Values
Schwartz's 19 Basic Values: A Circle of What Matters to You
Updated 2026-10-06 · Nadapge editorial team
Offer two colleagues the same promotion and you may get two different reactions: one is thrilled, the other immediately worries about time with family. Neither is wrong. They simply weigh different values. Social psychologist Shalom Schwartz built the most widely tested framework for describing those differences, studied in samples from more than 80 countries.
What is a value?
Schwartz defined values as desirable, trans-situational goals that serve as guiding principles in a person’s life (Schwartz, 1992). A few features stand out:
- Values reach across situations. Someone who prizes security tends to show it in work, money, and health decisions alike.
- Values are ordered. Most people endorse nearly all values to some degree; what differs is which one wins when two collide.
- Personality describes how you tend to act. Values describe what you want and what you think is worth pursuing.
The circle: neighbors fit, opposites clash
The signature idea of Schwartz’s theory is that values form a circular structure. Values next to each other are easy to pursue together; values on opposite sides create tension. The original theory listed 10 values. A later refinement split some of them to give 19 more precise values (Schwartz et al., 2012).
Four higher-order values, nineteen values
| Higher-order value | Values included | Core question |
|---|---|---|
| Openness to change | Self-direction (thought), self-direction (action), stimulation, hedonism | Can I do things my own way, and try new things? |
| Self-enhancement | Hedonism, achievement, power (dominance), power (resources), face | Can I succeed, be recognized, and have influence? |
| Conservation | Face, security (personal), security (societal), tradition, conformity (rules), conformity (interpersonal), humility | Can I keep things stable, orderly, and safe? |
| Self-transcendence | Humility, benevolence (dependability), benevolence (caring), universalism (concern), universalism (nature), universalism (tolerance) | Does this help other people and the world? |
Hedonism, face, and humility appear twice on purpose. They sit on the borders between higher-order groups. On a circle, boundaries are gradual rather than sharp.
A few values, unpacked
- Self-direction (thought): freedom to develop your own ideas
- Face: protecting your public image and avoiding humiliation
- Conformity (interpersonal): avoiding upsetting or harming other people
- Benevolence (dependability): being a reliable, trustworthy member of your group
- Universalism (tolerance): accepting and understanding people who are different from you
Conflicts and compatibilities
Two axes capture the classic tensions:
- Openness to change vs. conservation: “I want something new” versus “I want what is familiar and safe”
- Self-enhancement vs. self-transcendence: “my success and influence” versus “others’ welfare and the world’s”
Torn between starting a business (stimulation, self-direction) and a secure public-sector job (personal security)? That pull comes from values on opposite sides of the circle. By contrast, achievement and power are neighbors and sit together easily, as do benevolence and universalism.
Knowing the structure can reframe a hard decision. Instead of “why am I so indecisive?” you can say “both of these matter to me, which is exactly why this is hard.”
How values shape choices
Values relate to behavior, but not equally. Anat Bardi and Schwartz found that values with less social pressure attached, such as stimulation and tradition, connected more strongly to behavior, while values that most people are expected to endorse showed weaker links (Bardi & Schwartz, 2003). Values influence what you notice, which options feel attractive, and how satisfied you feel after choosing (Sagiv et al., 2017).
Do values change?
Values are fairly stable, but they shift with life stage. Across many countries, older people tend to place more weight on conservation values such as security and tradition and less on openness values such as stimulation and hedonism (Schwartz, 2012). Big transitions like becoming a parent or changing careers can also reshuffle priorities, so retaking a values survey every few years can be revealing.
No value is shameful
Some people feel uneasy when power or face comes out high. But wanting influence can fuel taking responsibility and leading, and caring about face can mean protecting trust and reputation. How you pursue a value matters more than which value it is.
How to use this
- Write down your top three and bottom two values.
- List where most of your time and money went last month. How well does it match your top values?
- For a decision you are facing, mark which values each option would serve.
- Compare results with someone close to you. Recurring friction may trace back to values on opposite sides of the circle.
See your ranking of all 19 values in the values test, and explore them alongside your career interests in your report.
References
- Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65. doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
- Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116
- Schwartz, S. H., Cieciuch, J., Vecchione, M., Davidov, E., Fischer, R., Beierlein, C., Ramos, A., Verkasalo, M., Lönnqvist, J.-E., Demirutku, K., Dirilen-Gumus, O., & Konty, M. (2012). Refining the theory of basic individual values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(4), 663-688. doi.org/10.1037/a0029393
- Bardi, A., & Schwartz, S. H. (2003). Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(10), 1207-1220.
- Sagiv, L., Roccas, S., Cieciuch, J., & Schwartz, S. H. (2017). Personal values in human life. Nature Human Behaviour, 1, 630-639. doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0185-3
This article is general information and does not replace medical or psychological diagnosis or treatment.