On the Relative Importance of Personal Values Validating Schwartz's Theory of Value Structures by Computerized Paired Comparisons

The relative importance of values is a central feature in Schwartz's value theory. However, instruments used for validating his theory did not assess relative importance directly. Rather, values were independently rated and scores then statistically centered, person-by-person. Whether these scores match those that result from explicitly comparing values has not been tested. We study this here using the Computerized Paired Comparison of Values (CPCV). This instrument was applied to samples from Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Israel, together with Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ). CPCV- and PVQ-data were analyzed by separate and joint multidimensional scaling, generalized procrustes, and response time analyses. Results support the validity of Schwartz' s structural theory, independently of the assessment instrument used

Computerized Paired Comparison of Values (CPCV): Cross-Cultural Evidence for the Validity of an Alternative Form of Measuring Value Preferences:Revised and extended paper presented at the IACCP 21st International Congress, July 17-21 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa

We developed a new instrument for assessing value preferences by paired comparisons, the Computerized Paired Comparisons of Values (CPCV). Information about this instrument is presented, together with validation data from Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Israel. Altogether 1097 subjects received a 45 graded paired comparisons task. On each trial, two of the ten basic values proposed by Schwartz (1992) were presented. Subjects indicated the degree to which one basic value is more important than the other. Importance scores were analyzed together with scores based on Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-40). Multitrait-Multimethod-Analyses were accomplished for each country. In addition, correlations between the CPCV- and PVQ-scores and the 10-Item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10) were computed for the German, Spanish, and the Israeli samples. The results of these analyses corroborate the validity of our paired comparisons approach across countries. The advantages of paired com-parisons over rating and ranking procedures for assessing values in cross cultural research are discussed