Why Psychologists Haven’t Agreed on the Basic Human Values—Until Now
Personality traits are stable patterns in the way we think, feel, and behave (Johnson, 1997, p. 74). In a previous PT post, I explained how values are a particular kind of personality trait. Specifically, values are strong beliefs and feelings about what is good and important. Values are among the most stable traits across the lifespan. In another previous post, I explained how values guide our career choices and attract us toward others who share our values. Achieving valued goals makes life meaningful and satisfying.
But for decades, psychologists struggled to agree on what the “basic” human values actually are. Different researchers created different lists, each with its own labels and categories. As a result, it was difficult to compare findings across studies. This situation was similar to personality research before the Big Five model unified the field.
A newly published study aims to bring that same kind of clarity to the science of values.
A Framework for Understanding Human Values
A new study by Wilkowski, DiMariano, and Peck (2025) reviewed the most widely cited value models in psychology and identified 359 short phrases that captured the…
