dependent on the values of managers, their life-orientation and their level of job satisfaction. Managers and employees, in a multicultural and diverse South African organisational context, need to be aware of and manage their similarities and differences in these aspects to contribute to overall organisational success. Design and/or research methodology and/or approach: In this exploratory research, use is made of a quantitative perspective in the positivist research paradigm. Value-orientations of managers (N = 30) at a selected parastatal organisation in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa were measured by making use of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) (Schwartz, 1992,1994); life-orientation, also referred to as Sense of Coherence (SOC), was assessed by using Antonovsky's (1997) Life Orientation Questionnaire as well as job satisfaction (JS) using Smith, Kendall and Hulin's (1969)'s Job Descriptive Index. Data were analysed using the R statistical software package (R Development Core Team, 2010). Each of the three research instruments (SVS, SOC &amp; JS) considered in this study were used to calculate descriptive statistics and univariate statistical methodologies were used to test the various hypotheses. Findings and/or implementations: In terms of value-orientation, the value of benevolence (preservation and enhancement of the welfare of others) was scored the highest by the managers, and a significant difference was found in the average value scale score of stimulation (excitement, novelty, and challenge in life) and age. The findings with regard to life-orientation indicated that manageability and comprehensibility were more important to managers than meaningfulness. A significant difference was found between meaningfulness and gender. In terms of cultural groups, significant differences between the average African and Indian and White and Indian meaningfulness scale scores were found. With regard to job satisfaction, there was generally a highly satisfied response to co-workers and a moderate satisfaction with work and supervisors. However, respondents were dissatisfied with pay and promotion. Additionally, significant relationships were found between some of the life- and value-orientation scales; the value-orientation and job satisfaction scales; and life-values and job satisfaction scales. Originality and/or value of research: This paper is based on original research and contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between value- and life-orientation and job satisfaction in a South African organisational context, as well as contributing towards empirical evidence of such relationships. Even though there seems to be a theoretical relationship between value and life-orientation, no empirical evidence to support this assertion has been found, highlighting the importance of this exploratory research. It has also been found that value-orientation is related to job satisfaction, and that life-orientation is related to job satisfaction. However, the theoretical link between life-orientation and job satisfaction has received relatively little research attention in South Africa, and empirical evidence to support this within a South African perspective is required. The findings of this exploratory research will also be of value to the selected organisation, and will provide information that can be used to develop intervention strategies. Conclusion: Managers in this parastatal highly value socially orientated values, indicating a strong in-group, mutual support and a concern for society, reflecting the vision and nature of the organisation. Referring to life-orientation, a stronger sense of meaningfulness could positively influence organisational meaning and managerial satisfaction. Greater job satisfaction could increase the value of life-orientation for managers. In terms of the relationship between value- and life-orientation, negative and positive linear relationships were found. Negative linear relationships were found between value-orientation and job satisfaction, while a positive linear relationship was found between life-orientation and job satisfaction.

An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values

This article presents an overview of the Schwartz theory of basic human values. It discusses the nature of values and spells out the features that are common to all values and what distinguishes one value from another. The theory identifies ten basic personal values that are recognized across cultures and explains where they come from. At the heart of the theory is the idea that values form a circular structure that reflects the motivations each value expresses. This circular structure, that captures the conflicts and compatibility among the ten values is apparently culturally universal. The article elucidates the psychological principles that give rise to it. Next, it presents the two major methods developed to measure the basic values, the Schwartz Value Survey and the Portrait Values Questionnaire. Findings from 82 countries, based on these and other methods, provide evidence for the validity of the theory across cultures. The findings reveal substantial differences in the value priorities of individuals. Surprisingly, however, the average value priorities of most societal groups exhibit a similar hierarchical order whose existence the article explains. The last section of the article clarifies how values differ from other concepts used to explain behavior—attitudes, beliefs, norms, and traits.

Measuring Mainstream US Cultural Values

To determine and describe ‘mainstream US culture’ responses to the Schwartz Values Survey version 57 were collected and analyzed amongst two samples, one from 49 states, disregarding state of residence, and another from 27 US states comparing samples by state, with the 27-state populations representing about 82 % of the total US population. Statistical comparisons indicate that the responses of the samples categorised by the total US and state of residence samples and Schwartz’ ten individual cultural values show a cohesive mainstream US culture of the White, generally middle class population, having high motivational value priorities for self-direction, universalism and benevolence, with lowest priorities for power and achievement. We found significant value priority differences between urban and rural residents, but minimal differences relating to gender.