Editing Value theory (section)

=== Sociology ===
{{main|Sociology}}

Sociology studies social behavior, relationships, institutions, and society at large.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bhushan|Sachdeva|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qgZFB3UOuNkC&pg=PA4 4]}} | {{harvnb|Sharma|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QQ1nBcV_zCMC&pg=PA10 10]}} }}</ref> In their analyses and explanations of these phenomena, some sociologists use the concept of values to understand issues like [[social cohesion]] and [[Social conflict|conflict]], the norms and practices people follow, and [[collective action]]. They usually understand values as subjective attitudes possessed by individuals and shared in social groups. According to this view, values are beliefs or priorities about goals worth pursuing that guide people to act in certain ways. For example, societies that value education may invest substantial resources to ensure high-quality schooling. This subjective conception of values as aspects of individuals and social groups contrasts with the objective conceptions of values more prominent in economics, which understand values as aspects of commodities.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Karp|2000|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Steinert|2023|pp=33–34, 37, 39–40}} | {{harvnb|Tormos|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=u8y8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 11]}} }}</ref>

Shared values can help unite people in the pursuit of a common cause, fostering social cohesion. Value differences, by contrast, may divide people into antagonistic groups that promote conflicting projects. Some sociologists employ value research to predict how people will behave. Given the observation that someone values the environment, they may conclude that this person is more likely to [[recycle]] or support pro-environmental legislation.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Karp|2000|loc=Lead section, § Social Values}} | {{harvnb|Steinert|2023|pp=39–40, 47}} }}</ref> One approach to this type of research uses [[Values scale|value scales]], such as the [[Rokeach Value Survey]] and the [[Theory of basic human values|Schwartz theory of basic human values]], to measure the value outlook of individuals and groups.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Karp|2000|loc=Lead section, § The Rokeach Tradition, § The Schwartz Scale of Values}} | {{harvnb|Tormos|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=u8y8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 13–15]}} }}</ref>