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Structural Equivalence of the Values Domain Across Cultures

Distinguishing Sampling Fluctuations From Meaningful Variation

Ghent University, Belgium, Johnny.Fontaine{at}UGent.be

Ype H. Poortinga

Tilburg University, the Netherlands, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Luc Delbeke

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Shalom H. Schwartz

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

The authors examine the cross-cultural equivalence of the internal structure of the values domain, as measured by the Schwartz Value Survey. Data come from 38 countries, each represented by a student and a teacher sample. In seeking to distinguish lack of fit of the theorized value model from a lack of equivalence in the data and the impact of random sampling fluctuations from valid structural differences, the authors find the following: (a) The Schwartz value theory provides an excellent representation of the average value structure across samples; (b) sampling fluctuation causes deviations from this average structure; (c) sampling fluctuation cannot account for all these deviations; (d) samples of students fit the overall value structure better than samples of teachers, and samples from Western countries better than those from non-Western countries; and (e) the deviations from the average structure exhibit a systematic pattern: the higher the level of societal development of a country, the greater the contrast between protection and growth values.

Key Words: values • structural equivalence • Schwartz Value Survey

This version was published on July 1, 2008

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 4, 345-365 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0022022108318112


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