The 10 types of values: principles that govern our lives

Human beings don't act totally unpredictable; behind our actions there are a series of goals, objectives, most of which are shared and can be expressed in words.

But what moves us to act does not have to be simply a specific need related to our physiological state, such as hunger or cold. Being rational animals, we are able to create new forms of motivation through abstract thinking. We will talk about this in this article: about types of securities, the ideals that we defend on a day-to-day basis.

• Related article: "The 6 differences between ethics and morals"

What are values?

Values ​​are concepts that guide our way of behaving and that link abstract concepts to a positive or negative emotional charge, serving as references about the desirable and the undesirable. Each person has a scale of values ​​that expresses how certain aspects of life are prioritized over others, and which are most vehemently defended.

Thus, a person who holds the value of peace in high esteem will have a very different way of seeing things from another person. that above peace values ​​survival, or that another that defends in the first place respect for traditions, for example.

There are many types of values, and these are investigated both by cognitive sciences and social psychology and by ethical philosophy, since we must not forget that these are not merely descriptive concepts, but are associated with the ideas of "good" and "bad".

Types of securities

Below you can find a classification with the main types of securities. Bear in mind that some of these categories partially overlap each other, and that the same value can belong to more than one of them.

1. Personal values

This type of values ​​is defined by being applied on a daily basis through the simplest actions and, especially, through habits. Therefore, personal values are characterized by being applied to practically all areas and contexts of lifeThey are not limited to just one place or type of activity.

For example, respect for a son or daughter is usually a personal value, since it is valid in all contexts, but innovation is not usually, since under certain conditions it can be relegated without special conflicts internal

• You may be interested: "Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development"

2. Labor values

Labor values ​​are related to our way of acting in a professional contextl, that is to say in the field of work. For example, it is understood that if the work values ​​of a person do not fit with the values ​​of the company, creates an implicit conflict that generates discomfort in the worker and problems in the operation of the business.

Some examples of labor values ​​are perseverance, innovation, effort, adaptation to change, etc.

3. Company values

What characterizes company values ​​is that they claim to be both a production style and a marketing component of an organization. They are not attached to a natural person, but to a legal person, and therefore they do not arise naturally from a real person, but are a social construction that influences how the company works (not only in the office, but also in Relationship activities Public).

• Related article: "Decalogue of the psychologist: ethical and professional requirements of our profession"

4. Religious values

Religious values are tied to a belief system based on faith of a certain religion. By definition, religions include a system of symbols, religious dogma, and certain rituals shared by various people, so religious values ​​are also related to this social factor by which some believers influence the decisions and evaluations of others, often punishing those who think differently in an aspect that results troubled.

5. Family values

This type of values ​​is related to the experience of belonging to a family. With the establishment of strong emotional ties that characterize the family, there are also values ​​used to put order in the way in which we do not relate to the other members of the family.

For example, respect for the elderly may be very present in one family, while in another the value of "protection of the weak" may be above which makes the grandfather or grandfather to be treated with greater paternalism. Grandma.

6. Social values

Social values are not limited to a specific social circle just as it happens with family members, but they can be extended to the entire population. Respect for the rest of others, which translates into trying to make little noise at night, is a social value, and the same is true with respect for the right to privacy.

7. Political values

Political values ​​have to do with the ideal political model for a person, who it has to do with the public management of resources. Individual freedom, for example, is usually one of the values ​​most defended by the political tendency liberal, while universal access to basic goods tend to be more demanded by the left.

8. Aesthetic values

This set of values has to do with forms of sensory perception and the way in which they induce certain aesthetic appreciations. For this reason, they are especially important in art, but they are not limited to this area, since they are also relevant in crafts and in design in general, whether artistic or not.

Simplicity, harmony or a taste for the strange are aesthetic values.

9. Ethical values

Those values ​​related to morality are aesthetic, principles that serve to distinguish in a relatively clear way Between good and bad and that they are, in a sense, a priori: they do not have so much to do with a specific context or with the usefulness of one strategy over another, but rather have value in themselves.

Respect and peace are ethical values.

10. Material values

Material values ​​designate which material aspects of life have value over others. For example, there are people who voluntarily live with very little, while others, despite being middle-class, they feel great frustration at not being able to afford a lot of large luxuries.

• You may be interested: "Maslow's pyramid: the hierarchy of human needs"

Bibliographic references:

• Kelly, E. (2006). The Basics of Western Philosophy. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press
• Miller, C. (2009). The Conditions of Moral Realism. The Journal of Philosophical Research, 34: pp. 123 - 155.
• Paul, R.; Elder, L. (2006). The Miniature Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning. United States: Foundation for Critical Thinking Free Press.
• Tong, R.; Williams, Na. (2009). Feminist Ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Metaphysics Research Lab.