Individual value orientations of adolescents. Surveys of the importance and cognitive reflection of values in early and middle adolescence

Based on an psychological definition of the term 'value' the value orientations of adolescents aged 10 to 16 are surveyed. The suggested definition of #values' and 'value orientations' underlines the psychological character of these terms. The surveys contain three independent samples and refer to the cognitive reflection and importance of six personal (family, friendship, personal freedom, partnership, attractiveness, achievement at school) and two societal values (human society and political power). First, the entity of adolescents' values is surveyed using a qualitative method. 19 personal and 8 societal values are found. Based on these results and on a second sample of N = 200 adolescents a value questionnaire is constructed and evaluated. In the third step the questionnaire is used to survey the value orientations of N = 486 adolescents aged 10 to 16. Among other things the results give new suggestions for value education at schools