Updated July 22, 2022 587 Author: Dmitry Petrov
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The material and spiritual in a person’s life are two components of his existence.
Each person is individual, therefore people have different priorities: for some the main value is material wealth, for others it is the work of the soul.
Today we’ll talk about what material and moral values are. Let us dwell in a little more detail on the interpretation of values related to the spiritual sphere.
Definition and role in personality psychology
Values are objects, phenomena, and ideals that are significant for a person, which largely determine his behavior and activities. In simple terms, this is what is valuable and priority for a particular individual.
Value is one of the fundamental components of personality. In Russian psychology, the highest level of personality structure is orientation. It is responsible for directing a person’s active attention, i.e., his activity. Orientation consists of three components: values, attitudes and beliefs.
A person’s life values are the foundation on which his entire life is based.
Albert Einstein
Each person has their own individual set of values. They begin to form in childhood under the influence of parental education. As they grow older, society begins to leave its mark on their development. The child learns something from teachers, takes something from peers, and borrows something from the media and the Internet.
By adulthood, the main skeleton of priorities, as a rule, has already been formed. But this does not mean that he will remain unchanged until the end of his life. Some life events can force a person to reconsider the system of objects and categories that are significant to him. For example, a toxic, painful relationship that ends poorly can lead to a decrease in the importance of such a value as love.
The more harmonious and balanced the system of life priorities is organized, the more successful and happy a person is.
Functions of values
Values mean a lot in our lives. They form a kind of personality skeleton, on which all life goals rest, and determine our principles, priorities, and behavior patterns.
Let's look at the main features in detail.
Regulatory
Values allow individuals to regulate their behavior. In order to feel like a full-fledged member of society, a person must fit his actions into the framework of generally accepted human norms. If behavior corresponds to the norms of culture and morality, a person feels like a full-fledged and valuable unit of society.
If an individual’s actions deviate from socially acceptable models, he experiences anxiety and discomfort, which can subsequently develop into mental disorders. It is useless to deny universal human values, because they are firmly anchored at the level of the collective unconscious.
Prognostic
Based on values, an individual builds a life program, sets priorities, and plans his activities. In other words, he predicts his future. A person also receives strength and resources to implement this life program through them.
Estimated
The value system is a universal tool for evaluating objects and phenomena. It helps to navigate a complex and contradictory world and choose the most effective behavioral strategies. We evaluate everything through the prism of our own priorities, often without even noticing it.
For example, your friend reports that he sent his elderly mother to a nursing home against her wishes. In your system of priorities, family comes first, so his action seems immoral and unprincipled to you. You decide not to communicate with this person because he no longer inspires your trust.
Protective
Values are a kind of filter that protects the psyche from unnecessary information that can seriously shake a person’s picture of the world.
As you know, the brain perceives information selectively. He is simply unable to digest everything that comes into our field of vision. Special tools help him simplify his perception.
For example, we may simply not notice something, ignore it, consciously or unconsciously ignore it. This is especially true for information that contradicts our principles and worldview.
Adaptive
Values help an individual satisfy his needs in a socially acceptable way. They play an essential role in the socialization process. First, a person is introduced to universal human values, and then, based on them, he forms his own.
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Motivational
Values are a powerful source of motivation. By doing something in the name of our priorities, we receive a powerful charge of motivating energy. In the process of achieving life goals, it helps you move forward confidently and not give up ahead of time.
This function is inherent in some time management techniques.
The most striking example is the Franklin Pyramid. Values are the base of the pyramid, and above them everything else is located: global goals, long-term plans, short-term plans, plans for every day. Ideally, a person should correlate each of his actions with his life priorities. Then he will always have a high level of motivation.
The relationship between values and concepts such as evaluation, truth and goal setting.
To detect and analyze the manifestation of values in reality, to connect values with reality, in philosophy there is such a category as assessment. It was first introduced by the German philosopher Heinrich Rickert (1863 – 1936). In his opinion, evaluation is a psychological subjective act that expresses the subject’s attitude to value. Evaluation examines the development of cultural phenomena from the point of view of values. Since culture is in the process of development, therefore, the concept characterizing culture in the perspective of human history cannot be limited to a certain historical situation.
The entire diversity of culture, before correlation with values, represents the boundless diversity of the past. History includes only that which is connected with the timeless - with the embodiment of values.
Rickert comes to a dual understanding of value: on the one hand, value is limited by the past and future, and therefore associated with a certain historical tradition, on the other hand, value is timeless and formal in relation to historical material.
The question of the relationship between truth and value is one aspect of the more general problem of the relationship between contemplation and action, theory and practice.
At the same time, there is a certain asymmetry between truth and value.
Firstly, the establishment of the true relationship between thought and reality is most often not particularly noted. For example, the statement: “man is a rational animal” is equivalent to the statement: “it is true that man is a rational animal.” Establishing a value relationship always requires special linguistic means: “it’s good that man is a rational animal.”
Secondly, the word “true” is used, as a rule, only in relation to statements.
Thirdly, if the idea corresponds to its object, then the idea is considered true, but if the object corresponds to the idea, the object itself is considered good.
That truth and value are a relation of correspondence between thought and reality has long been the basis for the identification of truth and value. In particular, Kant repeatedly comes across the idea that truth is dual: it means the correspondence of a thought to the object it concerns and, at the same time, the correspondence of the object itself to the thought expressed about it.
Human life is unthinkable without designating goals and goal setting. From birth and throughout life, a person is in culture and society, and in the process of life he perceives the values that are encoded in culture. Based on these values, a person sets goals.
But, often, goals (if we talk about more global, strategic goals) are already included in cultural education and are taken for granted: to grow a tree, build a house and raise a son. However, it is often impossible to immediately distinguish between goals and values. When talking about goals, it seems important that a goal is not always a certain future. In a sense, the goal is the elusive present.
The goal may be to have a process with certain characteristics. For example, I want to maintain good health for as long as possible. Or - I want to receive a certain income over a certain period of time (per month, for example). Goals can also be the preservation or acquisition of a certain state or quality (the goal is to become free, to be confident, to be calm). Of course, achieving the goal in this case will be constant work. By realizing and understanding our own values, we significantly facilitate goal-setting and choice of alternatives in various uncertain situations.
In goal setting, no less important is setting priorities and creating a kind of hierarchy of goals. At the same time, the main values dictate the main goals. When setting priorities, it is necessary to take into account that the topical (urgent) and the important are different things. You cannot sacrifice the main goals, and therefore the main values, in the name of momentary problems. In general, we can say that in the case of strategic, process goals, there is a maximum correspondence between “goal and value.”
Classification
In psychology there are several classifications of values.
According to their content, they are divided into material and intangible.
- Material
These include objects of the material world that are part of human life and culture. Some of them are vital and universal: food, clothing, shelter. Others serve to increase comfort and improve the quality of life: household appliances, cars, various accessories, luxury items, etc.
The latter become valuable only when there are no problems with the former. A hungry person will not dream of owning a car until he can provide himself with adequate and regular food.
- Spiritual
They do not have a specific material equivalent and exist only in a person’s head. They are often contrasted with material ones and manifested as more important and advanced. However, this is not entirely true.
Very often, spiritual values are inextricably linked with material ones and are even mediated by them. For example, public recognition can be expressed through the possession of luxury goods: expensive cars, luxury real estate, branded clothing, jewelry.
Their significance is determined primarily by the moral and ethical norms established in society, cultural traditions, and social ideals. Some of them change over time, and some remain unchanged for thousands of years, for example: family, love, friendship, freedom.
Spiritual values were formed later than material ones. They are also divided into several types:
- Universal human values that are firmly entrenched in the collective consciousness: health, love, family, freedom. The ones that don't change over time.
- Moral and ethical ones reflect a person’s ideas about good and evil and form morality. These include honesty, loyalty, a sense of duty, respect and reverence for elders, and compassion.
- Aesthetic ones are associated with experiencing a sense of beauty.
The following classification divides values according to their awareness.
- Conscious
These are those that a person is well aware of, because he himself proclaimed them. For example, you say to yourself: “Family is the most important thing in life for me.” This means that you will make every life choice based on this attitude.
The better a person is aware of his priorities, the more harmonious and happier his life is. He is not torn apart by internal conflicts and contradictions; he firmly knows his goals and desires and purposefully moves towards them.
- Unconscious
Some categories that are significant to us may be hidden in the unconscious. They end up there as a result of the action of psychological defenses. A person does not want to admit any weaknesses and imperfections in himself, so he tries to push them into the deeper layers of the psyche.
For example, a person has problems with self-esteem and is highly dependent on the opinions of others. It’s not very pleasant to admit this, so he tries his best to hide this fact from himself. But this does not make the importance of someone else’s approval any less, it only ceases to be realized. At the same time, it also continues to influence human behavior.
He does everything to get approval, but he covers it up with other motives. For example, he takes out a loan to buy a smartphone of the latest model, because all his friends and colleagues have the same one. And he may lie to himself that the old phone has stopped working normally and does not hold a battery charge.
We must try to transfer all unconscious values to the level of consciousness. Only then will it be possible to work with them.
According to their orientation, values are divided into terminal and instrumental. This classification was introduced by the American psychologist Milton Rokeach.
- Terminal
These are categories that are significant in themselves. Among them there are both spiritual categories and material objects. These include love, friendship, freedom, creativity, health, family, career, comfort, etc. This is what a person strives for, around which his life goals are built.
- Instrumental
They are means of achieving terminal ones. That is, they are not significant in themselves, but only as a tool on the path to vital goals. These include socially approved personality traits, such as hard work, willpower, perseverance, determination, stress resistance, curiosity, and creativity. People strive to develop them because they help them achieve a prosperous and happy life.
Health
For many people, especially in adulthood, health becomes the first step of the value pedestal. At the same time, for some people, house, money, cars and vacations at expensive resorts come first. And some of them sometimes do not understand very well that a sick person no longer cares about anything except health, he is ready to give all material goods in exchange for recovery, but this is not always possible. You need to be more careful about your physical condition , not kill yourself with bad habits and excessive hard work, give relief to your body and devote enough time to rest and sleep. It is extremely important to realize that health is the most valuable thing in the life of any person, because health is necessary for everyone without exception.
Hierarchy of values
In the psyche of every person, values are arranged in a hierarchy in accordance with their significance. For some, career may come first, for others family may be most important, and for others spiritual development is most important. Knowing what his hierarchy of significant objects and categories looks like, a person can predict his actions with greater efficiency.
To diagnose the value-semantic sphere of personality, the Milton Rokeach test is used. It allows you to rank the basic terminal and instrumental values of an individual. We will limit ourselves to terminal ones.
Let's determine what your value system consists of. Take a piece of paper and a pen. Write down 18 points in a column on the left side:
- Active, active life.
- Health.
- Wisdom.
- Interesting job.
- Love.
- The beauty of nature and art.
- Material wealth.
- Having true friends.
- Public acceptance.
- Cognition.
- Personal productivity.
- Self-development.
- Freedom.
- Happy family life.
- Other people's happiness.
- Creation.
- Self confidence.
- Pleasures and entertainment.
Now you need to thoughtfully and carefully read the list and choose the one value that is most important to you. Write it down to the right of the list, and cross it out in the left column.
Do the procedure again with the remaining 17 points. Choose the most important one and write it down on the right under the first one. Then again and again, until all the points in the left column are crossed out, and a new column appears on the right. This will be your hierarchy of values.
The first 6 points in your hierarchy are the most significant objects and categories for you, which for the most part form a picture of the world and determine behavior. Points 7 to 12 are indifferent values for you that do not have a special impact on the personality. From the 12th point and below, rejected values are located. You either ignore them completely or are prejudiced.
Creation
The value of creativity lies in the unique opportunity to realize your ideas. Creativity gives complete freedom of self-expression to the author, allowing him to bring to life his wildest thoughts, emotions, and images through the creation of the final product. Creative people are people with a fine mental organization; they are artists, musicians, sculptors, designers, fashion designers and many other people of art. They try to realize themselves in creativity, combining their calling, their talent with everyday activities and household responsibilities. Muse is the most important value in their development. The process of creating another masterpiece becomes the meaning of life, and inspiration makes this process incredibly easy and enjoyable.
Do values change throughout life?
A person, as a rule, enters adult life with an already formed system of values. But this does not mean that until the end of his days it will remain unchanged. Life changes - priorities change, experience accumulates. All this leaves an imprint on the value-semantic sphere.
How do a person's priorities change? Most often this happens without his conscious participation. For example, due to age-related changes. Yesterday's teenager and a person who has crossed the 30-year mark are very different in their views, lifestyle, and habits. If for the first the main things in life can be pleasure and entertainment, then the second is more focused on family and career.
Also, accumulated negative experience can lead to the breakdown of the existing system of priorities. For example, a person was in a relationship for a long time, made plans to start a family, but his partner betrayed him. Having experienced severe pain and fearing a repetition of the situation, our hero decides to reduce the importance of the value “love” for himself and focus on his career. Or rather, his brain decides this for him, and he himself simply feels frustration in this area of life.
Problems in the value-semantic sphere
If everything is not in order in the value-semantic sphere of the individual, other structures of the psyche will also suffer. And most importantly, the quality of life will significantly decrease. Let's look at possible problems.
- Conflict of several values
There are situations when life priorities come into conflict with each other. This can lead to acute intrapersonal conflict, which will deplete the person.
For example, a young man has two priorities in life: love and creativity. He plays in a rock band and is in a relationship with his beloved and loving girl. But a situation arises in which he has to choose between them. A guy is offered a five-year contract in another country with great prospects, but his girlfriend cannot go with him. The choice for him will be very difficult and painful.
- Realization of other people's values
I wrote above that a person first assimilates a collective system of values, and then, based on it, forms his own. It is very important that there are no distortions in either direction. That is, the personal should not contradict the collective, and the collective should not suppress the personal.
For example, a girl grew up in a religious family, where her parents took all the rules and rituals very seriously. But the girl did not feel the same need in her soul. She wanted to live an ordinary social life, to rejoice and have fun, as all her peers did. But fear and guilt before my parents forced me to accept their lifestyle and limit myself in my desires.
- Destructive ways to realize values
The ways in which a person realizes his priorities should not run counter to the law and moral standards, and should not cause harm to the person himself, other people and nature.
For example, the value of “material wealth” cannot be realized through theft, while the value of “pleasure and entertainment” cannot be realized through taking drugs.
Self-development
The development of the personality itself is very valuable. A person matures, becomes wiser, gains useful life experience, makes correct, informed and balanced conclusions and, accordingly, makes the right decisions in any life and professional issues. He controls his emotions, is cultured in communication, develops his horizons, and becomes the right guide for the younger generation. A comprehensively developed person pays attention to his health, physical fitness and appearance, is neat in everything, clean both in thoughts and in relationships. A person who makes every effort for personal growth and self-improvement strives to change his attitude towards life, to understand his role in the world, and to improve relationships with people around him.
