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The 10 types of values: principles that govern our lives

The 10 types of values: principles that govern our lives

March 2, 2024

Human beings do not act in a totally unpredictable way; behind our acts there are a series of goals, objectives, most of which are shared and can be expressed in words.

But what moves us to act does not have to be simply a concrete need related to our physiological state, such as hunger or cold. Being rational animals, we are able to create new forms of motivation through abstract thinking. Exactly of this we will speak in this article: about the types of values , the ideals that we defend on a daily basis.

  • Related article: "The 6 differences between ethics and morals"

What are values?

Values ​​are concepts that guide our way of behaving . Each person has a scale of values ​​that expresses how certain aspects of life are prioritized over others, and which are defended with greater vehemence.


Thus, a person who holds in high esteem the value of peace will have a way of looking at things very different from another person who, above peace, values ​​survival, or another who defends the respect for traditions in the first place. , for example.

Types of values

You can find below a classification with the main types of values . Keep in mind that some of these categories partially overlap each other, and that the same value may belong to more than one of them.

1. Personal values

This type of values ​​is defined by being applied on a day-to-day basis through the simplest actions and, especially, through habits. Therefore, personal values they are characterized by applying to practically all areas and contexts of life , they are not limited to a single place or type of activity.


For example, respect for a son or daughter is usually a personal value, since it is valid in all contexts, but innovation is usually not, since under certain conditions it can be relegated without special internal conflicts.

  • You may be interested: "The theory of moral development of Lawrence Kohlberg"

2. Labor values

Labor values ​​are related to our way of acting in a professional context l, that is, in the field of work. For example, it is understood that if the labor values ​​of a person do not fit with the values ​​of the company, an implicit conflict is created that generates discomfort in the worker and problems in running the company.

Some examples of work values ​​are perseverance, innovation, effort, adaptation to change, etc.

3. Company values

What characterizes company values ​​is that they pretend to be both a production style and a marketing component of an organization. They are not attached to a natural person, but to a legal person, and therefore do not arise naturally from a real person, but are a social construction that influences how you work in the company (not only in the office, but also in the Public Relations activities).


  • Related article: "Decalogue of the psychologist: ethical and professional requirements of our profession"

4. Religious values

Religious values are linked to a belief system based on faith of a certain religion. By definition, religions include a system of symbols, religious dogma and certain rituals shared by several people, so religious values ​​are also related to this social factor by which some believers influence the decisions and valuations of others, many times punishing who thinks differently in an aspect that is conflicting.

5. Family values

This type of values ​​is related to the experience of belonging to a family. With the establishment of strong affective bonds that characterize the family, there are also values ​​used to bring order to the way in which we do not relate to the other members of the family.

For example, respect for the elderly may be very present in one family, while in another, the value of "protection of the weak" may be higher, which means that grandparent or grandmother is treated with greater paternalism.

6. Social values

Social values they are not limited to a specific social circle As it happens with family members, they can be extended to the entire population. Respect for the rest of others, which translates into trying to make little noise at night, is a social value, and the same applies to respect for the right to privacy.

7. Political values

Political values ​​have to do with the ideal political model for a person, who it has to do with public management of resources . Individual freedom, for example, is usually one of the values ​​most defended by the liberal political trend, while universal access to basic goods tend to be more vindicated by the left.

8. Aesthetic values

This set of values it has to do with forms of sensory perception and the way in which these induce certain aesthetic appreciations. For this reason, they are especially important in art, but they are not limited to this field, since they are also relevant in craftsmanship and design in general, whether artistic or not.

Simplicity, harmony or a taste for the strange are aesthetic values.

9. Ethical values

Those values ​​related to morality are aesthetics, principles that serve to distinguish in a relatively clear way Between good and bad and that they are, in a certain sense, a priori: they do not have as much to do with a given context or with the utility of one strategy over another, but they have value for themselves.

Respect and peace are ethical values.

10. Material values

Material values ​​designate what material aspects of life have value over others. For example, there are people who live with very little voluntarily, while others, despite being middle class, feel very frustrated by not being able to afford a lot of great luxuries.

  • Maybe you're interested: "Maslow's Pyramid: the hierarchy of human needs"

Utilitarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #36 (March 2024).


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