Analysis

The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) is a psychological tool developed by social psychologist Milton Rokeach in 1973. It was designed to measure individual differences in people’s values. The RVS includes two categories of values: terminal values, which refer to the ultimate goals of existence, and instrumental values, which refer to the means by which those ultimate goals are achieved. Each category contains 18 values, for a total of 36. Terminal values include concepts such as happiness, wisdom, and security, while instrumental values include concepts such as honesty, ambition, and politeness.

Objective

The main objective of the Rokeach Value Survey is to understand and record the core values that guide human behavior and decision-making. Through the analysis of values, the RVS seeks to highlight the priorities and beliefs that shape human conduct. Values are considered the fundamental principles that guide people’s actions and choices. This research can be applied in various fields, such as social psychology, organizational behavior, and cultural analysis, in order to better understand the diversity of human beliefs and their influence on daily life and social structures.

Scoring

The scoring of the Rokeach Value Survey is carried out through a process in which participants rank values according to their importance. This ranking is done on a scale from 1 to 18, where 1 represents the most important value and 18 the least important value. The procedure is conducted separately for both terminal and instrumental values. The ranking allows researchers to determine which values are considered most critical by individuals and to compare these priorities across different populations and cultures. By analyzing the results, conclusions can be drawn about trends and variations in the values that govern human societies.

References

Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes, and values. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. (See Chapter 7, Organization and change within value-attitude systems, 156–178).
Robinson, John P., & Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York, NY, US: Free Press.
Hofstede, Geert, & Bond, Michael H. (1984). Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions: An Independent Validation Using Rokeach’s Value Survey. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 15(4), 417–433.
Braithwaite, Valerie. (1985). Structure of Human Values: Testing the Adequacy of the Rokeach Value Survey. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(1), 250–263.