Finding universal dimensions of individual variation in multicultural studies of values: The Rokeach and Chinese value surveys.

Abstract

Both cross-cultural psychology and theories of value would benefit from the empirical identification of value dimensions that are pancultural and comprehensive. Accordingly, in this article, I report the results of a 21-culture study of the Chinese Value Survey (CVS) and a 9-culture study of the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). The analysis began with a deculturing of the data to remove the cultural positioning effect, then proceeded with a pooled factor analysis to discover pancultural patterns of association among the values. Two factors emerged from the CVS, four from the RVS. The individuals in each survey were then given factor scores, which were analyzed for sex and culture effects. Average scores for individuals from the cultures common to both surveys suggest that the CVS contained a dimension of valuing not found in the RVS. The discussion focuses on the factors' validity, their use in cross-cultural research, and the potential of different cultural traditions for extending psychology's conceptual net.