A Hierarchical Structure of Basic Human Values in a Third-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis

This study investigates the hierarchical structure of Schwartz et al.’s (2012) refined theory of basic human values. Data were collected using a revised version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire, which measures the 19 more narrowly defined values. Respondents from nine countries participated (N = 3,261): Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey. Third-order confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the 19 refined values load on values from the earlier catalog of values. Moreover, these values, together with the two new values introduced in the refined theory, load, in turn, on the theoretically postulated four higher-order values that form the third-order level of analysis. Findings support the proposition that the more narrowly defined values in the refined theory of basic human values are subdimensions of the more broadly defined values in the original theory.