Values

Values are abstract principles that guide what people consider desirable and shape judgments, choices, and behavior. They function as normative standards across individuals, cultures, and organizations, influencing priorities and how people evaluate situations even when rules are not explicit.

Theories differ in categorization. Rokeach distinguished terminal values—end states such as happiness, freedom, and equality—from instrumental values—m favorable modes of conduct such as honesty and responsibility. Schwartz proposed a set of 10 basic values—self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence, universalism—arranged in higher-order axes such as openness to change versus conservation and self-enhancement versus self-transcendence. These frameworks help researchers compare values across cultures.

Values are learned through family, education, religion, peers, media, and work environments, and can shift with life experiences, cross-cultural exposure, or social change. Conflicts arise when incompatible values compete, requiring prioritization in decision making.

Researchers measure values using surveys and qualitative methods; examples include the Rokeach Value Survey and Schwartz's Value Survey. Limitations include cultural bias, social desirability, and the difficulty of capturing dynamic, context-dependent beliefs in static instruments.

Values influence decision making, ethics, and public policy, and shape organizational culture and consumer behavior. Alignment between stated values and practices affects legitimacy, morale, and trust within groups and institutions.

Value judgments are contested and context-dependent; debates about universality versus relativism highlight the cultural embeddedness of values.