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The Rokeach Value Survey Explained

Terminal values describe the end goals of a life; instrumental values describe how to get there. Here is Milton Rokeach's framework for classifying human values.

Terminal Values

The ultimate end-states a person hopes to achieve over a lifetime β€” examples include world peace, family security, happiness, freedom, and wisdom. These act as the final destination that gives life its overall direction.

Instrumental Values

The preferred modes of conduct or personal traits used to reach terminal values β€” examples include honesty, responsibility, courage, independence, and love. If terminal values answer "what do I want," instrumental values answer "how will I act."

Value Ranking

Rokeach measured values by having individuals rank a list of 36 items (18 terminal and 18 instrumental) in order of personal importance, rather than simply marking each as important or not β€” a method designed to reveal more precise, relative priorities.

Stability & Change

Values tend to remain fairly stable over time, but a major life event or broad social shift can reorder someone's priorities β€” a serious illness, for instance, is often cited as an example of health or family security suddenly rising sharply in someone's ranking.

Values & Behavior

Values are treated as psychological standards that can help predict attitudes and behavior in a given situation, though the link is not perfect β€” situational constraints mean values and actual behavior do not always line up.

What is the Rokeach Value Survey?

Proposed by psychologist Milton Rokeach in his 1973 book "The Nature of Human Values," this framework sorts human values into two categories β€” terminal and instrumental β€” totaling 36 items, and provides a measurement tool that asks individuals to rank them.

How does it differ from Schwartz's theory and Spranger's typology?

Schwartz's theory of basic human values arranges 10 motivational values in a circular structure to explain how they relate to and conflict with one another, while Rokeach's survey instead splits values into two axes (terminal and instrumental) and measures them by ranking β€” a difference in both theoretical structure and measurement method. Spranger's value typology, by comparison, sorts value orientation into six personality-style categories (theoretical, economic, and so on) rather than ranking 36 specific, concrete value items the way Rokeach's survey does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which matters more β€” terminal values or instrumental values?

Neither is considered superior to the other; instrumental values are generally viewed as the means for reaching terminal values, making the two complementary rather than competing.

Is the list of 36 values the same across all cultures?

The original list was developed based on a Western cultural context, so later research has often modified the list or added new items to better fit values in other cultural settings.