{"id":13714,"date":"2022-05-17T08:42:23","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T12:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=13714"},"modified":"2023-12-28T09:03:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T14:03:27","slug":"there-are-just-10-basic-values","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/there-are-just-10-basic-values\/","title":{"rendered":"There are just 10 basic values"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takeaway:<\/b> There are 10 categories or types of basic values. Those values, along with some curious findings from the research\u2014about what values are, what values we share, and how our individual values differ\u2014are below. I\u2019ve bolded the main ideas in case you want to skim!<\/p>\n

Estimated Reading Time:<\/b> 2 minutes, 42s.<\/div><\/div>\n

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Personal values are often written about but, as I recently realized while exploring some of the research, they\u2019re also poorly understood.<\/p>\n

What are values, even?<\/strong> As one terrific summary published in Nature Human Behaviour<\/em> put it, values are \u201cbroad, trans-situational, desirable goals that serve as guiding principles in people\u2019s lives.\u201d Basically, they’re the core of who you want to be as a person and reflect what you consider to be important, worthy, and desirable.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

For example, you might value achievement, and see each accomplishment as a further realization of who you wish to become. Or, you may value tradition, and see living true to cultural and religious customs and norms as the way to a good life.<\/p>\n

There are some consistencies in what we all value.<\/strong> For example, most of us tend to prioritize caring for others more highly than dominating and controlling others\u2014the latter two \u201care among the least important values to most people in most societies.”<\/div>\n
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Benevolence and self-direction (described below) are usually near the top of the values we all share. Each of us also has an internal hierarchy of values, where we rank our values based on those we find extremely important to those that don\u2019t really motivate us at all.<\/p>\n

Most curiously, while many long lists of values exist, at a fundamental level there are really only 10 basic human values<\/strong>. Perhaps the most reliable theory of values was developed by Shalom Schwartz. Since the original publication of the list in 2012, his theory has been validated by more than 300 samples across 80 countries.<\/p>\n

In the theory, Schwartz defines 10 basic values from which all others stem\u2014think of these as types<\/em> or categories <\/em>of values. Here they are<\/strong>, along with a brief definition, pulled directly from the literature review in Nature Human Behaviour<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  1. Self-direction<\/strong>: Independent thought and action: choosing, creating, and exploring<\/li>\n
  2. Stimulation<\/strong>: Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life<\/li>\n
  3. Hedonism<\/strong>: Pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself<\/li>\n
  4. Achievement:<\/strong> Personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards<\/li>\n
  5. Power:<\/strong> Social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources<\/li>\n
  6. Security:<\/strong> Safety, harmony and stability of society, relationships, and self<\/li>\n
  7. Conformity:<\/strong> The restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses that are likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms<\/li>\n
  8. Tradition:<\/strong> Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion provides<\/li>\n
  9. Benevolence:<\/strong> Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact<\/li>\n
  10. Universalism<\/strong>: Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and of nature<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Of course, these 10 basic values are just that: basic. There are other values nested under each umbrella. Here are some examples of these sub-values, again drawn directly from the review:<\/p>\n