science

Rokeach Value Survey

Rokeach Value Survey is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rokeach Value Survey rather than just read about it. In short: The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) is a values classification instrument. Developed by social psychologist Milton Rokeach, the instrument is designed for rank-order scaling of 36 values, including 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values.

Key takeaways

Rokeach Value Survey belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rokeach Value Survey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rokeach Value Survey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) is a values classification instrument. Developed by social psychologist Milton Rokeach, the instrument is designed for rank-order scaling of 36 values, including 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values. The task for participants in the survey is to arrange the 18 terminal values, followed by the 18 instrumental values, into an order "of importance to YOU, as guiding principles in YOUR life". The RVS has been studied in the context of personality psychology, behavior, marketing, social structure and cross-cultural studies. There have been a number of attempts to reduce the 18 instrumental values and 18 terminal values into a set of underlying factors, but without consistent success. Attempts have included that by Feather and Peay in 1975 and by Charles Johnston in 1995. Rokeach's RVS is based on a 1968 volume (Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values) which presented the philosophical basis for the association of fundamental values with beliefs and attitudes. His value system was instrumentalised into the Rokeach Value Survey in his 1973 book The Nature of Human Values.

Terminal Values Terminal Values refer to desirable end-states of existence. These are the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime. These values vary among different groups of people in different cultures. The terminal values in RVS are:

Instrumental Values Instrumental Values refer to preferable modes of behavior. These are preferable modes of behavior, or means of achieving the terminal values. The Instrumental Values are:

Criticisms Keith Gibbins and Iain Walker question whether the values included in the RVS are the ones that are critical. They argue that Rokeach, who started with several hundred values suggested by 130 individuals and a literature review, had inadequate criteria for reducing the values. They also questioned the validity of Rokeach's measures, suggesting that when people rank the values they may not even be ranking the same referents.

See also Theory of Basic Human Values Values scale World Values Survey Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rokeach Value Survey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rokeach Value Survey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rokeach Value Survey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rokeach Value Survey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rokeach Value Survey

In research: Rokeach Value Survey appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rokeach Value Survey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rokeach Value Survey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Psychological tests and scales, Self-report inventories, Value (ethics), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rokeach Value Survey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rokeach Value Survey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rokeach Value Survey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rokeach Value Survey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rokeach Value Survey in simple terms?

Why does Rokeach Value Survey matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rokeach Value Survey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rokeach Value Survey.