A Theory of Cultural Value Orientations: Explication and Applications.

A Theory of Cultural Value Orientations: Explication and Applications. Shalom H. Schwartz, social psychologist and author of  a theory of cultural value orientations has done research on  universal values  and how they exist in a wide variety of contexts. Most of his work addressed broad questions about values, such as: how are individuals’ priorities affected by social experiences, how do individuals’ priorities influence their behavior and choices, and, how do value priorities influence ideologies, attitudes, and actions in political, religious, environmental, and other domains.Through his studies, Schwartz concluded that ten types of universal values exist: achievement, benevolence, conformity,  hedonism, power, security, self-direction, stimulation, tradition, and  universalism. Schwartz also tested the possibility of  spirituality  as an eleventh universal value, but found that it did not exist in all cultures. Schwartz's value theory and instruments are part of the biannual  European Social Survey.His work presents a theory of seven cultural value orientations that form three cultural value dimensions. applies it to understanding relations of culture to significant societal phenomena. In this theory we can find Shwartz’s conception of culture, a conception of the normative value system that underlies social practices and institutions. He derived seven value orientations that are useful for describing and comparing societies. His research is based on analyses of data across 75 countries.Using the cultural orientations, Shwartz generated a worldwide empirical mapping of 75 national cultures that identifies 7 transnational cultural groupings: West European, English-speaking, Latin American, East European, South Asian, Confucian influenced, and African and Middle Eastern. There are briefly discussed cultural characteristics of these groupings. Also I’ve found   the examples of socioeconomic, political, and demogra phic factors that give rise to national differences on the cultural value dimensions, factors that are influenced by culture.