The Human Values Scales: Detecting value structure and variability across cultures

The current article describes the development and application of the Human Values Scales (HVS), a multi-method measure of values that utilizes single words/concepts, short phrases, and paragraphs. The HVS was constructed by consulting previous research utilizing theory-driven and data-driven approaches to identify items that could measure values according to Max Scheler's hierarchical model. Translations and back-translations were completed for the HVS, the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-30), and the Scheler Value Scale (SWS) to ensure equivalent English, Polish, and Spanish forms. In the first study, data from the U.S., Poland, and Chile were utilized for Exploratory Factor Analysis, revealing the number of factors originally hypothesized for the HVS, but not for the MFQ-30 or SWS. The second study collected data from the U.S. and Poland for Confirmatory Factor Analysis, achieving acceptable fit for a correlated model and support for configural and metric invariance across groups. Additional results are discussed that support the use of the HVS in cross-cultural research exploring human values.