Values – What makes a good

country?

Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland,

30 November 2019Dr Elke Heins

University of Edinburgh

What are values?

Basic and fundamental beliefs that shape attitudes and motivate actions.

They help us to determine what is important to us and express what we see as good, desirable or worthwhile.

They provide the general guidelines for conduct.

Source: https://www.imaginor.co.uk/shop/values-logos/

Human values – a basic theory

Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values

One of the most commonly used and tested transcultural theories in behavioural research.

Neighbouring domains are related, non-adjacent domains are opposing.

Source: A.C. Gimenez and L.G. Tamajon (2019), Analysis of the third-order structuring of Shalom Schwartz’s theory of basic human values, Heliyon 5, e017972(Authors’ figure adapted from Schwartz [1992]).

Personal values

Beliefs about right and wrong

- they describe the personal qualities we choose to embody to guide our actions;

- the sort of person we want to be;

- the manner in which we treat others and how we interact with the world around us.

Values may or may not be considered moral.

Source: https://liveboldandbloom.com/05/values/list-of-values

Values aren’t always positiveSome people may be driven by self-interest or greed, and these are values,

too, if they dictate the way the people live their lives.

Some examples of negative values people might have include the following:

The world is a brutal place and only the strong survive.

People are powerless to change their fates or personal situations.

You don't deserve good things or relationships in life.

Other people are untrustworthy.

Life is meaningless.

Not always clear-cut what is positive or negative.

Corporate valuesNot only persons, also organisations and businesses have values.

Such values help companies to determine if they are on the right way and are meeting their goals.

These are often expressed in the form of mission statements.

Guess the organisation…"To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions."

“Together we build a diverse, inclusive, open and honest work environment and are always looking for people who share our positive attitude and values. We are guided by the [name of organisation] vision to create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Safety, respect, excellence, courage and one team are the five core values of …

The University of Edinburgh’s mission

“The mission of our University is thecreation, dissemination and curation ofknowledge. As a world-leading centre ofacademic excellence we aim to: enhanceour position as one of the world's leadingresearch and teaching universities and tomeasure our performance against the

highest international standards.”

Cultural values

Cultural values are values accepted by religions or societies and

reflect what is important in each context.

Examples:

A belief, or lack thereof, in God.

A belief in being a good steward of resources and in exercising frugality.

A belief that family is of fundamental importance.

A belief that honesty is always the best policy and that trust has to be

earned.

Map of Cultural Values

Source: Inglehart-Welzel Map of Cultural Values, http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp?CMSID=Findings

Values guiding whole nations and policies

Source: http://www.languedoc-france.info/06141203_motto.htm

More examples

Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state.

“One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”

‘Gross National Happiness’ is the motto that guides the government of …

Image by Michael Christen from Pixabay

Political values

Source: Inglehart and Norris scheme, https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=1401