discussion 3

The scale you completed was the "Schwartz Value Survey," created by Shalom Schwartz at Hebrew University, Israel. The scale measures the degree to which you value each of ten domains that Schwartz has found across many cultures. Values are defined as "desirable, trans-situational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in people's lives." The idea behind the scale is that there is an internal order and structure to values. Using various statistical techniques, Schwartz has found that the ten basic human values show a pattern of relationships that can be graphed as a circle (see below). Values that are next to each other are closely related; values that are across from each other tend to be opposed, or tend not to be strongly endorsed by the same person. Political liberals have been found to endorse the "openness to change" values, while conservatives are more likely to endorse the "conservation" values. We have put this scale up on Yourmorals.org because we are interested in learning how Schwartz's ten values (which include moral and non-moral values) relate to the "five foundations of morality" theory from Haidt and Graham, as measured by the "Moral Foundations Questionnaire."

The values are described by Schwartz as follows:

POWER: Social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources ACHIEVEMENT: Personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards HEDONISM: Pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself STIMULATION: Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life SELF-DIRECTION: Independent thought and action - choosing, creating, exploring UNIVERSALISM: Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature BENEVOLENCE: Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact TRADITION: Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion provide CONFORMITY: Restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms SECURITY: Safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self

The figure below shows your averages (in green) compared to the average scores of liberals (in blue) and the average scores of conservatives (in red).