Measuring values in the European Values Study

Measuring values in the European Values Study

Loek Halman

Department of Sociology

Faculty of Social & Behavioral Sciences

2Measuring values in EVS

The concept of values: DefinitionMeasurement

Example from EVS

Measuring values in the European Values Study


Values … provide guidelines that allow people to master life … influence our behavior … specify and preserve social behavior … define what we want to do our best for and binds

people in distinguished groups …command or forbid, they define approval or

disapproval, recommend or advice against….they legitimate behaviors


Defining values terminological jungle (Brandsma, 1977: 62) "Misere der 'Wertforschung'" (Kmieciak, 1976:

23) "Soziologischer Sprachgewirr" (Kmieciak, 1976:

147)


Clyde Kluckhon 1959"..a conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or characteristic of a group, of the desirable which influences the selection from available modes, means and ends of action" (p.95).


Critics

explicit-implicit; individual-group

circularity (wünschenwerten)

determining behavior?‘desirable’ is also difficult to define


Milton Rokeach

‘... an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence’ (Rokeach, 1968: 160; Rokeach, 1973: 5).


Definitions

"modes of normative orientation of action ..which define the main directions of action without reference to specific goals or more detailed situations or structures" (Parsons, 1960: 171).

"principles which "guide", "channel", or "direct" behavior" (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961: 6).


Definition Isteer behavior: "Leitlinien" (Kmieciak), standards or criteria "for guiding action" (Rokeach, Kluckhohn)

direction: 'desirable' (Kluckhohn), 'preferable' (Rokeach), 'gewünscht' (Friedrichs)

Theoretical construct: 'conceptions' (Kluckhohn, Brewster-Smith), 'Vorstellungen' (Friedrichs), 'belief' (Rokeach), 'Ordnungskonzept' (Kmieciak), thus: not direct observable


Related concepts

desires

convictions

beliefs

norms

attitudes


Values and related concepts Values have consequences for beliefs, attitudes, and

skills (Hofstede, 2000: 10) Related concepts more directed towards certain

behavior Values are more fundamental, deeper: ‘not

concerned with specific objects or persons’ (Reich & Adcock, 1976)


Thus……• "..a value is … a disposition of a person just like an attitude,

but more basic than an attitude, often underlying it" (Rokeach, 1968: 124).

• "Values are standards of desirability that are independent of specific situations. The same value may be a point of reference for a great many specific norms. … Values, as standards (criteria) for establishing what should be regarded as desirable, provide the grounds for accepting or rejecting particular norms" (Williams, 1968: 284).


Definition IInot specific but general

Values are only an element in motivation and in determining action’ (Kluckhohn, 1959: 400): not determining

Values are revealed in attitudes, opinions, norms etc.


Thus, values are: Steering principles Direction is desired Theoretical construct Not specific, but general, more

fundamental, underlying Not determining Revealed in attitudes, norms, convictions

etc


A value is:

…a deeply rooted motivation or orientation guiding or explaining certain attitudes, norms, opinions which on their turn will direct human action or at least part of it


Measuring values

Ask people their valuesBUT

We do not know our values!


Thus, indirect… Describe ideal behavior Describe what you desire/want Choices (Kluckhohn) Content analysis Surveys: e.g., Rokeach, Schwartz,

Hofstede, Triandis, Inglehart, EVS/WVS


A value is:…a deeply rooted motivation or orientation guiding or explaining certain attitudes, norms, opinions which on their turn will direct human action or at least part of it

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Values and related concepts

values attitudes, normsbeliefs, opinions

Measuring values in EVS

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General latent structure modelA

B

C

D

L


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Latent structure models

• Factor analysis• Guttman scaling/Mokken scaling• Latent trait analysis• Latent class analysis• ……



An example from EVS

Work ethos


Work is a moral duty income structure

identity and status contribution to society

discipline


work comes first

not working makes you lazy

receiving money without working is

humiliating

job to develop talents

work is a duty

WORK ETHOS


Measuring work ethos

to fully develop your talents, you need to have a job (identity)

it is humiliating to receive money without having to work for it (income)

people who don’t work turn lazy (structure) work is a duty towards society (society) work should always come first, even if it means less

spare time (discipline)

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Answer categories

1 = Agree strongly 2 = Agree

3 = Neither agree, nor disagree4 = Disagree

5 = Disagree strongly


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Factor analysis

F1v92 0,638v93 0,637v94 0,693v95 0,690v96 0,709



Comparability of measures

Comparing scores on latent variables is useless in case the latent variable has different meanings in different countries. Because the meaning (interpretation) of the latent variable is determined by the relations between latent and manifest variables, these relationships have to be carefully examined (Kohn, 1987; Adler, 1993)

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Split filemerged FR DE AT ES PT NL IR EE LV LT PL CZ SK RO BU GR RU MT UA AL AM BA CY

CY-TR GE KO MD ME RS CH

v92 0,64 0,63 0,66 0,65 0,66 0,69 0,62 0,69 0,65 0,45 0,63 0,64 0,73 0,68 0,48 0,64 0,65 0,63 0,61 0,56 0,53 0,60 0,63 0,64 0,55 0,66 0,68 0,55 0,62 0,60 0,61

v93 0,64 0,59 0,60 0,64 0,53 0,67 0,59 0,77 0,67 0,66 0,72 0,52 0,71 0,66 0,63 0,66 0,57 0,73 0,56 0,66 0,71 0,51 0,65 0,66 0,63 0,61 0,72 0,49 0,61 0,59 0,53

v94 0,69 0,67 0,66 0,74 0,69 0,70 0,70 0,74 0,69 0,61 0,64 0,61 0,77 0,70 0,73 0,66 0,65 0,71 0,72 0,67 0,69 0,56 0,73 0,71 0,73 0,60 0,73 0,68 0,70 0,61 0,60

v95 0,69 0,72 0,74 0,72 0,71 0,77 0,76 0,74 0,74 0,72 0,77 0,76 0,76 0,77 0,75 0,76 0,79 0,70 0,71 0,74 0,73 0,67 0,74 0,77 0,69 0,76 0,64 0,72 0,74 0,74 0,74

v96 0,71 0,70 0,70 0,77 0,64 0,59 0,70 0,67 0,73 0,65 0,67 0,67 0,72 0,70 0,77 0,69 0,72 0,69 0,57 0,68 0,58 0,72 0,69 0,63 0,52 0,67 0,74 0,75 0,71 0,71 0,63



Calculating scores• Sumscores: non-weighted unstandardized scores:

COMPUTE workethos=(V92 + V93 + V94 + V95 + v96)/5.

• Factor scores: weighted standardized scores produced by factor analysis

FACTOR /VARIABLES V92 V93 V94 V95 V96 /MISSING LISTWISE /ANALYSIS V92 V93 V94 V95 V96 /PRINT INITIAL EXTRACTION /CRITERIA FACTORS(1) ITERATE(25) /EXTRACTION PC /ROTATION NOROTATE /SAVE REG(1 workethos) /METHOD=CORRELATION.

Theme: Values & Norms 2009: Values

Work ethos in 1999


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BG KO CY GE AL PT AM RO MD NCY SK GR DE AT UA ME RS CZ RU ES EE BA LT MT FR LV IE PL CH NL-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Work ethos in 2008


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Measuring and Comparing Values in 16 Countries of

the Western WorldDocumentation of the European Values

Study 1981-1990in Europe and North America

Loek Halman & Astrid Vloet

November 1994


Examples

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Religious and moral orientations

Religious values

• Private religiosity• Traditional belief• Confidence in the church• Rites of passage

Moral values

• Private permissivenes• Public permissivenes

Measuring values in EVS - Examples

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Social political valuesConservatism• Economic • Cultural

Measuring values in EVS-Examples

Confidence in institutions• General confidence in

institutions • Confidence in democratic

institutions • Confidence in authoritative

institutions

Tolerance • Ethnic • Behavioral• Extremists

Materialism-postmaterialism

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Social-Political valuesPolitical Left-right Political involvement

• Protest activity• Protest proness


Statements about government and economy • Individual freedom • Political resignation

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Primary relations

Marital orientations• Cultural homogeneity • Material conditions • Affection• Immaterial conditions

Family • Parent-child relationship • Traditional family pattern


Educational values• Conformity• Achievement

Gender roles • Rejection of the traditional women's role• Equal roles for men and women

Work – Extrinsic– Intrinsic– Work ethos


Civic engagement– Membership – Volunteering

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Work, civil society….

Solidarity– Social spatial– Social economic

EnvironmentNew Environmental Paradigm

Immigrants – Perceived threat– Xenophobia– Etnic and civic qualities of

national identity

Thank you!

Measuring values in the European Values Study

Documents

behaviors3 measuring

evsmeasuring values

general values

evsthe concept of values

preferable rokeach

belief rokeach

action kluckhohn

existence rokeach