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Outline on Universal
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UNIVERSAL VALUES INCLUDE THE SET OF VALUES THAT ALL HUMAN
SOCIETIES PRACTICE, & THUS THE RANGE OF THEM IS VERY WIDE, & THUS
UNIVERSALITY DOES NOT IMPLY SIMILARITY |
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In any analysis of values, some values compete w/ each other or make
another value unattainable, while other values complement or enhance the
ability to practice a value or set of values |
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There is little agreement among social scientists on whether universal
values exist both b/c of the variety & range of values in existence
& b/c of a lack of a complete understanding of this complex phenomenon |
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There is agreement that humanity, across time & across the globe,
has had values related to a universal set of cultural practices, including
everything from conception & birth to death & the afterlife, &
every cultural practice in btwn |
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MURDOCK'S SET OF UNIVERSAL PRACTICES DEMONSTRATES THAT EVERY
CULTURE MUST STRUCTURE VALUES AROUND ALL HUMAN BEHAVIORS FROM BIRTH TO
DEATH |
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The anthropologist George Murdock found that despite their differences,
all societies have certain common practices & beliefs, or cultural
universals |
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Cultural universals are specific behavioral elements that are common
to every culture. |
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Cultural universals in practice aren't nearly the same everywhere |
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Murdock's list of cultural universals included:
athletic sports
cooking
courtship
dancing
family
funeral ceremonies
games
language
marriage
medicine
music
religion
sexual restrictions |
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Murdock was pointing out is that each culture has its own way of cooking,
burying, celebrating, procreating, etc. |
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Although Murdock's universals are found in every culture, the way in
which they are expressed varies from culture to culture |
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SCHWARTZ ORGANIZED A SET OF UNIVERSAL VALUES INTO 4 CATEGORIES OF
OPENNESS TO CHANGE, SELF TRANSCENDENCE, CONSERVATION, & SELF ENHANCEMENT |
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The psychologist Shalom Schwartz has elaborated a widely accepted value
model that consists of 10 human value types |
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For Schwartz values can be seen as abstract concepts or beliefs concerning
a person's goals and serve as guiding standards in his or her life |
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Values describe what is fundamentally important to a person & therefore
form a main part of an individual's identity |
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For Schwartz values are ordered along two major dimensions: openness
to change vs. conservation and self enhancement vs. self transition |
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See the Figure: Model of Value Priorities |
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VALUE PRIORITIES
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VALUE
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Openness to Change |
Stimulation |
Self Direction |
Self Transcendence |
Universalism |
Benevolence |
Conservation |
Conformity |
Tradition |
Security |
Self Enhancement |
Power |
Achievement |
Hedonism |
In relating value priorities to values, the values may
overlap into adjoining priorities |
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Self Direction: Self direction values an independence
of thought & action where one values freedom, choosing, creating,
exploring, curiosity, & choosing one's own goals in life.
Universalism: Universalism values understanding, equality,
social justice, wisdom, broadmindedness, protection of the env, unity w/
nature, appreciation, tolerance, protection for the welfare of all people
& nature, & a world of beauty.
Benevolence: Benevolence values the preservation &
enhancement of the welfare of people w/ whom one is in frequent personal
contact. Benevolent people value helpfulness, honesty, forgiving,
loyalty, & responsible behavior.
Conformity: Conformity values restraint of actions, inclinations,
& impulses likely to upset or harm others or violate social expectations
or norms. Conformists value self discipline, politeness, obedience,
& honoring parents & elders.
Tradition: Tradition values respect, commitment, &
acceptance of the customs & ideals that traditional culture or religion
provide. Traditionalists are devout, humble, moderate, & respect
tradition.
Security: Security values safety, harmony, & stability
for society, relationships, the self, family, & the nation.
Power: Power values social status & prestige, control
or dominance over people & resources, authority, social power, wealth,
& preserving one's public image.
Achievement: Achievement values ambition, success, capability,
influence, & personal success through demonstrating competence according
to social standards.
Hedonism: Hedonism values personal pleasure or sensual
gratification, enjoying life, & self indulgence.
Stimulation: Stimulation values excitement, novelty, a
varied life, an exciting life, challenges, daringness. |
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Extensive research in numerous countries has confirmed the validity
of this model across cultures, however, individuals & cultures all
differ in their value priorities |
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BROWN INCLUDES PRACTICES, SUCH AS BIRTH, & BELIEF SYSTEMS, SUCH
AS ABSTRACT THOUGHT, AS ALL HAVING VALUE THAT STRUCTURE THE PRACTICE OR
BELIEF |
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Brown has compiled the most comprehensive list of universal human behaviors
which are closely linked to cultural traits & structured by the values
of the society |
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Brown's list of cultural universals includes:
abstraction in speech & thought
actions under self control distinguished from those not under control
aesthetics
affection expressed and felt
age grades
age statuses
age terms
ambivalence
anthropomorphization
anticipation
antonyms
attachment
baby talk
belief in supernatural/religion
beliefs, false
beliefs about death
beliefs about disease
beliefs about fortune and misfortune
binary cognitive distinctions
biological mother and social mother normally the same person
black (color term)
body adornment
childbirth customs
childcare
childhood fears
childhood fear of loud noises
childhood fear of strangers
choice making (choosing alternatives)
classification
classification of age
classification of behavioral propensities
classification of body parts
classification of colors
classification of fauna
classification of flora
classification of inner states
classification of kin
classification of sex
classification of space
classification of tools
classification of weather conditions
coalitions
collective identities
conflict
conflict, consultation to deal with
conflict, means of dealing with
conflict, mediation of
conjectural reasoning
containers
continua (ordering as cognitive pattern)
contrasting marked and non marked sememes (meaningful elements in language)
cooking
cooperation
cooperative labor
copulation normally conducted in privacy
corporate (perpetual) statuses
coyness display
critical learning periods
crying
cultural variability
culture
culture/nature distinction
customary greetings
daily routines
dance
death rituals
decision making
decision making, collective
differential valuations
directions, giving of
discrepancies between speech, thought, and action
dispersed groups
distinguishing right and wrong
diurnality
divination
division of labor
division of labor by age
division of labor by sex
dominance/submission
dreams
dream interpretation
economic inequalities
economic inequalities, consciousness of
emotions
empathy
entification (treating patterns and relations as things)
environment, adjustments to
envy
envy, symbolic means of coping with
ethnocentrism
etiquette
explanation
face (word for)
facial communication
facial expression of anger
facial expression of contempt
facial expression of disgust
facial expression of fear
facial expression of happiness
facial expression of surprise
facial expressions, masking/modifying of
fairness (equity), concept of
family (or household)
father and mother, separate kin terms for
fears
fear of death
fears, ability to overcome some
feasting
females do more direct childcare
figurative speech
fire
folklore
food preferences
food sharing
future, attempts to predict
generosity admired
gestures
gift giving
good and bad distinguished
gossip
government
grammar
group living
groups that are not based on family
habituation
hairstyles
hand (word for)
healing the sick (or attempting to)
hope
hospitality
husband older than wife on average
hygienic care
identity, collective
imagery
incest between mother and son unthinkable or tabooed
incest, prevention or avoidance
in group distinguished from out group(s)
in group biases in favor of
inheritance rules
institutions (organized co activities)
insulting
intention
interest in bioforms (living things or things that resemble them)
interpolation
interpreting behavior
intertwining (e.g., weaving)
jokes
judging others
kin, close distinguished from distant
kin groups
kin terms translatable by basic relations of procreation
kinship statuses
language
language employed to manipulate others
language employed to misinform or mislead
language is translatable
language not a simple reflection of reality
language, prestige from proficient use of
law (rights and obligations)
law (rules of membership)
leaders
lever
likes and dislikes
linguistic redundancy
logical notions
logical notion of "and"
logical notion of "equivalent"
logical notion of "general/particular"
logical notion of "not"
logical notion of "opposite"
logical notion of "part/whole"
logical notion of "same"
magic
magic to increase life
magic to sustain life
magic to win love
making comparisons
male and female and adult and child seen as having different natures
males dominate public/political realm
males engage in more coalition violence
males more aggressive
males more prone to lethal violence
males more prone to theft
males, on average, travel greater distances over lifetime
manipulate social relations |
marking at phonemic, syntactic, and lexical levels
marriage
materialism
meal times
meaning, most units of are non universal
measuring
medicine
melody memory
mental maps
mentalese
metaphor
metonym
mood- or consciousness altering techniques and/or substances
moral sentiments
moral sentiments, limited effective range of
morphemes
mother normally has consort during child rearing years
mourning
murder proscribed
music
music, children's
music related in part to dance
music related in part to religious activity
music seen as art (a creation)
music, vocal
music, vocal, includes speech forms
musical redundancy
musical repetition
musical variation
myths
narrative
nomenclature (perhaps the same as classification)
non bodily decorative art
normal distinguished from abnormal states
nouns
numerals (counting)
Oedipus complex
oligarchy (de facto)
one (numeral)
onomatopoeia
overestimating objectivity of thought
pain
past/present/future
person, concept of
personal names
phonemes
phonemes defined by set of minimally contrasting features
phonemes, merging of
phonemes, range from 10 to 70 in number
phonemic change, inevitability of
phonemic change, rules of
phonemic system
planning
planning for future
play
play to perfect skills
poetry/rhetoric
poetic line, uniform length range
poetic lines characterized by repetition and variation
poetic lines demarcated by pauses
polysemy (one word has several meanings)
possessive, intimate
possessive, loose
practice to improve skills
precedence, concept of (that's how the leopard got its spots)
preference for own children and close kin (nepotism)
prestige inequalities
pretend play
pride
private inner life
promise
pronouns
pronouns, minimum two numbers
pronouns, minimum three persons
proper names
property
proverbs, sayings
proverbs, sayings - in mutually contradictory forms
psychological defense mechanisms
rape
rape proscribed
reciprocal exchanges (0f labor, goods, or services)
reciprocity, negative (revenge, retaliation)
recognition of individuals by face
redress of wrongs
resistance to abuse of poser, to dominance
rhythm
right handedness as population norm
risk taking
rites of passage
rituals
role and personality seen in dynamic interrelationship (i.e., departures
from role can be explained in terms of individual personality)
sanctions
sanctions fro crimes against the collectivity
sanctions include removal from the social unit
self control
self distinguished from other
self as neither wholly passive nor wholly autonomous
self as subject and object
self image, awareness of (concern for what others think)
self image, manipulation of
self image, wanted to be positive
self is responsible
semantics
semantic category of affecting things and people
semantic category of dimension
semantic category of giving
semantic category of location
semantic category of motion
semantic category of other physical properties
semantic components
semantic components, generation
semantic components, sex
sememes, commonly used ones are short, infrequently used ones are longer
senses unified
sex differences in spatial cognition and behavior
sex (gender) terminology is fundamentally binary
sex statuses
sexual attraction
sexual attractiveness
sexual jealousy
sexual modesty
sexual regulation
sexual regulation includes incest prevention
sexuality as focus of interest
shame
shelter
sickness and death seen as related
snakes, wariness around
social structure
socialization
socialization expected from senior kin
socialization includes toilet training
spear
special speech for special occasions
statuses and roles
statuses, ascribed and achieved
statuses distinguished from individuals
statuses on other than sex, age, or kinship bases
stinginess, disapproval of
stop/nonstop contrasts (in speech sounds)
succession
sucking wounds
sweets preferred
symbolism
symbolic speech
synesthetic metaphors
synonyms
taboos
tabooed foods
tabooed utterances
taxonomy
territoriality
thumb sucking
tickling
time
time, cyclicity of
tools
tool dependency
tool making
tools for cutting
tools to make tools
tools patterned culturally
tools, permanent
tools for pounding
toys, playthings
trade
triangular awareness (assessing relationships among the self and two
other people)
true and false distinguished)
turn taking
two (numeral)
tying material (i.e., something like string)
units of time
verbs
violence, some forms of proscribed
visiting
vocalic/non vocalic contrasts in phonemes
vowel contrasts
weaning
weapons
weather control (attempts to)
while (color term)
world view |
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VALUES IMPACT OUR CULTURE, IE OUR KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, & NORMS |
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Our values are the foundation of our mindset & thus they impact
what we accept as knowledge, the beliefs we embrace, & our norms or
rules for living |
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Our values impact our knowledge, beliefs, & norms & thus they
impact our decision, our behavior, our lifestyle |
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Most people change either b/c of a momentous life event or b/c we are
able to enter a new env, observe new info, accept that info as new knowledge,
& experience personally influential people or grps embracing that new
knowledge, making new or different decisions |
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VALUE PRIORITIES
|
VALUE
|
Openness to Change |
Stimulation |
Self Direction |
Self Transcendence |
Universalism |
Benevolence |
Conservation |
Conformity |
Tradition |
Security |
Self Enhancement |
Power |
Achievement |
Hedonism |
In relating value priorities to values, the values may
overlap into adjoining priorities |
Self Direction |
Self direction values an independence of thought & action
where one values freedom, choosing, creating, exploring, curiosity, &
choosing one's own goals in life. |
Universalism |
Universalism values understanding, equality, social justice, wisdom,
broadmindedness, protection of the env, unity w/ nature, appreciation,
tolerance, protection for the welfare of all people & nature, &
a world of beauty. |
Benevolence |
Benevolence values the preservation & enhancement of the welfare
of people w/ whom one is in frequent personal contact. Benevolent
people value helpfulness, honesty, forgiving, loyalty, & responsible
behavior. |
Conformity |
Conformity values restraint of actions, inclinations, & impulses
likely to upset or harm others or violate social expectations or norms.
Conformists value self discipline, politeness, obedience, & honoring
parents & elders. |
Tradition |
Tradition values respect, commitment, & acceptance of the customs
& ideals that traditional culture or religion provide. Traditionalists
are devout, humble, moderate, & respect tradition. |
Security |
Security values safety, harmony, & stability for society, relationships,
the self, family, & the nation. |
Power |
Power values social status & prestige, control or dominance over
people & resources, authority, social power, wealth, & preserving
one's public image. |
Achievement |
Achievement values ambition, success, capability, influence, &
personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards. |
Hedonism |
Hedonism values personal pleasure or sensual gratification, enjoying
life, & self indulgence. |
Stimulation |
Stimulation values excitement, novelty, a varied life, an exciting
life, challenges, daringness. |
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