The Structure of Implicit Values: Applying the Implicit Association Test to Schwartz's Model of Basic Values

Drawing on Schwartz’s (1992) theory of human values, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was applied to measure implicit basic values. Four IATs were developed (N = 113), each measuring the relative importance attributed to two opposite values expressing conflicting motivational domains: Achievement vs. Benevolence, Power vs. Universalism, Security vs. Self-direction, and Tradition vs. Stimulation. The study was aimed at exploring the reliability of values IAT, the extent to which they differ from explicit measures of values, and their conformity to Schwartz’s circumplex model. Internal consistencies of the IATs proved satisfactory for all value types. Results revealed that: a) correlations between values IAT and self-reported measures of values were generally small; b) patterns of means were rather different; c) implicit and explicit measures have significant incremental validity over each other in predicting a criterion variable (prosocial behavior). This reveals a certain degree of dissociation between implicit and explicit values. Principal component analysis and Pearson correlations with prosocial behavior corroborated the circumplex structure of implicit values, which seem located in the hypothesized order around the motivational circle. Michele