Human values are important psychological constructs that are increasingly studied in many branches of psychology, including studies of social and personality psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and neuropsychology. Values (e.g., equality, security) are usually defined as concepts or beliefs which transcend specific situations and guide behavior. Indeed, previous research has found that values predict a range of behaviors and has also identified several variables which putatively moderate and mediate the value-behavior link. These variables include a range of contextual and personal factors. Contextual factors include value salience and psychological distance, whereas personal factors include self-monitoring, value centrality, and moral identity.
However, the link between values and behavior is complex, because values are abstract concepts and behaviors are relatively concrete. The link between any abstract concepts and concrete actions is influenced by subjective construals of the concepts and actions. Further, the types of behaviors examined can vary widely, making it difficult to summarize findings. Also, most past research relies on measurements of self-reported behavior and not on measurements of actual behavior. These issues lead to a range of research questions that are fundamental to achieving a better understanding of the value-behavior connection.
This Research Topic aims to combine various methods of measuring values and behavior to get a better understanding of their interplay. For example, does it matter which concrete behavioral examples are mentally represented as instantiations of values? How are values used to justify behaviors? What types of behaviors are better predicted by values? What are the moderators and mediators of value-behavior relations? What are the causal processes linking values and behavior? Priority is given to those contributions which involve novel theoretical and methodological approaches. Making the data and materials openly available is desirable.
Human values are important psychological constructs that are increasingly studied in many branches of psychology, including studies of social and personality psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and neuropsychology. Values (e.g., equality, security) are usually defined as concepts or beliefs which transcend specific situations and guide behavior. Indeed, previous research has found that values predict a range of behaviors and has also identified several variables which putatively moderate and mediate the value-behavior link. These variables include a range of contextual and personal factors. Contextual factors include value salience and psychological distance, whereas personal factors include self-monitoring, value centrality, and moral identity.
However, the link between values and behavior is complex, because values are abstract concepts and behaviors are relatively concrete. The link between any abstract concepts and concrete actions is influenced by subjective construals of the concepts and actions. Further, the types of behaviors examined can vary widely, making it difficult to summarize findings. Also, most past research relies on measurements of self-reported behavior and not on measurements of actual behavior. These issues lead to a range of research questions that are fundamental to achieving a better understanding of the value-behavior connection.
This Research Topic aims to combine various methods of measuring values and behavior to get a better understanding of their interplay. For example, does it matter which concrete behavioral examples are mentally represented as instantiations of values? How are values used to justify behaviors? What types of behaviors are better predicted by values? What are the moderators and mediators of value-behavior relations? What are the causal processes linking values and behavior? Priority is given to those contributions which involve novel theoretical and methodological approaches. Making the data and materials openly available is desirable.
