Imagine standing at a busy crossroads with paths branching in every direction. Each path represents a different decision you could make: staying safe on the well-trodden path, taking a risky shortcut, or venturing down a winding route no one else has tried. This crossroads is a metaphor for our daily lives, where we constantly make choices influenced by our values. But what drives us to pick one path over another? This is where Shalom Schwartz’s Value Theory comes into play.
Shalom Schwartz, a renowned social psychologist, developed a theory that explains how our values drive our behaviour. According to Schwartz, values are like a compass that guides our actions, beliefs, and attitudes. His Value Theory suggests that while specific core values are universal, they vary in priority from person to person and culture to culture. Picture values as players on a team, each one eager to lead but with different strengths and positions. The lineup may look similar across different cultures, but the team captain—the value that takes precedence—can vary.
Schwartz’s research has revealed that ten fundamental values are recognised across cultures, like a common language everyone understands. These values include:
- Benevolence: Preserving and enhancing the welfare of those close to us, like family and friends.
- Universalism: Appreciating and protecting the well-being of all people and nature.
- Self-Direction: Valuing independent thought and action, like creativity and freedom.
- Stimulation: Seeking excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.
- Hedonism: Pursuing pleasure and gratifying one’s desires.
- Achievement: Striving for personal success through demonstrating competence.
- Power: Attaining social status, prestige, and control over people and resources.
- Security: Seeking safety, harmony, and stability of society, relationships, and self.
- Tradition: Respecting and accepting the customs and ideas that one’s culture or religion imposes on the individual.
- Conformity: Restraining actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and disregarding social expectations or norms.
Imagine these ten values as circular, like a colour wheel, which Schwartz calls the value continuum. Each value is positioned based on its motivational similarities and differences. Values that are close together, like benevolence and universalism, are compatible and often pursued together. Values that are opposite each other, like power and universalism, conflict and are rarely pursued simultaneously.
This circular arrangement forms a continuum, where values flow into one another, like the colours in a rainbow. For example, tradition and conformity share similar motivational goals, while power and achievement are closely related. This continuum helps us understand why some values are more compatible than others and how they influence our choices and behaviours.
Values are not just abstract concepts; they have real-world consequences. They shape our choices, from the careers we pursue to the relationships we cultivate. They influence our attitudes towards social issues and our willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviours. They are like the DNA of our decisions—deeply ingrained beliefs guiding us through life’s choices. Imagine values as the different tastes in cooking. Just as some people prefer spicy food while others lean toward sweet, our values influence our preferences, actions, and world perception. They help us decide right or wrong, important or trivial, and what deserves our time and energy.
For example, if you value achievement, you might prioritise hard work and ambition, pushing yourself to excel in your career. On the other hand, if you value benevolence, your focus might be on helping others, volunteering, or nurturing close relationships. These values don’t just tell us what to do—they shape our identity and sense of purpose.
Schwartz’s theory helps explain why people and cultures often clash over what’s most important. In a culture that values tradition, people might prioritise family rituals and cultural heritage, while in a more individualistic culture, personal freedom and innovation might be preferred. Understanding these value priorities can improve communication and empathy between individuals and groups, fostering a more harmonious society.
So, how do values influence our behaviour? Think of values as gears in a machine. When one value becomes dominant, it shifts the entire mechanism, affecting how we act and react in different situations. Like a colour wheel, Schwartz’s Value Theory arranges these values on a circular map, where similar values sit close together while opposing values are on opposite sides.
For example, the value of security (staying safe) might be at odds with stimulation (seeking adventure). If you decide whether to take a stable office job or backpack worldwide, your choice will hinge on which value speaks louder to you now. If security is your guiding light, you might opt for the job. But if stimulation calls louder, you might book a one-way ticket to an unknown destination. See diagram below (From:https://www.cognadev.com/blog_138.html )
Schwartz also showed that our values don’t exist in a vacuum; they compete, coexist, and even conflict within us. Imagine balancing on a seesaw where one side represents conformity (following rules) and the other, independence (breaking free from them). When you face a decision, these opposing values tug at you, and the side that weighs heavier will ultimately determine your choice.
Here are examples of how values can clash in everyday situations. These scenarios reflect the kinds of decisions and conflicts that we face regularly:
1. Going Out vs. Studying for an Exam
- Values in Conflict: Pleasure vs. Achievement
- Situation: It’s Friday night, and your friends are all heading out to a big party. You’ve got an essential exam on Monday that you haven’t studied for yet.
- Clash: The desire for pleasure and social connection urges you to join the fun, while the value of achievement reminds you of your academic goals. This internal tug-of-war can leave you feeling guilty no matter your decision, torn between the fear of missing out (FOMO) and falling behind.
2. Saying Yes to Every Opportunity vs. Setting Boundaries
- Values in Conflict: Stimulation vs. Self-Care
- Situation: You’ve been invited to join multiple clubs, side projects, and social activities, all of which sound exciting and resume-boosting, but your schedule is already packed.
- Clash: The value of stimulation makes you want to experience everything and seize every opportunity, but self-care demands you set boundaries to avoid burnout. Balancing these values is tricky, as turning something down feels like missing out, yet overcommitting could overwhelm you.
3. Being Yourself vs. Fitting In with Peers
- Values in Conflict: Self-Direction vs. Conformity
- Situation: You love dressing in unique, colourful outfits that express your personality, but your friends mostly wear neutral, trendy clothes, and you worry about standing out too much.
- Clash: Self-direction encourages authenticity and trueness to personal style, but conformity nudges you to blend in and avoid attracting unwanted attention. This clash can lead to second-guessing your choices and feeling stuck between self-expression and social acceptance.
4. Balancing Social Media Presence vs. Privacy
- Values in Conflict: Recognition vs. Security
- Situation: You love sharing your life on social media, but you’re starting to worry about privacy and the potential consequences of putting everything online.
- Clash: The value of recognition pushes you to maintain an active online presence, gaining likes and validation, while security warns you to protect your personal life and data. This tension can create anxiety about how much to share and the long-term impact of your digital footprint.
5. Taking a Gap Year vs. Starting College Immediately
- Values in Conflict: Stimulation vs. Security
- Situation: You’re tempted by the idea of travelling, volunteering, or gaining work experience during a gap year, but you also feel pressure to start college right away and stay on a secure, traditional path.
- Clash: The value of stimulation drives you toward new experiences and adventure, while security encourages you to stick to a safe, structured plan. This conflict often leaves young adults torn between exploring the world and staying on track with their education.
6. Choosing Your Major Subjects vs. Parental Expectations
- Values in Conflict: Self-Direction vs. Tradition
- Situation: You’re passionate about studying art, but your parents expect you to pursue a “practical” significance like business or engineering.
- Clash: Self-direction pulls you toward your interests and aspirations, while tradition pressures you to respect family expectations and make choices that align with their values. This often leads to difficult conversations and an internal struggle about whose dreams to prioritise—yours or theirs.
7. Standing Up for Your Beliefs vs. Maintaining Friendships
- Values in Conflict: Universalism vs. Benevolence
- Situation: A friend comments that clashes with your values, whether it’s about politics, social issues, or lifestyle choices. You feel compelled to speak up but don’t want to start a conflict.
- Clash: Universalist values push you to advocate for what you believe is right, while benevolence urges you to keep the peace and preserve your friendship. This can lead to an awkward dance between honesty and harmony as you weigh the costs of speaking up against staying quiet.
8. Healthy Eating vs. Social Eating Habits
- Values in Conflict: Health vs. Pleasure/Conformity
- Situation: You’re trying to eat healthier, but your friends frequently go out for fast food or order takeout during movie nights.
- Clash: The value of health encourages you to make choices that align with your wellness goals, but pleasure and conformity make you want to join in and enjoy the moment without feeling left out. Navigating these competing values can lead to internal guilt or social awkwardness as you try to balance self-discipline with enjoying time with friends.
9. Taking a Stand vs. Going with the Flow in Group Projects
- Values in Conflict: Achievement vs. Conformity
- Situation: You have strong ideas about how a group project should be done, but your group members want to take a more manageable approach that might not get the best grade.
- Clash: Achievement motivates you to push for quality and take charge, while conformity tells you to go along with the group’s decision to avoid tension. This can create frustration as you weigh the importance of doing well against maintaining smooth group dynamics.
These examples highlight how value clashes are a normal part of life, influencing decisions about school, friendships, family, and personal identity. Recognising these conflicts helps navigate them with greater awareness, enabling better choices that align with who you are and what truly matters to you.
Shalom Schwartz’s Value Theory provides a robust framework for understanding the universal values that shape our lives. It offers us a lens through which to understand not just our own choices but also the diverse behaviours of others. Values are like invisible threads weaving through every decision, conversation, and cultural norm. By recognising and reflecting on our values, we gain insight into our motivations and can better navigate the complexities of human interaction.
Next time you find yourself at a metaphorical crossroads, take a moment to consider the values at play. Whether you’re choosing between safety and adventure, tradition and change, or self-interest and altruism, Schwartz’s Value Theory reminds you that our decisions are rarely black and white—they’re a colourful blend of competing motivations, each pulling us in different directions.
Understanding these values doesn’t just make us more self-aware; it helps us connect with others, appreciate our differences, and find common ground. After all, in the grand game of life, our values are the strategies that shape our every move. This knowledge can help us navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity, compassion, and purpose.
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