Social values could be defined as categories that define desirable states of existence that guide and evaluate our behaviors and express our needs. These values are conditioned by the social systems in which they are immersed, being culture, education, economy, etc. determining aspects in its constitution.
In the following Psychology-Online article we are going to talk about this topic, specifying what are social valueswhy they are important, what guys of values exist and, to finish, we will present a list of examples of this type of values.
What are social values
Social values are the criteria that govern the way of being, being and acting in a certain social group. These values, at their base, are based on the Universal values that since the origin of humanity have been inherent to the human condition such as: wisdom, goodness, love, purity, peace, mercy, beauty and harmony. From these, more specific ones are created that dissect the initial values into more specific aspects and that will be determined, ultimately, by the social group and the specific cultural tradition of the place.
The ultimate purpose of social values always revolves around achieving peaceful and conciliatory coexistence between members of the community and are reflected in its laws and regulatory precepts.
Importance of social values
Originally, social values were the concrete manifestation of the way of coexistence inherent to human beings. They contributed to live together in a peaceful, collaborative and respectful manner thereby avoiding disagreements that would generate disputes and conflicts among its members.
However, the progressive disconnection that the person has suffered throughout history with respect to his original way of being has led him to progressively distance his behaviors from the behavioral guide based on archetypal human values and to include other types of values that have been promoted based on the social system that has directed a certain social group. Culture, politics, economy, education, etc. The place and time have conditioned the establishment of these values and the level of respect for them.
In a society like today’s, where the economic takes precedence over the human, social values are a reflection of this way of life (success, power, prestige, obedience, self-realization, etc.). In this case, the recovery of true human values becomes a task of great relevance, if we wish to modify the current state of our social relationships and create a new one. more just, peaceful and supportive society.
Types of social values
According to Gouveia et al. (2008) values can be classified based on their functions, establishing two types with their respective sub-types:
Values that guide human behavior
Based on which we can talk about three types of orientations with two sub-functions each:
- Social: normative and interactive.
- Central: existence and supra-personal.
- Staff: realization and experimentation.
Values that represent human needs
They assume a type of motivator that gives rise to two types of values with three sub-functions each:
- Materialistic or pragmatic: existence, regulations and implementation.
- Humanitarians or idealists: supra-personal, interactive and experimentation.
We are going to briefly explain each of these 6 sub-types of values, classified based on the function they fulfill. In the next section we will present examples of values according to the type of function they fulfill:
- Existence: refers to the basic physiological needs that need to be covered in a pragmatic way both on a personal and social level.
- Realization: This is a function through which the individual, on a personal level, carries out actions with a certain pragmatic purpose.
- Normative: presupposes the performance of pragmatic behaviors with the social objective of preserving culture and social traditions.
- Supra-personal: This sub-function allows us to address cognitive, aesthetic and self-realization needs that contain both personal and social values and that are usually linked to idealistic motivations.
- Experimentation: These are values with an idealistic, humanitarian and social change motivation but that are guided through personal behavior.
- Interactive: They are values with a high humanitarian motivation whose actions are of a social nature with the objective of generating changes and restructuring what is established.
List of examples of social values
Below we are going to present a list of general social values that, depending on the type of society, culture and tradition, are more or less used:
- Wisdom
- Goodness
- Love
- Purity
- Peace
- Mercy
- Beauty
- Harmony, these eight values are the basis of all ethical and moral values since they constitute the human values intrinsic to the human essence whose balance supposes the perfection of man.
- Health
- Survival
- Personal stability, these three values correspond to values with a function of guaranteeing the existence of the person.
- Success
- Prestige
- Power, these three are values whose function is intended to encourage personal benefit and improvement.
- Tradition
- Obedience
- Religiosity, we group these three values as those that fulfill the normative function.
- Knowledge
- Maturity
- Beauty, with these three values we address supra-personal aesthetic needs, knowledge and self-realization.
- Sexuality
- Pleasure
- Emotion, these are values with a function of experimentation and personal gratification (21, 22 and 23).
- Affectivity
- Coexistence
- Social support, interactive values (24, 25 and 26) that have a humanitarian social function that encourages union and mutual collaboration
- Peace
- Freedom
- Equality
- Fraternity, four essential values to guarantee a conciliatory and humane social functioning.
Among all these values, some encourage more egocentric and individualistic personal and social behaviors compared to others that promote the union of people. As we have commented, the different social systems and models promote one or the other depending on the priorities established in economic, cultural, educational, etc. issues.
At the moment of social crisis in which we find ourselves, if we want to establish a more just and egalitarian society we will have to defend and promote social values that encourage us to unite for the common good of each and every living being and for the care of our environment.
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Bibliography
- Gouveia, VV et al. (2010). Functionalist theory of human values in Spain. Verification of the content and structure hypothesis. Inter-American Journal of Psychology, 2010, Vol.44, Nº2, pp. 213, 224.
- Pérez Delgado, E. and Mestre Escrivá, V. (1993). Development of moral judgment and human values. Social Work Notebooks No. 6, pp. 61-87, Editorial Universidad Complutense de Madrid.