Rokeach M. -1973-. The Nature Of Human Values. New York Free Press New!

Instrumental Value | Definition, Examples & Importance - Lesson

These criticisms, however, did not diminish the book's importance. Instead, they spurred further refinement and development. The most prominent successor to Rokeach’s framework is the work of Shalom Schwartz, whose Theory of Basic Human Values was explicitly built upon and in response to Rokeach’s foundational efforts. Schwartz’s model has become the dominant paradigm in contemporary cross-cultural values research, proving the lasting relevance of the questions Rokeach raised.

Perhaps Rokeach’s most famous conceptual innovation was his distinction between and instrumental values . Instrumental Value | Definition, Examples & Importance -

Milton Rokeach’s 1973 work, The Nature of Human Values , established a foundational framework for studying human motivation by distinguishing between "terminal" end-state values and "instrumental" behavioral values. He introduced the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) to scientifically measure individual and societal value hierarchies, arguing these rankings dictate attitudes and can change through self-reflection.

– Rokeach was not content merely to describe and measure values; he wanted to know whether they could be changed . This section summarizes his theory of cognitive and behavioral change, explains the procedures for inducing and assessing value change, and describes a famous field experiment in which changes in values led to measurable changes in opinion for an entire small city in Washington State. Schwartz’s model has become the dominant paradigm in

A central argument is that values predict behavior . Rokeach reviews studies showing:

This article unpacks Rokeach’s core theory, the famous "Rokeach Value Survey," and the profound implications of his argument that to understand a person—or a nation—you must first understand the organization of their values. He introduced the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) to

Rokeach defined a value as an enduring belief that specific modes of conduct or end-states of existence are personally or socially preferable. He demonstrated that values function as structured cognitive systems, serving as ultimate guides for human action.

One of the most influential applications of the theory was Rokeach's attempt to explain political ideology in terms of two core terminal values: and Freedom . He argued that different political orientations could be understood as different ways of prioritizing these two values. For instance, socialists might place a high value on both equality and freedom, democratic socialists might value equality but with a different conception of freedom, capitalists might place a high value on freedom and a low value on equality, and fascists might place a low value on both. This two-value model provided a parsimonious way to map the ideological landscape, moving beyond simplistic left-right labels.

This definition establishes three major characteristics of human values: