What is the Difference Between Values and Attitudes

The main difference between values and attitudes is that values are built upon one’s moral attributes while attitudes are the standpoints one has regarding various issues. Nevertheless, attitudes build up in accordance with one’s values.

Values and attitudes are major components in a person’s character and personality. Though these two are inter-related concepts, there is a distinct difference between values and attitudes.

Key Areas Covered

1. What are Attitudes
     – Definition, Characteristics, Influence
2. What are Values 
     – Definition, Characteristics, Influence 
3. What is the Relationship Between Values and Attitudes
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Values and Attitudes
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Attitudes, Character, Morals, Values, Personality, Psychology

What are Values?

We can define values as the moral principles or standards of behaviour. Thus, values often stand as the moral ethics of a person or a society. In brief, values are those what are known as the code of conduct for a person.

Thus, they are the fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate the attitudes or actions of a person. Values are highlighted under ethical studies. Moreover, family, religion, culture, and moral figures in the society strongly influence the values. Hence, values serve as the guiding principles for a person in their lives.

Figure 1: Moral Values

Likewise, values may also differ from one person to another, from one culture to another, and also from one place to another. Nevertheless, there are some universal values such as integrity, kindness, honesty, love, compassion, justice, equality, humbleness, and, freedom.

Moreover, a workplace code of conduct also highlights the values. Here, they emphasize the standards of behaviour for those in the company. These are known as cooperate values, workplace values, etc.

What are Attitudes

Attitudes are judgments, standpoints or opinions about a certain subject matter or a person. These standpoints or opinions are formed based upon that person’s values and emotions. In brief, attitudes are the personal responses according to that person’s preference.

Accordingly, two people can have negative attitudes or positive attitudes on the same subject. For instance, consider the varied attitudes people have on social issues such as matrimony, abortions, homosexuality, etc. Also, how a person responds to a situation reflects that person’s attitudes.

Figure 2: Attitudes and Emotions

Moreover, attitudes are composed of three main components as affective, behavioural and cognitive. It is known as the ABC model of attitudes.

Affective – refers to the part of attitudes that drives a person’s feelings

Behavioural – refers to the behaviour a person displays or how one actually reacts in accordance to their attitude in a particular situation.

Cognitive – refers to a person’s opinion, beliefs or thought about a subject matter or a person.

Relationship Between Values and Attitudes

• Values stand as the fundamentals of one’s belief and guide.
• Accordingly, one’s attitudes build up based on a person’s moral values.
• Both influence a person’s cognitive process and
• Value and attitudes are both subjected to change with different social interactions and social experiences of a person.

Difference Between Values and Attitudes

Definition

Values are the moral principles or moral ethics or standards of behaviour. On the other hand, attitudes are the opinions or stances about a certain subject matter or a person. Thus, this explains the basic difference between values and attitudes.

Part of

Values are a part of a person’s character while attitudes are a part of a person’s personality. Hence, this is a major difference between values and attitudes.

Significance

While values showcase a particular person’s moral ethics and his/her overall character, attitudes highlight that person’s behaviour through the personality. Moreover, since attitudes are based upon one’s values, they are also significant as they reflect that person’s values as well.

Influenced by

Another difference between values and attitudes is that the family, friends, culture, religion, and social interactions directly influence the values while that particular person’s values directly influence the attitudes.

Types

Values are one’s moral ethics. Therefore, they are one’s qualities while attitudes can be negative and positive.

Conclusion

Both values and attitudes are integral components of a person’s overall behaviour. Values and attitudes are inter-related to each other. Attitudes are influenced and built upon one’s values. Hence, attitudes are the ultimate response one holds towards some subject matter according to their moral values. Thus, the main difference between values and attitudes is that the values are built upon one’s moral attributes while attitudes are the standpoints one has regarding various issues.

Reference:

1. Mintz, Steven. “What Are Values?” Ethics Sage, 1 Aug. 2018, Available here. 
2. Sparrow, Penna. “Difference between Attitude and Value ~ Organizational Behavior.” I Answer 4 U, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Tree for emotions and attitudes” By Garanc – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “A moral compass” by John LeMasney (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr