scholarly journals Who Wants To Be a Politician? Basic Human Values and Candidate Emergence in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Candidate Emergence ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Self Transcendence

Abstract Public faith in politicians and associated systems of governance is desperately low. At the same time, public opinion of politicians is characterized by a vernacular of psychological accusations pertaining to greed, self-interest and careerism. This article tests the verity of these claims by comparing quantitative data on the Basic Human Values (Schwartz 1992) of 106 UK Members of Parliament (MPs) and 134 unsuccessful parliamentary candidates with data collected from the British public in the seventh wave of the European Social Survey. It explores (a) how politicians differ psychologically from those they govern and (b) how personality characteristics such as basic values inform candidate emergence. The study finds that politics is a profession few ‘ordinary’ people care to enter. MPs attribute significantly more importance to Self-Transcendence values than the comparatively conservative population they govern, but the relative importance they ascribe to Power values seems to have an equally strong predictive effect on candidate emergence.

Basic Human Values and Attitudes Towards a Universal Basic Income in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwangeun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Welfare State Development ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Moderating Role

Abstract This study contributes to the emerging literature on public opinion on a universal basic income (UBI) not only by investigating the role of basic human values in influencing support for UBI but also by examining the moderating role of welfare state development in the association between basic human values and UBI support. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8 in 2016, which has an item asking whether to support UBI and the 21-item measure of human values that is based on the Schwartz theory of basic human values, the results show that individual universalism that is a self-transcendence value is positively and significantly associated with support for UBI, while the other self-transcendence value, benevolence, has a negative relationship with that; the two self-enhancement values, power and achievement, are positively linked to support for UBI. Additionally, in advanced welfare states, people who are more inclined towards individual universalism are more likely to support UBI; by contrast, in underdeveloped welfare states, this relationship is not apparent.

scholarly journals Human Values and Religion: Evidence from the European Social Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Ana Carneiro ◽  
Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa ◽  
Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis ◽  
Ângela Leite
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Openness To Change ◽  
Self Transcendence

Values are guiding constructs of social action that connote some actions as desirable, undesirable, acceptable, and unacceptable, containing a normative moral/ethical component, and constituting a guide for actions, attitudes, and objectives for which the human being strives. The role of religion in the development of moral and ideal behaviors is a subject of concern and object of theoretical and empirical debate in various sciences. Analyzing sociodemographic and religious variables, the present work aimed to understand the contribution of religious variables to the explanation of Schwartz’s human values and to identify an explanatory model of second-order values, i.e., self-transcendence, conservation, self-promotion, and openness to change. This study was carried out with a representative sample of the Portuguese population, consisting of 1270 participants from the European Social Survey (ESS), Round 8. Benevolence (as human motivational value) and self-transcendence (as a second-order value) were found to be the most prevalent human values among respondents, with the female gender being the one with the greatest religious identity, the highest frequency of religious practices, and valuing self-transcendence and conservation the most. Older participants had a more frequent practice and a higher religious identity than younger ones, with age negatively correlating with conservation and positively with openness to change. It was concluded that age, religious identity, and an item of religious practice contribute to explain 13.9% of the conservation variance. It was also found that age and religious practice are the variables that significantly contribute to explain 12.2% of the variance of openness to change. Despite the associations between psychological variables (values) and religious ones, it can be concluded that religious variables contribute very moderately to explain human values. The results obtained in this study raised some important issues, namely, if these weakly related themes, i.e., religiosity and human values, are the expression of people belief without belonging.

scholarly journals Health and Culture: The Association between Healthcare Preferences for Non-Acute Conditions, Human Values and Social Norms

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12808
Author(s):  
Ingmar Leijen ◽  
Hester van Herk
Keyword(s):  
Random Effect ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Societal Pressure ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Healthcare Seeking Behavior ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Fundamental Values

Preference for professional vs. non-professional or informal healthcare for non-acute medical situations influences healthcare use and varies strongly across countries. Important individual and country-level drivers of these preferences may be human values (the fundamental values that individuals hold and guide their behavior) and country-level characteristics such as social tightness (societal pressure for “acceptable” behavior). The aim of this study was to examine the relation of these individual and country-level characteristics with healthcare preferences. We examined European Social Survey data from 23,312 individuals in 16 European countries, using a multi-level, random effect approach, including individual and country-level factors. Healthcare preferences were explained by both human values (i.e., Schwartz values) and societal tightness (i.e., tightness-looseness scores by Gelfand). Stronger conservation increased, whereas self-transcendence and openness to change decreased preference for professional healthcare. In socially tight countries, we found a higher preference for professional healthcare. Furthermore, we found interactions between social tightness and human values. These results suggest that professional healthcare preference is related to both people’s values and societal tightness. This improved understanding is useful for both predicting and channeling healthcare seeking behavior across and within nations.

Basic Human Values in the Swiss Population and in a Sample of Farmers

2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dobricki
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Swiss Population ◽  
Value Types ◽  
Self Transcendence

Basic human values were investigated in Swiss farmers. The main objective was to take a first step toward elucidating the structure and profile of basic human values in farmers. Data from the first three rounds (2002, 2004, 2006) of the European Social Survey were used. Value orientations were assessed with Shalom H. Schwartz’s 21-item Portrait Values Questionnaire ( 2003b ). The value orientations of the farmers (n = 125) were compared with those of the general Swiss population (n = 5,055) in terms of structure. In addition, the farmers’ scores in four higher-order value types were compared with those of the general population, managers of small enterprises (n = 103), and production and operations managers (n = 155). The structure of Schwartz’s four higher-order value types were replicated in the Swiss population as well as in the farmer sample. The farmers showed the highest score in conservation, followed by self-transcendence, self-enhancement, and lastly, openness to change. Their value profile differed from that of the general population and that of both groups of managers. According to the farmers’ value profile, recent agricultural policy strategies to promote farmers’ ecological behavior may not be structured and marketed in a manner which is in line with their basic values.

scholarly journals Exploring Associations between Attitudes towards Climate Change and Motivational Human Values

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Narcisa Maria Oliveira Carvalho Dias ◽  
Diogo Guedes Vidal ◽  
Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa ◽  
Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis ◽  
Ângela Leite
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Environmental Behaviors ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Openness To Change ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Self Transcendence

Climate change (CC) represents a global challenge for humanity. It is known that the impacts of anthropogenic actions are an unequivocal contribution to environmental issues aggravation. Human values are recognized as psychological constructs that guide people in their attitudes and actions in different areas of life, and the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors in the context of CC must be considered a priority. The present work aimed to understand the contribution of attitudes towards CC and selected sociodemographic variables to explain Schwartz’s motivational human values. The sample consists of 1270 Portuguese answering the European social survey (ESS) Round 8. Benevolence and self-transcendence are the most prevalent human values among respondents. The majority believe in CC and less than half in its entirely anthropogenic nature. It was found that the concern with CC and education contributes to explain 11.8% of the conservation variance; gender and concern about CC explain 10.1% of the variance of self-transcendence; and age, gender and concern about CC contribute to explain 13% of the variance of openness to change. This study underlines the main human values’ drivers of attitudes towards CC, central components in designing an effective societal response to CC impacts, which must be oriented towards what matters to individuals and communities, at the risk of being ineffective.

scholarly journals Schwartz’s Human Values and the Care for Nature in Croatia and Five Other Central European Countries Based on ESS Data from Round 4 (2008) and Round 9 (2018)

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-459
Author(s):  
Bruno Šimac ◽  
Tijana Trako Poljak ◽  
Vladimir Ivanović
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Environmental Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Central European ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Over Time

This paper examines the care for nature in Croatia based on the European Social Survey (ESS) data from Round 4 (2008) and Round 9 (2018) over time and cross-nationally, in comparison with five other Central European (CE) countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). We correlate the item about the care for nature with Schwartz’s Human Values Scale (HVS), as adapted for the ESS, to investigate whether values as defined by Schwartz serve as good predictors of the care for nature in selected CE countries. We also look at the correlation with respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics. Our analysis reveals that, while there are similarities regarding environmental attitudes and values among CE countries, there are also some individual differences. Croatia shows the strongest increase in the support for the care for nature over the 10-year period, and both Croatia and Slovenia score the highest on the care for nature in 2018. Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic show an overall stagnation in the results, while Hungary exhibits a significant decrease between 2008 and 2018. Our research in CE countries confirms that Schwartz’s HVS can be predictive of pro-environmentalism. However, while the findings for the higher-order value of Self-transcendence are in line with existing literature, the result suggesting that Conservatism is also a moderately good predictor of the care for nature is somewhat surprising. We posit that the reason could lie in the difference between collectivist vs. individualist value types, which provides a new dimension for the interpretation of environmental attitudes in these countries.

Basic Human Values of Russians and Other Europeans (The Results of 2008 Surveys)

2010 ◽  
pp. 107-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Magun ◽  
M. Rudnev
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
Value Diversity ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Value Changes ◽  
Fourth Round

The authors rely mainly on the data from the fourth round of the European Social Survey held in 2008 in their comparison between the Russian basic values and the values of the 31 other European countries as measured by Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire. The authors start from comparing country averages. Then they compare Russia with the other countries taking into account internal country value diversity. And finally they refine cross-country value comparisons taking the advantage of the multiple regression analysis. As revealed from the study there are important value barriers to the Russian economy and society progress and well targeted cultural policy is needed to promote necessary value changes.

scholarly journals Are adult learners in Europe happier than non-learners? Statistical evidence from the European Social Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 147490412110146
Author(s):  
Ellen Boeren
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Participation Rates ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Relationship

This paper borrows insights from the literature on European welfare regimes to analyse the relationship between happiness and participation in adult education. The academic literature and policy discourses on adult education tend to claim that participation in learning is correlated with happiness despite the lack of strong European comparative empirical evidence on this topic. This paper uses data from the latest Wave of the European Social Survey to analyse the happiness perceptions of nearly 20,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 who live in 16 European countries (15 European Union countries and the United Kingdom). Results indicate that while adult learners on average tend to be happier than non-learners, this correlation weakens when controlling for determinants of participation and happiness and for the countries in which these adults live. Confirming the importance of welfare regimes, this study found that adults in Finland tend to be happier than those in other countries, regardless of their participation in adult education. Happiness scores were lowest in Bulgaria and Hungary, countries with low participation rates in adult education and with the biggest differences in happiness scores between learners and non-learners. It is argued that the presence of well-structured adult learning provision might be an important characteristic of welfare regimes but that happiness is determined by much more than being an adult learner.

scholarly journals Are anti-immigrant attitudes the Holy Grail of populists? : A comparative analysis of attitudes towards immigrants, values, and political populism in Europe

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-127
Author(s):  
Vera Messing ◽  
Bence Ságvári
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Competition Theory ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
And Migration

In this paper we aim to discuss attitudes towards immigrants in a European context and analyse drivers of anti-immigrant attitudes such as the feeling of control, basic human values, political orientation and preferences related to right-wing populism. Based on data from the European Social Survey, we first describe how attitudes of people in Europe changed throughout a period of almost two decades (between 2002 and 2018). We will show that although attitudes are influenced by a number of demographic and subjective features of individuals, on the macro-level they seem to be surprisingly stable, yet hide significant cross-country differences. Then, we zoom in to the three most significant elements influencing attitudes towards immigrants: the feeling of control, basic human values, and political orientation. Applying a multi-level model we test the validity of three theories about factors informing attitudes towards immigrants—competition theory, locus of control, and the role of basic human values—and include time (pre- and post-2015 refugee-crisis periods) into the analysis. In the discussion we link ESS data to recent research on populism in Europe that categorizes populist parties across the continent, and establish that the degree to which anti-migrant feelings are linked to support for political populism varies significantly across European countries. We show that right-wing populist parties gather and feed that part of the population which is very negative towards migrants and migration in general, and this process is also driven by the significance awarded the value of security vis-à-vis humanitarianism.

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