Department of School Counseling and Special Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK.
J Pers. 2023 Apr;91(2):482-496. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12742. Epub 2022 Jul 11.
We examined changes in value interrelations during middle childhood. In line with the Personal Values Theory, we expected a value system, with individuals similarly valuing related motivations, and setting priorities between conflicting motivations. We hypothesized this system to develop dynamically during middle childhood as children deepen their understanding of their own values.
Using unfolding analysis, we estimated intraindividual value structure coherence, that is, the extent to which the interrelations among a child's values are similar to the hypothesized interrelations. Cross-Cultural Study 1 (N = 4615, 6-12-year-old children) included children from 12 countries. Cross-Sequential Study 2 (N = 629, 6-10-year-old children at Time 1) included three annual measurements.
In Study 1, we found a curvilinear association between age and intraindividual value structure coherence: Children's values were more coherent at ages 9-10 than before or after. Study 2 confirmed this pattern of within-individual development.
We propose that development in coherence with the theoretical value structure offers insight into children's understanding of values as well as changes in value priorities.
我们考察了儿童中期价值观的变化关系。根据个人价值观理论，我们期望存在一个价值观体系，其中个体对相关动机有相似的重视，并在冲突动机之间设定优先级。我们假设这个系统会随着儿童对自身价值观的理解加深而在儿童中期动态发展。
使用展开分析，我们估计了个体内在的价值观结构一致性，即儿童价值观之间的相互关系与假设的相互关系的相似程度。跨文化研究 1（N=4615，6-12 岁儿童）包括来自 12 个国家的儿童。交叉序列研究 2（N=629，6-10 岁儿童在时间 1）包括三次年度测量。
在研究 1 中，我们发现年龄与个体内在价值观结构一致性之间存在曲线关系：儿童在 9-10 岁时的价值观比之前或之后更一致。研究 2 证实了这种个体内发展模式。
我们提出，与理论价值观结构的一致性发展为理解儿童价值观以及价值观优先级的变化提供了深入了解。
