Blog #5: Research round 3

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 are values and beliefs different? Why are they often grouped together?” I will be answering this question in todays post and look forward to having you read it 🙂

“Beliefs are basically assumptions that we make about the world and our values stem from those beliefs” (1). Our values are what we care about and consider important. As said previously, values stem from beliefs in a way that, “values are enduring beliefs” that help one make certain decisions regarding certain things (2). Thats what makes values and beliefs different, the fact that one is a part of the other. But why are they grouped together so often? Why is it that they are often mixed up?

Values and beliefs are often grouped together because of how a “belief will develop into a value when the person’s commitment to it grows and they see it as being important” (3). Along with values and beliefs getting mixed up because of them being important parts of each other, attitudes and behaviours also often get spun up together. The 4 topics of Values, Beliefs, Attitudes and Behaviours are often confused and put together because of how they are all connected. Through my last couple blog posts, we have a pretty clear understanding of what the definition of a value is and what a definition of a belief is and why they are often put together. But what are attitudes and behaviours? and how are they connected to our values and beliefs?

(This visual shows us how all 4 concepts are connected and how they all branch from the same idea. More explained down below!)

Attitude is defined as “a mental position with regard to a fact or state” (4). Which in simpler words means, a particular feeling, negative or positive towards a fact. Behaviour is defined as “the manner of conducting oneself” (5). Attitudes are formed from our values and beliefs which is why they connect to each other and are often confused. Examples of positive attitudes include caring for others, showing generosity and even being a good friend (6).  A way ones values and beliefs could affect ones positive attitude of them being a good friend include how they were brought up, who they were brought up around, and what their definition of a good friend is. Behaviours connect to values in a much simpler way. “Behaviours are the practical application of your values” meaning behaviours are just how people show their values in their everyday lives (7). The video linked below talks more about how values and behaviours are connected and about how us as humans need to make sure to behave or act a certain way if we want our personal values showing through. I found this short video very interesting and easy to understand which is why I thought I would add it into my research 🙂 (8)

Now that we know what values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours are, how they connect and why they are often grouped together, I hope you have a better understanding on “How are values and beliefs developed?”. Researching this inquiry question always left me learning something new and wanting to learn more which is why I thoroughly enjoyed researching it. This topic is one that is so deep, there is no right or wrong way to research into it. I hope you found reading my mini questions as fun as I did researching them. In my celebration of learning and through my personal reflection, I hope to let you in on more of how this project impacted me and my ideas regarding this topic. Thank you for following me through this journey of researching my inquiry question and I look forward to many more.

Citations-

1. Core beliefs: 12 worksheets to challenge negative beliefs. https://positivepsychology.com/core-beliefs-worksheets/
2. Foundations_Chapter 2: Values, beliefs, and caring – quizlet. https://quizlet.com/110700445/foundations_chapter-2-values-beliefs-and-caring-flash-cards/
3. Ethics toolkit | IAA – Immigration Advisers Authority. https://www.iaa.govt.nz/for-advisers/adviser-tools/ethics-toolkit/
4. Attitude definition & meaning – merriam-webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attitude
5. Behavior definition & meaning – merriam-webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behavior
6. 101 examples of a positive attitude (2023) – helpful professor. https://helpfulprofessor.com/positive-attitude-examples/
7. Employee values & behaviours in the workplace. https://www.thisishome.co.uk/values-and-behaviours/
8. The relationship between beliefs, values, attitudes and … – owlcation. https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Teaching-and-Assessing-Attitudes

Thank you for reading 🙂