Basic Human Values: An Overview

”The value concept … [is] able to unify the apparently diverse interests of all the sciences concerned with human behavior. ” [Rokeach, 1973] A psychologist wrote these words that proclaim the centrality of the value concept. Sociologists [e.g., Williams, 1968] and anthropologists [e.g., Kluckhohn, 1951] have echoed similar opinions. These theorists view values as the criteria people use to evaluate actions, people, and events. This paper presents a theory within this tradition. The theory1 identifies ten motivationally distinct value orientations that people in all cultures recognize, and it specifies the dynamics of conflict and congruence among these values. It aims to be a unifying theory for the field of human motivation, a way of organizing the different needs, motives, and goals proposed by other theories. Introduction to the Values Theory When we think of our values, we think of what is important to us in our lives (e.g., security, independence, wisdom, success, kindness, pleasure). Each of us holds numerous values with varying degrees of importance. A particular value may be very important to one person, bu