Blog #4: Research round 2

Hello and welcome back to my blog!

My semester 2 inquiry question is, “How are values and beliefs developed?”. My mini-question for this post is, How do ones values and beliefs change depending on where ones brought up?. I will be answering this question in todays post and look forward to having you read it 🙂

No one is born with previous values and beliefs. They are formed and made through how and where we are brought up. But how do they change depending on that? How do they change depending on where ones brought up? As mentioned, values and beliefs are formed “through the influences of family, friends, society and life experiences” (1). Most psychologists believe, values and beliefs start to form “between the ages of 8 and 13” (2). As these are formed at young ages, they can be changed very frequently and easily. Ones values and beliefs change depending on where they are brought up because those around us influence how they are formed. Around the ages of 6-7 are when our values and beliefs really start forming. We tend to “pick up and store everything that goes on in [our] environment” (2). We grow up hearing these different perspectives on little ideas and start forming our own opinions regarding them. Where we grow up does affect how our values and beliefs are developed for the main reason being how cultures, families and communities differ.

There are a number of different types of values. Ones that would heavily be affected by where we are brought up include cultural values, relationship values and social values. Cultural values “are a culture’s core beliefs about what’s good or right” (3). These are brought into our lives through how our cultures live their lives. An example of this would be how “Indian culture is based on respect for elders, family unity, honesty, and hard work” (4). So it’s understandable to say, a child born into a family with those kinds of values would grow up learning the same. Relationship values refer to “how much each person values the relationship” (5). Examples of this would include seeing how those around you, those being your parents and elders deal with relationships. One who grows up seeing the negative sides to a relationship could deal with them the same having the same values or deal with them totally different as they did not want to deal with that sort of a relationship. Another form of values that could be developed through where we are brought up include our social values. Social values are developed “by the dynamics of the community, institutions in the society, traditions, and cultural beliefs of the people in the society” (6). These also connect to cultural and relationship values as social values are where the rest stem from. Social values continue to be an important aspect of our daily lives. We use them while working, having fun or even meeting new people. The way we greet people, the way we deal with problems in our social lives, and the way we seek help, all comes from how we were brought up with our social values.

As with values, there are 5 main kinds of beliefs. Religious, political, societal, philosophical, and spiritual belief systems continue to be the main 5 (7). Religious beliefs are considered to be “a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny” (8). Examples of these include religions like Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Political beliefs “[refer] to a belief or view that has some bearing on issues dealt with by government” (9). Examples of these would include radicalism, reactionism, and fundamentalism. Societal beliefs are much like societal values, as they are beliefs formed by the society around you. Examples include drug addiction, and alcoholism. Philosophical beliefs are those concerning an important aspect of human life, and worthy of respect. This type of belief system is one of the biggest in the picture as it deals with other belief systems under it. Examples of it include “humanism, atheism and spiritualism” (10). The final belief system I will be describing is the spiritual belief system. Spiritual belief systems are “the relationship to a superior being and are related to an existential perspective on life, death, and the nature of reality” (11). These are similar to religious beliefs but differ as they are not always towards a whole religion but parts of it instead.

So in all, ones values and beliefs change depending on where they are brought up due to the different communities, cultures and families they are brought up in. I really hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as it is one I was very passionate about researching. In my next blog post, I will be talking about How are values and beliefs different? Why are they often grouped together? Now that we do know a lot about values and beliefs, I think it is time to compare and contrast them! I believe this mini question will help sum up the topic and find a final answer to how values and beliefs are developed.

I look forward to seeing you again next time. Thank you for reading! 🙂

Citations:

1. Values, beliefs and attitudes. FutureLearn. (2022, October 25). https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/supporting-learning-secondary/0/steps/58621#:~:text=People’s%20values%2C%20beliefs%20and%20attitudes,going%20to%20change%20my%20mind%E2%80%9D.
2. Holmes, T. (2017, July 10). Part 2 series on values: When and how are your values formed?. Medium. https://medium.com/@TrevorDHolmes/part-2-series-on-values-when-and-how-are-your-values-formed-ff09b9e639e7#:~:text=Your%20major%20values%20about%20life,were%20about%2010%20years%20old.&text=This%20period%20occurs%20through%20the,interaction%20begins%20with%20other%20people.
3. Cultural values. Cultural values – Care Quality Commission. (n.d.). https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/adult-social-care/cultural-values#:~:text=Cultural%20values%20are%20a%20culture’s,we%20most%20associate%20ourselves%20with.
4. Exploring the religious and cultural values of India. Unacademy. (2022, March 31). https://unacademy.com/content/nda/study-material/geography/exploring-the-religious-and-cultural-values-of-india/#:~:text=Indian%20culture%20is%20based%20on,known%20for%20their%20entrepreneurial%20spirit.
5. Owen.pham. (2020, April 27). Relational value in relationships. Wondrium Daily. https://www.wondriumdaily.com/relational-value-in-relationships/#:~:text=Relational%20value%20refers%20to%20how,the%20imbalance%20of%20relational%20value.
6. What are social values?: Example, conclusion, social values in business. Carbon collective. (n.d.). https://www.carboncollective.co/sustainable-investing/what-are-social-values#:~:text=Social%20values%20are%20a%20set,how%20to%20conduct%20themselves%20appropriately.
7. Belief systems. Conversational Leadership. https://conversational-leadership.net/belief-systems/#:~:text=Belief%20systems%20are%20often%20talked,spiritual%20belief%20systems%2C%20among%20others.
8. Religious belief – definition, meaning & synonyms. Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/religious%20belief
9. Political belief, affiliation or activity discrimination. (n.d.). https://equalopportunity.tas.gov.au/html_version/political_belief,_affiliation_or_activity_discrimination#:~:text=’Political%20belief’%20refers%20to%20a,identifying%20with%20a%20political%20cause.
10. Team, E. (2022, March 16). Philosophical belief & workplace discrimination. DavidsonMorris. https://www.davidsonmorris.com/philosophical-belief-discrimination/#:~:text=Protected%20philosophical%20beliefs%20are%20beliefs,like%20ethical%20veganism%20or%20stoicism.
11. Watkins, Y. J., Quinn, L. T., Ruggiero, L., Quinn, M. T., & Choi, Y.-K. (2013). Spiritual and religious beliefs and practices and social support’s relationship to diabetes self-care activities in African Americans. The Diabetes educator. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3859187/#:~:text=Spiritual%20beliefs%20include%20the%20relationship,engagement%20with%20religious%20community%20members.

Thank you!