Value (ethics and social sciences) facts for kids

"Values" redirects here. For other uses, see Values (disambiguation).

In ethics and social science, a value is how important something is to us. It helps us decide what actions are best to take or how to live our lives. Values are like guiding beliefs. They shape how people act and what they try to achieve.

Our main values are usually very strong. Other values might change more easily. What makes something valuable can depend on our ethical beliefs. For example, treating everyone with respect and dignity is a value. Values influence our attitudes and how we behave. They can be about morals, religion, social rules, or even beauty.

Understanding Values

Values are studied in many areas. These include ethics, which is part of philosophy. They are also studied in anthropology (the study of human societies), psychology, and sociology.

Value and Goodness

Sometimes, people use "ethical value" to mean "goodness." But "goodness" can have many meanings. Value is more specific about importance.

Kinds of Values

Personal and Cultural Values

Your personal values are what you believe is important. These can agree with or differ from the values of your culture. A culture is a group of people who share common values. These shared values help people know what to expect from each other. They also help define what is good, beautiful, and helpful in that culture.

Relative or Absolute Values

Relative values are different for different people. They also differ between different cultures. For example, what one person finds important, another might not.

Some people believe in absolute values. These values are thought to be true for everyone. They are true no matter what individuals or cultures think.

Intrinsic or Instrumental Values

Values can be intrinsic or instrumental value.

An instrumental value is something good because it helps you get something else. For example, a school bus is instrumentally good. It helps you get to school.
An intrinsic value is something good all by itself. It is not just a way to get something else. For example, happiness might be an intrinsic value.

Something can be both instrumental and intrinsic. Learning science can be good in itself. It can also be useful for getting a good job.

Universal Values

Some researchers have looked into whether there are universal values. These are values that almost everyone shares. They might be related to basic human needs. These needs include biological needs, social needs, and needs for group survival.

How Strong Values Are

The intensity of a value is how much it is present or acted upon. For example, if you value eating waffles, the intensity is how fast you eat them. If there are no waffles, the intensity is zero. But the waffles themselves still have value.

Many people want to create value and do it a lot. Some life goals are about making as much value as possible.

Positive and Negative Values

Values can be positive or negative.

Positive values are things we want to achieve or increase.
Negative values are things we want to avoid or decrease.

For example, peace is a positive value. Conflict is a negative value.

Protected Values

A protected value is something you are not willing to give up. You won't trade it, no matter the benefits. For example, some people will not harm another person. This is true even if it means saving many others.

Protected values are often seen as "good in themselves." But sometimes, people face a choice between two protected values. This is called a tragic trade-off. For example, choosing between protecting your family and not harming someone else.

Protected values can make it hard to find solutions in conflicts. This is because people are not willing to compromise on them.

Economic vs. Philosophical Value

Philosophical value is different from economic value. Economic value is about how much something is worth in money or trade. Philosophical value is about its importance for its own sake.

However, economic value can come from philosophical value. If you value something a lot, you might be willing to pay more for it.

Your Personal Values

Your personal values are your inner guide. They tell you what is good, important, or desirable. Values are one reason why you do what you do. They influence the choices you make every day.

Values help us solve common human problems. They help us decide what is most important. But if values are too strict, they can cause conflicts. This happens when different people have very different views.

Over time, shared personal values become the basis for law, customs, and traditions. Research shows that we often share values without even realizing it. Some common values include self-respect, good relationships, and a sense of accomplishment.

Differences Between People

People's values can differ. Researchers have studied these differences. They group values into categories. These include:

Openness to change: liking new things and ideas.
Self-enhancement: focusing on personal success and power.
Conservation: valuing tradition and security.
Self-transcendence: caring about the well-being of others and the world.

These value groups are linked to personality traits. For example, people who are open to new experiences often value self-direction.

Studies show that men and women sometimes value different things. Men might value achievement more. Women might value kindness and helping others more. People's values tend to stay stable as they get older.

This chart shows how different moral ideas connect with basic human values.

Moral Foundations

Another idea is the Moral Foundations Theory. It says there are five basic moral ideas:

Harm/care: protecting others from harm.
Fairness/reciprocity: treating others fairly.
In-group/loyalty: being loyal to your group.
Authority/respect: respecting leaders and traditions.
Purity/sanctity: feeling that some things are sacred.

These moral ideas are connected to the basic human values mentioned earlier.

Cultural Values

Each culture has values that its members generally share. You can often see a society's values by looking at what groups or ideas are highly respected.

Values are related to a culture's norms. Norms are rules for behavior in specific situations. Values are bigger ideas about what is good or bad. For example, flying your country's flag on a holiday is a norm. It shows the value of patriotism.

Even if your personal values don't perfectly match your culture's values, you are still part of that culture. You can take parts of different cultures that are important to you.

If someone's values strongly go against the group's norms, the group might try to make them conform. Or they might stigmatize their behavior. For example, breaking laws (which come from social norms) can lead to imprisonment.

Cultural values can also be seen globally. For example, in the global economy, countries might have different views on things like movies. Some might see movies as art, others as just entertainment. This can cause disagreements in international talks.

How Values Develop

We usually learn values from our culture. This happens through socialization, like from parents to children. Parents in different cultures teach different values. For example, parents in some cultures teach practical survival skills early. They might teach children to use tools like knives before age one.

Other parents might value social skills or independence. American parents often value intellectual ability. The Kipsigis people in Kenya value children who are smart and use their intelligence responsibly.

Factors that influence cultural values include:

History of threats: Cultures that have faced natural disasters or diseases might be "tight" cultures. This means they have strict rules and don't tolerate much difference. This helps them work together to survive.
Safety and peace: Safe environments often lead to "loose" cultures. These cultures have weaker rules and more tolerance for different behaviors.

Value Systems

A value system is a group of values that work together. They help a person or group have a clear set of beliefs.

Being Consistent

A person can have their own value system and also share a group's value system. These two systems are consistent if they don't contradict each other.

A value system is internally consistent if:

Its values do not go against each other.
Any exceptions to the values are clear and apply to all similar situations.

If values contradict each other, or exceptions are only for specific situations, the system is inconsistent.

Value Exceptions

Sometimes, there are exceptions to values. For example, a person might believe lying is wrong. But if lying saves someone's life, that might be an acceptable exception. This is because saving a life is usually valued more than not lying.

Conflicts Between Values

Even if two groups share some values, they might rank them differently. This can lead to ideological or physical conflict. For example, a value system based on individualism (focus on the individual) might clash with one based on collectivism (focus on the group).