INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP VALUES

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 371, S. 20-37

Abstract

Values, defined as generalized criteria of desirability, are deeply involved in all of the specialized areas treated in this issue. There remains a need to render explicit the first-order tasks for making data on values a viable part of societal selfawareness & self-direction, in an age of Great Societies. Values are important causal components in individual conduct & in the functioning of soc systems. To develop adequate indicators for the needed analysis will require major efforts & much ingenuity. Yet practicable methods already are available for the systematic empirical study of values. Because of the lack in the past of standardized measures & comprehensive reporting, the existing data are scanty, fragmentary, & diffuse. Yet cautious & imaginative use of existing information has added to our knowledge of distinctive value patterns in the US, & some illuminating comparisons have been made with other societies. Better data & more explicit analysis of value problems will enhance effectiveness of goal-achievement, widen the scope of awareness in decision-making, & provide enhanced capacities for sensing limits & hazards in current societal trends & policies. That new problems thereby will be created is inevitable, & not undesirable. HA.