Values
What matters to you?
Values are the principles you steer by when you have to choose. Schwartz identified ten basic values that recur across cultures, arranged in a circle where neighboring values reinforce each other and opposing values pull in different directions.
Values: your inner compass
Personality tells you how you typically think and act. Values tell you why. They are the inner compass that steers the choices you make, what you prioritize, and what gives life meaning. In SELVET’s personality test, values are mapped as a dimension of their own.
Shalom Schwartz’s theory of basic human values is one of the most validated frameworks in social psychology, confirmed across more than 82 countries.
The ten basic values
Self-Direction
Independent thought and action, the freedom to choose
Stimulation
Excitement, novelty and challenge in life
Hedonism
Pleasure and sensuous gratification
Achievement
Personal success through demonstrating competence
Power
Social status, control over people and resources
Security
Safety, harmony and stability
Conformity
Following rules and norms, not upsetting others
Tradition
Respect for customs and cultural heritage
Benevolence
Preserving the welfare of those close to you
Universalism
Care for all people and for the welfare of nature
The circular structure
The values are not arbitrary – they are organized in a circular structure where neighboring values are compatible and opposing values are in conflict.
- Openness to change (Self-Direction, Stimulation) vs. Conservation (Security, Conformity, Tradition)
- Self-enhancement (Power, Achievement) vs. Self-transcendence (Universalism, Benevolence)
This means that if you score high on Self-Direction, you will most likely score low on Conformity – they represent conflicting motivations.
Values and personality
Meta-analyses show systematic connections between Big Five and values:
| Big Five | Correlated values |
|---|---|
| Openness | Self-Direction, Stimulation, Universalism |
| Agreeableness | Benevolence, Universalism, Tradition |
| Conscientiousness | Achievement, Conformity, Security |
| Extraversion | Stimulation, Hedonism, Achievement |
How SELVET measures your values
SELVET uses an adapted version of the PVQ, where you rate how similar you are to descriptions of different people. For example:
"It is important to this person to think up new ideas and be creative. They like to do things their own way."
This format is easier to answer than abstract value ratings, and has shown good validity across cultures.
Values steer the choices that matter
Together with motivation and personality traits, values give a complete picture of what drives a choice:
- Career: Person–job fit based on values predicts satisfaction
- Relationships: Similarity in values correlates with relationship satisfaction
- Life satisfaction: Living in line with your own values increases well-being
- Decisions: Values act as criteria for difficult choices
Examples of value profiles
To see how values play out in practice, explore this analysis: