Motivation and emotion/Book/2020/Theory of basic human values

Theory of basic human values:
What is the theory of basic human values and how can it be applied?

Overview

Shalom Schwartz, the scientific supervisor of the International Laboratory of Socio-Cultural Research, conducting a course 'Using Basic Human Values ​​to Understand Individual Behaviour' for Masters students in 2011. (Link)

The Theory of Basic Human Values, developed by Shalom H. Schwartz, attempts to measure universal values that are held by individuals and found throughout all major societies and cultures. It is a leading theory of intercultural sociology and psychology as it outlines the nature of values and differentiates between different values, detailing which features are common to all values and what distinguishes one value from another.

The Theory of Basic Human Values notes three requirements of human existence, and aims to identify and categorise a core set of basic human values and motivations inherent in them:

1. needs of individuals as biological organisms
2. requisites of coordinated social interaction
3. survival and welfare needs of groups.

The theory defines values as 'individual concepts about a trans-situational goal that express an interest included in a motivational domain valued by the range of importance and that act as a guiding principle in the life of persons.'. The theory states that values are organised into a logical system that underlies and explains individual decision-making, attitudes, and behaviour. This structure arises from the social and psychological conflict or congruity between values that people experience when they make everyday decisions. There are substantial differences in the value priorities of individuals. The theory identifies individuals' value priorities, and the relative importance of their different values. Schwartz posits that the motivations that affect behaviour and attitude is the trade-off between relevant values, not the importance of any one single value.

Introduction:

Have you ever wondered the underlying reasons for why you are motivated to do a certain thing? Is there an innate drive which compels you into action, or are you just adapting to the social infrastructure as an instinct for human survival? Consider a time when there was something you were passionate about attaining which enraptured all your attention, how would you describe it in words, would you be able to explain why you felt that way?

Overview of Motivation & Emotion:

Motivation:

Motivation is an internal drive which compels you to attain a desired outcome which sparks and maintains a consistent action to be classified as a behaviour. It is often driven by the instinctual needs (hunger, sex, thirst), or something which leverages the power attained by one through social approval. It is a force which pushes people into finding solutions to problems, juggle customs and be able to overcome barriers. It is divided into two separate categories, intrinsic emotion, whereby you do something for your own personal satisfaction, or extrinsic motivation, where you engage in activity for benefit from external sources as in reward or for safety.

Emotion:

Emotion is a subjective response following affect determining how you feel and react to stimuli to satisfy internal moral framework. It can be defined in two categories, Primary emotions, such as those universally experienced such as happiness, sadness, anger, shock, and disgust, and secondary emotions, which are complex emotions deduced from the primary emotions into different froms of expression such as jealousy or frustration.

Relationship between motivation and emotion:

Both motivation and emotion have roles in activation and degree of intensity of human behaviour. Each stem from the same word in Latin “movere” which translates “to move,” highlighting a relation into how they may be applied to people. Additionally, each can be used to complement each other and create a positive feedback loop as far as applied to a positive framework.  

Schwartz's Theory

Schwartz theory of basic human values delves into the an inherent “spirit” which is manifested in all individuals which aims to explain individual drives and how instincts combine with rationality to achieve an ideal future. The values form the groundwork for motivation and emotion by providing a target to strive for and outlines a framework by which values may be compatible or in conflict with each other.

Motivation:

According to Schwartz, values are inherent to all individuals, independent of culture, as they rationalise and put into perspective how to attain lasting satisfaction with core needs for survival. Each of the ten values proposed serve to outline goals subjective to the individual, but which is universal across all people. The circular structure is used to demonstrate which values hramonise well and which stand in opposition, and how individuals evaluate and make room for compromise when decision-making.

Emotion:

Values propose the reason for why affect draws upon the general emotions it does, as they serve to protect what the individual holds in esteem. People may react with anger if a goal they are striving for is compromised as it creates instability and dissatisfaction in the moral framework behind the person, or potentially react with happiness and delight when a situation lives in harmony to the individual’s goals. Tension and compatiblity between values constantly generates emotional reaction and distress in the individual if a solution cannot be deduced, leading to a depressed and frustrated frame of mind which could cause larger implications if not properly managed, but if a resolve or new insight is found can extend well onto organisations in generated promising moral principles.

The ten universal value types and their circular structure, explaining how values are motivational goals that guide behaviour and emotions. It should detail how activating values influences decision-making and feelings, how competing values create internal conflicts, and how individual value priorities can be measured to understand motivation and improve emotional well-being by aligning actions with values.   

Universal Values as Defined by Schwartz

The Ten Values

Schwartz proposed his theory of basic human values to outline and explain underlying forces which drive motivation across all individuals independent of culture (See Table 1).

Table 1: Values as defined by Shalom. H Schwartz

Power	Such is when individuals strive to achieve a level of social status and ability to influence others
Achievement	When individuals strive to achieve success to demonstrate ability for autonomical or tribal values.
Hedonism	This refers to the primal drive to achieve pleasure and satisfy sensual elements which make up our nature.
Stimulation	This refers to one’s desire for novel experience and engagement of expression in relation to life
Self-Direction	This refers to ability for independent thought, feeling, and action as potential to express autonomic impulses.
Universalism	This refers to consideration of the welfare for all human beings in alignment to achieve and harmonise with a common meaning.
Benevolence	This refers to being able to satisfy the emotional needs of which one’s ingroup identifies with.
Tradition	Tradition is upholding the customs and habits of which a society is built up on and remaining in alignment to deep rotoed cultural values.
Conformity	Conformity refers to one’s ability for self-restraint of impulses destructive to the well-being of customs and habits which the social order upholds.
Security	Refers to innate need for self-preservation and preservation of others and to live around a framework which provides safety and stability.

Value Circumplex

Schwartz values are arranged in a circular framework which demonstrates values of which are adjacent to one another and complement each other into realisation, and values which stand on opposition and compete against each other. The structure of Schwartz values are organised into two domains Self-Transcendence, which involves benevolence and universalism, and Openness to change which includes stimulation and self-direction operating on one side of the continuum, and Self-Enhancement, which involves power and achievement, and Conservation, which involves tradition and conformity operating on the other. (Schwartz, 2022)

Four Higher-Order Values

Figure 1. Proposed circular motivational continuum of 19 values with sources that underlie their order.

Openness to Change:

Openness to change refers to values like self-direction and stimulation. This involves one’s innate desire to live freely and for unique self-expression in one’s own framework for life’s meaning.

Self-Transcendence:

Self-Transcendence involves benevolence and universalism, which aims to apply meaning to beyond the self and onto others and finding unification in cultural ethics.

Self-Enhancement:

Self-Enhancement prioritises achievement and power. This involves developing on the self and one’s ability to exert control and achieve success in one’s personal desires, even at the expense of others.

Conservation:

Conservation refers to values such as tradition and conformity. This higher order value finds its root in maintaining stability and safety for the self and of others in dimensions such as those which satisfy innate need to be protected, and with the outer need which identifies the group and customs which shape it as an extension of the self. (Lechner, et al., 2024).

Values and Motivations

Values and Guiding Principles:

Values serve as goals manifested in an individual serving as a universal compass, which motivates one to thought and behaviour to satisfy the drive propelling one into action. Universal validation of the values further enhances one’s personal satisfaction (Levonthi & Bardi, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02736. Values are conceptualised in a system which transcends situational contexts to be realised when a goal is in unification with the emotions one strives to harmonise with (Liu, et al., 2023) https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1093072.

Motivational Dynamics:

Values can work in unison when a common ideal is shared amongst the desire and little to no compromise is made, or with room to yield greater results, however some values may be in conflict with each other where sacrifice or compromise equally affords tension and dissatisfaction with driving ideals (Besika, 2022) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12131. For instance, values in the four higher order values such as Self-Transcendence and Openness to Change harmonise well together because there is little room for sacrifice and can produce more idealistic results, however these higher-order values stand in conflict with Self-Enhancement and Conservation, as the philosophies for these values can visualise ideals which contradict with the former mentioned or are difficult to navigate around. (Gimenez, et al., 2019) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01797

Correlations between values

Values that are next to each other are considered to be most similar. Values that are located close to each other share motivational goals, and are conceptually and functionally similar. It is likely the behaviours that result from these values are complementary or related. Conversely, values that are opposite each other on the continuum are conflicting.

Value priorities

Although the nature of values and their structure is universal across many cultures, individuals and groups have different value priorities or hierarchies. Each individual and group differ from one another in the relative importance they attribute to each of the values.

The theory states that what affects behaviour and attitude is a 'trade-off' between conflicting values, not the importance of any one value on its own. For example, two people rate the importance of tradition as '4'. Despite these two people giving tradition the same rating, tradition has higher priority for the person who rated all other values lower than for person who rated all other values higher.

Values are organised into two motivational dimensions ('openness to change versus conservation' and 'self-enhancement versus self-transcendence'). Schwartz's theory that behaviours that satisfy an emotional goal are likely to do so at the expense of the opposing value. For example, to engage in self-serving behaviour is likely to hinder pro-social motivational goals, and vice versa.

Schwartz has tested his theory in multiple countries, which have supported the theory of universal organisation of values along the motivational continuums.

Measurement concerns

Schwartz has stated that the boundaries between the basic values are arbitrary, and the values can actually be split up in a variety of ways.

Previous iterations of the theory did not have clear boundaries between values, which meant that there was a high level of cross-factor loading, making it difficult to identify which value affected particular behaviours . The current refined theory attempts to reduce or eliminate this issue by increasing the number of values and more specifically defining each value. By having more and defined values, correlations between the values can be more precisely measured, reducing the cross-factor loading, and making it easier to identify which values can be attributed to certain behaviours.

Methods of measurement

There are two primary models which have been developed to measure basic values.

Schwartz Value Survey

The Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) asks participants to conduct a self-assessment against values. The survey is made up of a series of Likert-scale questions where participants are asked to rate the importance of either a noun or adjective on a 9 point scale between -1 (opposed to my values) to 7 (of supreme importance). A rating of 0 means that the value is not at all important.

Test yourself!

You can download a copy of the SVS and scoring key here: Critical Synthesis Package: Schwartz Value Survey (SVS)

Portrait Values Questionnaire

The Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) is an alternative to the SVS. It was created mainly for children between 11 and 14 years of age, however can also be applicable to adults. In contrast to the SVS, the PVQ asked participants to compare themselves to short 'verbal portraits' of different people, stating how similar they are to the example person on a scale of 'very much like me' to 'not like me at all'. This differs from the SVS as the participants are asked to state how they act and behave, rather than what values they report to be important.

How do our values affect our behaviour?

Figure 2. The value-attitude-behaviour hierarchy

Predicting behaviour based on values

Schwartz has stated that in order to accurately predict a behaviour, consideration must be given to the importance of the values that the behaviour will harm, as well as those it will promote, and the probability of a behaviour depends on the relative priority that the individual gives to the relevant, competing values.

Following the development of Schwartz’s value theory and its method of measuring personal values, correlational and causal dependency of attitudes on personal values has been demonstrated in studies of various attitudes. In a paper from 2005, Schwartz stated that 'Among the behaviours studied are use of alcohol, condoms and drugs, delinquency, shoplifting, competition, hunting, various environmental and consumer behaviours, moral, religious and sexual behaviour, autocratic, independent and dependent behaviour, choice of university major, occupation and medical specialty, participation in sports, social contact with out-groups, and numerous voting studies'.

The value–attitude–behaviour model states that values influence behaviour indirectly through attitudes. For example, Homer and Kahle (1988) determined that values predicted attitudes toward natural foods, which in turn affected shopping preferences. Feather (1995) conducted a study where participants were presented with scenario which described hypothetical situations with two alternative behavioural choices. These choices were designed to represent different values. Feather found that values were correlated to behavioural choices.

Individual differences in values have been shown to map to motivationally similar behaviours across the value continuum, using both self-report and peer-reported measures of behaviour. There is a consistent relationship between values and behavioural dispositions with regard to personality.

Applications

Among attitudinal variables that have been related to value priorities are job satisfaction, organisational commitment, trust in institutions, attitudes toward ethical dilemmas, toward the environment, sexism, religion, and identification with one’s nation or group.

Staff development

Understanding the different values and underlying defining goals of staff can also help organisations to motivate staff and create appropriate and accommodating organisational structure. Understanding staff values and behaviour patterns can assist management to foster an environment of motivation and good morale in the workplace. An important element of effective management is to understand staff attitudes, personalities and behaviours.

Economics

The theory has also been applied to economics research, particularly the implications for economic growth. Studies show that differences in cultural attitudes plays a significant role in the success of entrepreneurial efforts across countries, despite having similar labour, natural resources and government structure. A study in 2014 found that cultural attitudes accounted for 60 per cent of the difference in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) variance per capita in countries within the European Union (EU).

Cybersecurity, international relations and cyber regulation

As the world becomes more reliant on technology, understanding individual's attitudes to risk in cyberspace is very important. The potential effects of irresponsible technology use can be catastrophic to personal information, business and government, and has the capacity to harm a large population.

A study in 2019 posited that 'values lie at the core of the human risk‐taking behaviour in the digital space, which, in turn has a direct impact on the way in which digital domain is regulated', which has an effect on most of the world's population. Determining individual's values and associated behaviours can aid law enforcement and cyber regulators to monitor online use and prevent crimes.

Advertising

Values can influence reaction to advertising and is one of the powerful explanations for consumer behaviour. Where people have a choice, we tend to choose the option that aligns most with our own values. Understanding individual and cultural values can be invaluable to advertising and marketing firms. Being aware of one's own values can also allow us to be more conscious of the products and services whose advertisements we are being exposed to, and therefore make more informed choices about our shopping behaviour.

Conclusion

The Theory of Basic Human Values outlines the nature of values and differentiates between different values, detailing which features are common to all values and what distinguishes one value from another. These values are held by individuals and found throughout all major societies and cultures.

The theory has countless uses and applications. Only a small number are mentioned in this book chapter, however from these four examples, the scale of the theory and the cross-cultural impact it has can be understood. It can be used to understand people on a personal level through advertising, at a professional level through staff development and human resources, and at a national and international level though economics and cyber security. These examples display how understanding human values and motivations through the psychological scientific Theory of Basic Human Values can both affect and improve personal lives and affect the global population.

In the most practical sense, being aware of human own values and subsequent behaviours, can assist people to become more self-aware, self-controlled and introspective about the way they live their lives.

See also

• Theory of Basic Human Values (Wikipedia)
• Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory (Wikipedia)
• World Value Survey (Wikipedia)
• Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world (Wikipedia)
• Implicit motives: What are implicit motives and how do they work?
• Basic psychological need theory: What is basic psychological need theory and how can it be applied?
• Motivational science: What is the meaning of motivational science and why is it important to take a scientific approach to understanding motivation?
• Unconscious motivation: What role does the unconscious play in motivation?

External links

• International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology(https://www.iaccp.org/)