The validity of the security-harmony social values model in the general population

Abstract

The Social Goal Values Inventory was administered to a national random sample of 1,680 respondents. The data were used to explore the structure of the instrument, to test the security-harmony model of political evaluation through confirmatory factor analysis, and to test the validity of the security-harmony model through its relationships with social-demographic and political variables. The results confirmed the existence of two major dimensions underlying the Social Goal Values Inventory, one representing security and the other harmony. The security value orientation was stronger among older, less educated, male respondents. The harmony value orientation was stronger among women and the well educated. The security-harmony model of political evaluation states that changes in left/ right political preferences can be brought about through changes on the harmony or security dimension and that an increase in concern for one value orientation (e.g., security) does not mean a decrease in concern for the other (e.g., harmony). As predicted, both security and harmony contributed independently to predicting the way in which individuals located themselves on the left-right continuum.