Value (personal and cultural)

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For other uses, see Value.

A personal value is absolute or relative and ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based.

Some values are physiologically determined and are normally considered objective, such as a desire to avoid physical pain or to seek pleasure. Other values are considered subjective, vary across individuals and cultures, and are in many ways aligned with belief and belief systems. Types of values include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values which are not clearly physiologically determined are intrinsic such as altruism and whether some, such as acquisitiveness, should be classified as vices or virtues. Values have been studied in sociology, anthropology, social psychology, moral philosophy, and business ethics.

Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person's sense of right and wrong or what "ought" to be. "Equal rights for all", "Excellence deserves admiration", and "People should be treated with respect and dignity" are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior. For example, if you value equal rights for all and you go to work for an organization that treats its managers much better than it does its workers, you may form the attitude that the company is an unfair place to work; consequently, you may not produce well or may perhaps leave the company. It is likely that if the company had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviors would have been more positive.

Personal values

According to Morris Massey, values are formed during three significant periods:

• Imprint period from birth to 7 years.
• Modelling period from 8–13 years.
• Socialization period from 13–21 years.

Personal values provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, constructive, etc. Values generate behaviour and help solve common human problems for survival by comparative rankings of value, the results of which provide answers to questions of why people do what they do and in what order they choose to do them.

Over time the public expression of personal values, that groups of people find important in their day-to-day lives, lay the foundations of law, custom and tradition. Personal values in this way exist in relation to cultural values, either in agreement with or divergent from prevailing norms.^{[citation needed]}. A culture is a social system that shares a set of common values, in which such values permit social expectations and collective understandings of the good, beautiful, constructive, etc. Without normative personal values, there would be no cultural reference against which to measure the virtue of individual values and so culture identity would disintegrate.

Wyatt Woodsmall points out that "'Criteria' are used to refer to 'the standards on which an evaluation is based'."^{[citation needed]} Values relate then to what one wants and in what order one wants them, criteria can only refer to the evidences for achieving values and act as a comparative standard that one applies in order to evaluate whether goals have been met / values satisfied.

Values are obtained in many different ways.

Cultural values

The Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map of the World, constructed by sociopolitical scientists Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel based on the World Values Survey.

Individual cultures develop values which their members broadly share. One can often identify the values of a society by noting which people receive honor or respect. In the United States of America, for example, professional athletes at the top levels in some sports receive more honor (measured in terms of monetary payment) than college professors. Surveys show that voters in the United States would be reluctant to elect an atheist as a president, suggesting that a belief in a God as a generally shared value. There is a difference between values clarification and cognitive moral education. Values clarification consists of "helping people clarify what their lives are for and what is worth working for. It encourages students to define their own values and to understand others' values." Cognitive moral education builds on the belief that students should learn to value things like democracy and justice as their moral reasoning develops. Educationist Chaveen Dissanayake says personal and cultural values can be varied by the living standards of a person.

Values relate to the norms of a culture, but they are more global and abstract than norms. Norms provide rules for behavior in specific situations, while values identify what should be judged as good or evil. While norms are standards, patterns, rules and guides of expected behavior, values are abstract concepts of what is important and worthwhile. Flying the national flag on a holiday is a norm, but it reflects the value of patriotism. Wearing dark clothing and appearing solemn are normative behaviors at a funeral. In certain cultures norms reflect the values of respect and support of friends and family. Different cultures reflect different values. "Over the last three decades, traditional-age college students have shown an increased interest in personal well-being and a decreased interest in the welfare of others." Values seemed to have changed, affecting the beliefs, and attitudes of the students.

Members take part in a culture even if each member's personal values do not entirely agree with some of the normative values sanctioned in the culture. This reflects an individual's ability to synthesize and extract aspects valuable to them from the multiple subcultures they belong to.

If a group member expresses a value that seriously conflicts with the group's norms, the group's authority may carry out various ways of encouraging conformity or stigmatizing the non-conforming behavior of that member. For example, imprisonment can result from conflict with social norms that the state has established as law.

Furthermore, institutions in the global economy can genuinely respect values which are of three kinds based on a "triangle of coherence". In the first instance, a value may come to expression within the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as (in the second instance) within the United Nations - particularly in the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - providing a framework for global legitimacy through accountability. In the third instance, the expertise of member-driven international organizations and civil society depends on the incorporation of flexibilities in the rules, so as to preserve the expression of identity in a globalized world.

Nonetheless, in a warlike economic competition, differing views may contradict each other, particularly in the field of culture. Thus audiences in Europe may regard a movie is an artistic creation and grant it benefits from special treatment, while audiences in the United States may see it as mere entertainment, whatever the merits of its artistry. Even within fragmented Europe, interventionist policies based on the notion of "cultural exception" can become opposed to the policy of "cultural specificity" on the liberal Anglo-Saxon side. Indeed, international law traditionally treats films as property and the content of television programs as a service.^{[citation needed]} Consequently cultural interventionist policies get opposed to Anglo-Saxon liberal position, causing failures in international negotiations

Transmission

Values are generally received through cultural means, especially transmission from parents to children. Parents in different cultures have different values. For example, parents in a hunter–gatherer society or surviving through subsistence agriculture value practical survival skills from a young age. Many such cultures begin teaching babies to use sharp tools, including knives, before their first birthdays. Italian parents value social and emotional abilities and having an even temperament. Spanish parents want their children to be sociable. Swedish parents value security and happiness. Dutch parents value independence, long attention spans, and predictable schedules. American parents are unusual for strongly valuing intellectual ability, especially in a narrow "book learning" sense. The Kipsigis people of Kenya value children who are not only smart, but who employ that intelligence in a responsible and helpful way, which they call ng'om.

See also

• Hofstede's Framework for Assessing Culture
• Paideia
• Rokeach Value Survey
• Value theory
• The Cock and the Jewel
• Spiral Dynamics

References

Values and the Theory of Pyroalteration Standard By Ramil L. Palacio, Ph.D.

Values, according to Lawson (1989: 140-155) are serious and deeply held normative principles with wide applicability. On one hand, according to Raths and associates as cited by Dudley (1995: 12;33;34-36), values are organized under three headings of choosing, prizing, and acting. Choosing involves: choosing freely, choosing from alternatives and choosing after thoughtful consideration of the consequences of each alternative. By prizing, we simply mean cherishing. Acting includes: acting upon choices and acting repeatedly. Choosing refers to the cognitive aspect of valuing. It must be freely done because once compelled, valuing does not occur. Choosing from alternatives illustrates a situation wherein a person can choose from available and desirable resources; but if the right to choose is denied, his valuing is impaired. Choosing after thoughtful consideration of the consequences of alternatives entail knowledge in the possible outcome of what has been chosen; thus, ignorance about its outcome does not constitute valuing. On the other hand, prizing belongs to its emotional aspect. It simply means cherishing and affirming – doing them suggests valuing. Finally, acting pertains to its behavioral aspect. That is to say, converting what we have in mind and emotion into action. It embraces acting upon choices, not merely talking, because talking does not mean valuing. It is simply thinking that we have a value. In fact, valuing has to be acted repeatedly since a true value is not only a one-shot effort.

       A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based. Those values which are not physiologically determined and normally considered objective, such as a desire to avoid physical pain, seek pleasure, etc., are considered subjective, vary across individuals and cultures and are in many ways aligned with belief and belief systems. Types of values include ethical/moral value, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values which are not clearly physiologically determined are intrinsic such as altruism and whether some values such as acquisitiveness should be valued as vices or virtues.

Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be. “Equal rights for all”, "Excellence deserves admiration", and “People should be treated with respect and dignity” are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior. For example, if you value equal rights for all and you go to work for an organization that treats its managers much better than it does its workers, you may harbor the attitude that the company is an unfair place to work; and consequently, you may not produce well or perhaps leave the company. It is likely that if the company had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviors would have been more positive (Value: Personal and Cultural, 2012).

     According to Morris Massey values are formed during three significant periods: (A) Imprint Period from Birth to Seven (7) years; (B) Modeling Period from 8 –13 years, and Imprint Period from Birth to Seven (7) years; (B) Modeling Period from 8 –13 years, and (C) Socialization Period from 14 –21 years (Value: Personal and Cultural, 2012).
     Imprint values start in a person's family. The family is responsible for teaching children what is right and wrong long before there are other influences. It is said, a child is a reflection of the parents. As a child starts school, school helps some to shape the values of children. Then there is religion that the family introduces to a child. It plays a role in teaching the child right and wrong behaviors.
     Modeling is a period for developing personal values. It provides an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, constructive, etc. In this period, the individual generates behavior and help solve common human problems for survival by comparative rankings of value, the results of which provide answers to questions of why people do what they do and in what order they choose to do them.
     Socialization period occurs over time the public expression of personal values are conglomerated into a value that groups of people find important in their day-to-day lives, laid the foundations of law, custom and tradition. Personal values in this way exist in relation to cultural values, either in agreement with or divergent from prevailing norms. A culture is a social system that shares a set of common values, in which such values permit social expectations and collective understandings of the good. Without normative personal values, there would be no cultural reference against which to measure the virtue of individual values and so culture identity would disintegrate.
      Wyatt Woodsmall points out that “'Criteria' are used to refer to 'the standards on which an evaluation is based'.” Values relate then to what one wants and in what order one wants them; criteria can only refer to the evidences for achieving values and act as a comparative standard that one applies in order to evaluate whether goals have been met / values satisfied (Value: Personal and Cultural, 2012).

These values, according to Lawson (1989: 40), have or under the right circumstances develop political significance hence, become political values. She further stressed that they are formed because of political socialization, which is the ongoing processes through which citizens acquire and amend their personal views of the political world. Moreover, Almond and Powell (1988: 34) pointed out that socialization introduces the children to the values and attitudes of their society and how they learn what will be expected of them in their adult roles. They further stated that political socialization maybe direct or indirect transmission of learning. It is direct when it involves the explicit communication of information, values or feelings toward politics.

       The Youth

According to Erikson as cited by Zanden (1988: 292), the youth specifically, the adolescents or teenagers experience role confusion or identity crisis. This blurred self-image leads them to seek social and emotional anchorage in intense commitment to cliques, allegiances, loves, and social causes. All these supports to too much popular belief about them such as their specialization in negative conformity using drugs, drinking, vandalizing, stealing, driving fast and flouting adult roles. But, for the most of them, the most important anchor in their lives are the families and the peer groups. The peer group has the greater influence when the issues have to do with entertainment, and the family has the greater influence when the issues have to do with future life goals, fundamental behavior codes, and core values. These influences, according to McLuhan and Fiore (1987: 8;9-18) become more obscure and complicated because of the proliferation of electronic technology resulting to the “Age of Anxiety” wherein great alienation between generations exists, causing youths to grow up absurd. On the other hand, according to Levinzon and Gould as cited by Zanden (1988: 293), similar category of youths – the young adults or the youths in their late teens or early twenties are gradually overcoming identity crisis and leading transitional lives by seeking greater autonomy and responsibility. They live in a roughly equal balance between “being in” and “moving out” of the family. They also become less financially dependent; enter new roles, and living arrangements. Furthermore, according to medical experts (Merck Manual 1982: 1903), the youths at this stage of their lives confront various problems, which may include social, familial, school, drug or sexual that lead to environmental stress and behavioral disorders. These problems, according to Kuzma (1995: 11), upset the formation of positive values as ministered by today’s generation excessive desire for self-gratification, winning by whatever means possible, acting dishonestly, solving problems with violence, performing questionable acts as long as it feels good, and having little respect for authority. Yet, the UPLC Constitutional Revision Project, as cited by De Leon (2008: 161-162), argued that communication media explosion has resulted in making 18 year-old citizens better informed and more change-oriented than/their elders. Similarly, Rasul-Bernardo in her speech at the ASEAN Youth Aid Workshop (1995) urged and challenged the youth to show their dynamism and heroism through their greater involvement in public and civic affairs, which portray the true mark of public service and heroism. The study of Tubiaso (2002: 12) on values among younger and older generations, revealed that a difference exists on decision-making and some work related values. Awareness and approval of a certain value as they identified were related to some social and economic factors which are thus influencing their interpretation of needs, interests and desires. This finding is affirmed by a study of an educationist, Chaveen Dissanayake (2012) who said that personal and cultural values can be varied by the living standards of a person. Also, scores of empirical studies confirmed that some forms of private schooling—specifically, Catholic schools—are more successful than their public counterparts in inculcating students with democratic values, according to David Campbell, a political science professor from the University of Notre Dame and author of the research Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life (Guibert, 2012). Campbell added that though data have shown that some private schools and chartered schools teach civic values with greater success than regular public schools, little has been done to learn from those schools’ strengths. Campbell concluded that different types of schools have different effects on different aspects of citizenship education and in order to improve civic education for all, the next step is to move beyond the comparison of schools in different sectors, and instead determine what it is about some schools that produce better civic outcomes, so that those methods can be adopted by schools of all stripes. Further, Meru’s study on family and community life in Nangalisan, Isabela as cited by Tubiaso (2002: 15), found that traditional values and attitudes of rural folks still prevailed and are predominantly ingrained in their culture thus hampering the development of national objectives, solution of problems, initiative, self-reliance, participation in group dynamics and creativity.

Pyroalteration Standard

It is conceived by the researcher, in accordance to the New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, Expanded Edition, 1981 Copyright, from the prefix “pyro,” which means heat; fire and from the verb “alter,” which as a transitive means to make some change in; cause to vary; modify or as an intransitive means to become different; change. It argues that values as intense, serious, and deeply held normative principles with wide applicability are not intrinsic to human. Man, at the onset is governed by instinct or an inborn tendency to act or respond in a particular way, an inherence of mammalian life, and a biological aptitude necessary for the preservation of species. Conversely, in speaking of instinct the theory also speak of reason. The fine line that borders between the two cannot be easily understood. But the statements that an act is bestial and the other one is humane are by inference separates the two. It is reason that creates value. It is the basis of understanding why human acts are worthy of blame or praise and why there is a burning desire in man to intensely and deeply cling to these acts. The brain as likened to a tabularasa, a blank slate or tablet, has before it received any sensory and rational information helpful for the formation of values. It is where the intellect, mind or reason, processes said sensory and rational information to build values that are either positive or negative socialization outcomes.

As the intellect processes sensory and rational data, it makes some change in, or causes to vary and modify valuing depending on the situation or circumstances a person is in by choosing, prizing, and acting them out freely. Values and valuing, whether as a value system or a set of consistent values and measures and a principle value or a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based can be the bases for relative ethical action depending on the time, place, person, and circumstances of their alteration and application. This is to say that as they refer to broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes and thus reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be the “rightness” or “wrongness” of a given act as a value therefore is relative as what is good and desirable vary from one period, place, person, and circumstances to another. As a result, positive and negative values develop.

       The Standard

       As positive and negative values develop, a standard is devised in order to develop purely positive values without modifying the socialization structures of a certain society hence respecting the free collectivity of their unique societal beliefs, rules, and principles. The criterion or standard must work based on Morris Massey’s three significant periods of value formation: (A) Imprint Period from Birth to Seven (7) years; (B) Modeling Period from 8–13 years, and (C) Socialization Period from 14–21 years (Value: Personal and Cultural, 2012).
       This standard as will be introduced during the process of socialization and reinforcement, can give birth to the ecumenically shared values of freedom, justice, human rights, equality, love, understanding, peace and harmony as the crowning glory of all good - virtues that arise out of sense of brotherhood of every man toward his fellowman.

It must be always borne in mind that this standard is intended to alter values depending on the situation; accordingly if the situation pertains about politics then they can have political significance, hence become political values. Determination as to whether they are positive or negative depends on the degree of alteration they have undergone. It must always be positive to create a social condition for ecumenically shared positive values. Now, the challenge against Pyroalteration Standard as a new Value Theory is posed by David Campbell when he concluded (Guibert, 2012) that different types of schools have different effects on different aspects of citizenship education and in order to improve civic education for all, the next step is to move beyond the comparison of schools in different sectors, and instead determine what it is about some schools that produce better civic outcomes, so that those methods can be adopted by schools of all stripes. To this challenge is the answer based on Pyroalteration Standard arguments: The imperative is to take a critically liberal and middle way stance now and in the years to come by incorporating Christian or Islamic Education in every Private and Public School System emphasizing improvement of humanity and of the groups or of every individual, respecting each uniqueness in all aspects along the way as the middle course to be considered during the institutional alteration process the schools are going to undertake. As this theory entails alteration of the current social values, which give rise to unprecedented social problems, it must also consider the Standard of Charity, that man is not only a being-with-others, but mainly a being-for-others. It is well to remember that charity is not only a Christian but also an Islamic Virtue. Love of Neighbors recapitulated all other Christian and Islamic Virtues and Commandments as portrayed by the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Pyroalteration Standard’s arguments also go hand-in-hand with the moral of man’s nature: dynamic, changeable, and perfectible. That man is corresponsible for the improvement of his perfectible nature and for the creation of a better breed of people or a better world. This theory that comes out of the literature and findings of the previous investigations cited in this study as conceptually and scientifically synthesized herein invites hopeful forecasts and the researcher is in the opinion that the current problematic situation is an outcome of value and attitudinal defects and excesses in society, which impact has an impending and vicious cyclical effects if left unchecked. At present, it appears that values of typical citizens, particularly that of the youth are often fickle and uninformed. This must not be so easily ignored by policy and decision-makers. All stakeholders must be concerned about the ways these values can come into conflict with societal ideals, either in the immediate communities or in the entire world, as the case of youth leaders who will hold the reins of government in the years to come. In closing, Pyroalteration Standard also argues that one of the most important social forces to be harnessed, if dreams for attaining a genuinely progressive and sustainable eco-environmental development are values. It must be accepted that growth and development do not solely begin with machines or goods. They start with people – their attitudes, values, and institutions.

References

Books: Abletez, Jose P. (1992). SangguniangKabataan, Handbook for New Youth Councils. Manila: Mary Educational Supply.

Almond, Gabriel A. and G. Bingham Powell, (Eds.). (1988). Comparative Politics Today: A World View. Illinois, Boston, London, Scott, Folesman and Company.

Dudley, Roger L. (1995). “Anatomy of Value”, The 1995 Book Health and Home, National Journal for Better Living, Vol. 36, No. 2. pp. 12; 33; 35-36.

Kuzma, Kay. (1995). “Pet Rock Syndrome”, The 1995 Book Health and Home, National Journal for Better Living, Vol. 36, No. 3. p. 11.

Lawson, Kay. (1989). Human Polity: An Introduction to Political Science. Boston, HoughtonMifflin Company. Reprinted by KEN Incorporated, Quezon City: Philippines.

Leon, Hector de S. (1991).Textbook on the Philippine Constitution. Manila: Rex Book Store.

Mcluhan, Marshall and Quentin Fiore. (1987). The Medium is the Massage. An Inventory of Effects. USA: Bantam Books, Inc.

“The Merck Manual,”  (1982). Fourteenth Edition, Sharp and Bohme Research 

Laboratories. Rahway, N.J. USA: Merck and Co., Inc.

Vander Zanden, James W. W. (1988). The Social Experience, An Introduction to Sociology.New York: Random House Inc.

Unpublished Thesis: Tubiaso, Lorely M. (2002). Some Values Among the Younger and the Older Generations in Mondragon. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Eastern Philippines.

General References: The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary.

Others: General Primer. RA 7160, The Local Government Code of 1991. Guibert, Susan (2012). “Political Scientist David Campbell Researches Civic Education at Catholic and Public Schools”. (15 November 2011) Retrieved from features Today@ND, Office of University Relations, Copyright 2012 University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Value: Personal and Cultural (2012). Retrieved September 11, 2012 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_(personal_and_cultural), Modified: September 3, 2012.

Rasul-Bernardo, Amina (1995). “Youth Dynamism and Heroism…”, Chairperson, National Youth Commission (From her Speech at the ASEAN Youth Aid Workshop in Manila, August 12, 1995).

Northern Samar: Profile (2010), Retrieved September 11, 2012 from http://www.northernsamar.ph

“Sangguniang Kabataan – WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free Philippine Encyclopedia” (2010-09-23) Retrieved February 3, 2013 from En.wikipilipinas.org.

External links

• An online assessment for personal and professional value
• Quotations on value
• Union of International Association: Human Values Online - A comprehensive database and analysis of values
• Humanity Quest: a community and portal for the exploration of human spirits, values, attitudes, principles and emotions; thematically exploring a growing list of over 500 human values
• RespectResearchGroup: Multidisciplinary research project on the value of interpersonal respect, with additional quotes, gallery, literature
• Integration of Human Values with Education
• [1] - Integral approach to evolutionary psychology based on Clare W Graves value system
• [2] - CNX.ORG: Interaction Values and Beliefs (a free online book)