Personal values and their structure under universal and lexical approaches

The value circle is based on a theory that explains how individuals arrive at judgments on the importance of different values. The circle arises because the individuals are assumed to search for a compromise position relative to a set of universal basic values that have a pattern of incompatibilities and similarities. Evidence for the value circle is based on data collected by instruments based on this theory and developed so that its values would be universally valid (e.g., the Schwartz Value Survey, SVS). It is studied here whether ratings on values constructed by a lexical method (i.e., the Estonian Value Inventory, EVI) also support the value circle. It is found that when using scaling methods such as unfolding and MDS, the value circle emerges for both types of data. It can also be shown that the two approaches yield information that is to some extent complementary and that has stabilizing effects on the value circle. Factors from factor analysis (used in previous studies of the EVI and the SVS) can be embedded into the value circle.