The Values Study, a personality test developed by Gordon Allport, Philip Vernon and Gardner Lindzey, was one of the first psychological instruments developed with the objective of assessing personal values or basic motivations. In this article we will analyze the content, the mode of application and the variables that this test measures.
The American psychologist Gordon William Allport (1897-1967) is known primarily for his personalistic theory, one of the first attempts to explain personality human from psychology, emphasizing the individuality of each human being and the active aspect of our nature, which drives us to achieve goals.
In 1931 Allport, together with Philip E. Vernon and Gardner Lindzey, published a scale for evaluating personal values, which can also be understood as basic motivations. This test was based directly on the book “Types of Men” by the philosopher Eduard Spranger and its creators called it “Values Study”.
Allport thought that a good way to analyze the personality of a specific individual is to evaluate what their moral values are. In this sense he gave much more importance to the present moment than to personal history, on which the psychoanalytic orientation, which dominated the psychology of the time, was focused.
The objective of the test by Allport and his collaborators is to determine the relative weight they have for a given individual six types of values: theoretical, economic, aesthetic, social, political and religious, which Spranger considered fundamental. Later we will describe in detail the definition of each of these basic motivations.
Content and mode of application of the test
The Allport test consists of two parts. The first of them is made up of dichotomous questions; For example, item 24 (“Which of these books would you choose?”) includes the response options “A) History of religion” and “B) History of industrial development.” Currently, each item includes four response options depending on the intensity of the preference.
The second part contains approaches with four response options that They should be ordered according to the degree of relative preference Thus, in item number 9 (“What topic would you prefer to discuss in a meeting with close friends?”) the options “A) The meaning of life”, “B) The latest scientific news”, “C” should be ordered. )
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” and “D) Socialism”.
The total number of items in the test rises to 240: in the first part, 90 points are awarded to one or another of the values that are evaluated, while in the second, 150 points are distributed depending on how the response options have been ordered. of each of the elements.
The Study of Values can be applied both individually and collectively (that is, to several people at the same time). Although there is no established time limit to complete the test, examinees should try to answer the questions more or less quickly. It is important to mention that The test was designed for people with higher education
The 6 values reflected in the test
The results of the Values Study consist of obtaining six scores, one for each of the basic motivations managed by Spranger, as well as by Allport and his collaborators. The comparison between the scores on one variable and another indicates how important each of these values (or behavioral tendencies) is for the person.
1. Theoretical
People with a high score on the theoretical value They want to discover the truth about things that is, obtaining organized and systematized knowledge through logical and empirical criteria.
2. Economical
Economic value is associated with focusing on the material and practical. This includes asset accumulation, energy savings and the utilitarian conception of relationships with other people
3. Aesthetic
Those who score high in this motivation value beauty, harmony and the formal aspects of reality, which is somewhat opposed to the theoretical value. Their personal satisfaction derives from the creation and/or contemplation of aesthetic experiences.
4.Social
The main motivation of these people is to have the company of others, and helping others constitutes their core value. High scores on this variable indicate altruism, kindness, compassion and generosity
5. Political
In this case the main motivation is to obtain power and control over the behavior of other individuals; This is associated with leadership. Knowledge is seen as means to achieve this goal.
6. Religious
According to Allport, people governed by religious motives guide their behavior based on their spiritual beliefs and ethics. Both the definition of this value and the items that compose it are ambiguous and are probably the best example of the negative impact that the passage of time has had on the Study of Values.
