TY - JOUR

T1 - How selfish are self-expression values?

T2 - a civicness test

AU - Welzel, Christian Peter

PY - 2010/3

Y1 - 2010/3

N2 - Various analyses of World Values Survey data find a syndrome of emancipative orientations, mostly known as "self-expression values," on the rise throughout all countries with longitudinal evidence. But, as much as scholarship agrees on the rise of self-expression values, there is disagreement on whether these values are civic or uncivic in character. Some declare self-expression values uncivic because they see them as indicative of egoism and weak social capital. Others consider self-expression values as civic for the opposite reasons. They interpret them as a sign of altruism and strong social capital. Cross-cultural evidence from the World Values Surveys supports the civic view on both accounts. First, in a Schwartz value space, self-expression values are associated with altruism, especially at high levels of self-expression values. Second, in a social capital space, self-expression values go together with trust in people and peaceful collective action. The findings qualify self-expression values as a civic form of modern individualism.

AB - Various analyses of World Values Survey data find a syndrome of emancipative orientations, mostly known as "self-expression values," on the rise throughout all countries with longitudinal evidence. But, as much as scholarship agrees on the rise of self-expression values, there is disagreement on whether these values are civic or uncivic in character. Some declare self-expression values uncivic because they see them as indicative of egoism and weak social capital. Others consider self-expression values as civic for the opposite reasons. They interpret them as a sign of altruism and strong social capital. Cross-cultural evidence from the World Values Surveys supports the civic view on both accounts. First, in a Schwartz value space, self-expression values are associated with altruism, especially at high levels of self-expression values. Second, in a social capital space, self-expression values go together with trust in people and peaceful collective action. The findings qualify self-expression values as a civic form of modern individualism.

KW - Politics

KW - altruism

KW - civicness

KW - individualism

KW - social capital

KW - self-expression

KW - Gender and Diversity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=76249087218&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0022022109354378

DO - 10.1177/0022022109354378

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 41

SP - 152

EP - 174

JO - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

JF - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

SN - 0022-0221

IS - 2

ER -