By Tim Kasser

The potential of engagement in arts & culture to encourage values that support well-being, social justice, and ecological sustainability

Over the last three decades, psychologists have conducted studies on thousands of people in dozens of nations around the world in an attempt to understand what humans value and how they prioritise different aims in life. These studies converge on the conclusion that the human value system is composed of about a dozen basic types of values, including aims such as having fun, understanding one’s place in the universe, being healthy, and having close relationships. People in every corner of the globe appear to care about and be motivated by each of these basic values, although of course to varying extents.

The Organisation of Values

Not only is it the case that people have the same fundamental types of values, but these values are organised in similar ways in people’s minds. Specifically, the data strongly suggest that the organisation of the human value system is such that some values are relatively consistent with each other (and easy to pursue simultaneously), whereas other values are in relative conflict (and relatively difficult to pursue at the same time). Psychologists have statistically represented the extent of compatibility or conflict between values via circumplex models such as the one presented in Figure 1. When the pursuit of one value facilitates success at another value, those two values are placed adjacent to each other; thus, the values of image and status are nearby each other, as buying an in-fashion handbag or automobile is quite compatible with the enhancement of both one’s image and status. When the pursuit of one value interferes with success at another, those values are placed on opposite sides of the circumplex; thus, the values of spirituality and hedonism are due north and south, respectively, as it is rather difficult to party late on Saturday night and then pray early on Sunday morning.

Additional evidence that the human value system is organised in this circumplex fashion comes from studies which show that briefly mentioning one set of values creates ripple effects on other values. For example, if a person thinks about the importance of image, then there is likely to be a bleed-over effect, such that popularity and financial success will become more important (as such pursuits are compatible with the desire for an appealing image). Further, thinking about image is also likely to cause a suppression effect, such that being self-accepting will become less of a priority (as that aim generally conflicts with the desire to have an image that depends on appealing to others).