1. Résumé / Abstract
Le Questionnaire des valeurs sociales (en anglais, Social Values Questionnaire ou SVQ) est un instrument psychométrique développé par le psychologue social Sidney I. Perloe à la fin des années 1960 au Haverford College. Conçu initialement dans le cadre d’un vaste programme de recherche subventionné par le Bureau de la recherche du département de la Santé, de l’Éducation et du Bien-être des États-Unis, le SVQ vise à opérationnaliser et évaluer les orientations normatives, idéologiques et éthiques relatives à la citoyenneté, à la responsabilité civique et aux relations entre l’individu et la collectivité. L’instrument permet d’explorer les tensions fondamentales qui structurent la vie sociale, notamment l’arbitrage entre l’autonomie individuelle (individualisme, non-ingérence, primauté des droits personnels) et les devoirs envers le groupe (solidarité, conformité aux normes collectives, régulation morale et bien-être communautaire).
Dans sa forme intégrale et approfondie, le SVQ collige 132 énoncés mesurés au moyen d’une échelle de réponse de type Likert en 6 points, allant de « strongly agree » (fortement d’accord) à « strongly disagree » (fortement en désaccord), sans point médian neutre, contraignant ainsi les répondants à expliciter une prise de position axiologique. L’architecture factorielle du questionnaire dégage quatre sous-échelles fondamentales : (1) Bien-être social (Social Welfare), (2) Coopération envers les objectifs du groupe (Cooperation toward Group Goals), (3) Identification aux groupes (Identification with Groups), et (4) Pression morale et régulation normative (Moral Pressure). Les études psychométriques initiales menées sur de larges cohortes d’étudiants universitaires ont mis en évidence une consistance interne satisfaisante pour les différentes dimensions (coefficients alpha de Cronbach généralement situés entre 0,72 et 0,86) ainsi qu’une validité de construit solide, documentée par des corrélations prédictives significatives avec l’engagement civique, l’activisme politique, les attitudes envers les minorités et le développement moral au cours du cursus universitaire.
2. Mots-clés / Keywords
Valeurs sociales, Sidney I. Perloe, responsabilité civique, individualisme vs collectivisme, régulation morale, bien-être social, coopération de groupe, identification sociale, psychométrie, attitudes politiques, éthique communautaire, comportement prosocial.
3. Auteurs / Authors
Le Social Values Questionnaire a été conçu et validé par :
- Sidney I. Perloe, Ph.D. : Professeur émérite de psychologie au département de psychologie du Haverford College (Haverford, Pennsylvanie, États-Unis). Ses travaux de recherche se sont principalement concentrés sur la psychologie sociale du développement moral, les attitudes intergroupes, les valeurs civiques chez les jeunes adultes et les transformations normatives au sein des institutions universitaires d’arts libéraux.
Les investigations psychométriques et empiriques du SVQ ont bénéficié du soutien institutionnel et financier de l’Office of Education du Département américain de la Santé, de l’Éducation et de la Prévoyance sociale (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, projet de recherche n° S-308, Bureau n° 5-8210). L’outil a ensuite été répertorié et analysé dans l’ouvrage de référence de l’Institute for Social Research de l’Université du Michigan rédigé par John P. Robinson et Phillip R. Shaver (1969).
4. Objectif / Purpose
L’objectif fondamental du Social Values Questionnaire (SVQ) est de mesurer les structures d’attitudes et les schèmes de valeurs qui gouvernent le rapport d’un individu à sa communauté et à la société dans son ensemble. Développé dans un contexte historique marqué par les mutations sociopolitiques intenses des années 1960 aux États-Unis — caractérisées par les mouvements pour les droits civiques, les contestations pacifistes et l’émergence de contre-cultures étudiantes —, le questionnaire cherchait à dépasser les mesures d’idéologie politique conventionnelles (telles que les échelles libéralisme-conservatisme unidimensionnelles) pour appréhender les fondements axiologiques profonds de la citoyenneté démocratique.
Sur le plan théorique et appliqué, le SVQ a été élaboré pour répondre à plusieurs interrogations majeures de la psychologie sociale et de l’éducation :
- Évaluation des valeurs civiques et démocratiques : Déterminer comment les individus conçoivent les obligations réciproques entre le citoyen et la communauté, notamment le devoir d’intervention en cas d’injustice, l’obligation d’assistance aux populations vulnérables et la participation aux processus décisionnels collectifs.
- Étude longitudinale du changement de valeurs : Fournir un instrument sensible aux transformations identitaires et éthiques chez les étudiants de premier cycle universitaire, en mesurant l’effet de la socialisation académique, de l’exposition à des pairs diversifiés et des climats institutionnels sur l’autonomie morale et le sentiment d’interdépendance.
- Analyse de la conformité versus la résistance morale : Quantifier le degré auquel un individu légitime la contrainte de groupe, la surveillance mutuelle et l’application de sanctions normatives, par opposition à la défense absolue de la liberté de conscience, de la sphère privée et du droit à la dissidence.
- Applications en recherche comportementale : Servir de variable prédictive dans l’étude des comportements prosociaux réels, tels que l’effet du témoin (bystander effect), l’implication bénévole, l’activisme social et la propension à intervenir lors de comportements discriminatoires ou immoraux.
5. Construit psychologique / Construct
Le SVQ conceptualise les valeurs sociales non pas comme des traits de personnalité rigides, mais comme des principes directeurs abstraits et relativement stables qui hiérarchisent les priorités comportementales dans les situations d’interdépendance humaine. L’instrument s’articule autour de quatre dimensions fondamentales issues d’analyses factorielles rigoureuses :
1. Bien-être social (Social Welfare)
Cette dimension évalue l’ampleur et la nature du sentiment d’obligation d’un individu à l’égard de l’assistance, de la protection et de l’amélioration des conditions de vie d’autrui. Les individus obtenant des scores élevés sur ce facteur considèrent que la moralité exige activement d’atténuer la souffrance humaine, d’intervenir pour défendre les victimes d’injustices (y compris au-delà du cercle restreint des proches) et de subordonner parfois ses propres aises au bien-être de tiers démunis ou géographiquement distants. À l’inverse, un score faible reflète une adhésion au darwinisme social, à un modèle de responsabilité strictement individuel (« chacun doit se débrouiller par ses propres moyens ») ou à une restriction de la sollicitude morale aux seuls membres de la famille et amis intimes.
2. Coopération envers les objectifs du groupe (Cooperation toward Group Goals)
Cette composante mesure la disposition d’un individu à harmoniser ses actions avec celles d’une collectivité et à faire passer les finalités communes avant ses préférences purement égoïstes. Elle explore la croyance en l’efficacité intrinsèque de l’action coordonnée, la recherche de gratification dans l’effort concerté et l’acceptation de compromis ou d’inconvénients personnels dans le but de réaliser un objectif partagé. Les personnes réfractaires à cette dimension privilégient l’action autonome non coordonnée, craignant que l’alignement sur les buts d’une équipe n’étouffe l’expression singulière des talents individuels.
3. Identification aux groupes (Identification with Groups)
Ce construit s’attache à la dimension affective et ontologique de l’appartenance sociale. Il évalue le postulat selon lequel l’être humain trouve son accomplissement, son sens et son épanouissement véritables dans la communion avec un groupe solidaire. Un niveau élevé d’identification sociale traduit une vision symbiotique des rapports homme-groupe, où les valeurs individuelles sont perçues comme trouvant leur origine légitime dans la collectivité. Les positions opposées défendent un individualisme radical, posant que l’individu est par nature un être séparé, complet en lui-même, et que l’allégeance aux organisations menace l’intégrité de son développement personnel.
4. Pression morale et régulation normative (Moral Pressure)
Cette sous-échelle sonde l’attitude des répondants envers les mécanismes de contrôle social informel et formel. Elle examine la légitimité accordée aux membres d’un groupe pour surveiller, critiquer ouvertement et sanctionner les manquements éthiques de leurs pairs, ou pour inciter les membres hésitants à se conformer aux normes collectives. Les répondants favorables à la régulation normative considèrent que la conscience individuelle a besoin de repères sociaux fermes pour maintenir l’ordre et prévenir l’exploitation des vulnérables. Les répondants contestataires perçoivent cette pression comme une intrusion liberticide intolérable dans la vie privée, affirmant que la conformité morale doit dépendre exclusivement de la conscience individuelle sans coercition du groupe.
6. Cadre théorique / Theoretical Framework
L’ancrage théorique du Questionnaire des valeurs sociales se situe au confluent de plusieurs traditions intellectuelles majeures de la sociologie et de la psychologie sociale du milieu du XXe siècle :
- La distinction entre individualisme et collectivisme : Bien avant les modélisations interculturelles formalisées par Geert Hofstede ou Harry Triandis, Perloe s’est inspiré des typologies sociologiques classiques, telles que l’opposition entre Gemeinschaft (communauté organique) et Gesellschaft (société individualiste) introduite par Ferdinand Tönnies, ainsi que des réflexions de David Riesman dans The Lonely Crowd (1950) sur la personnalité guidée de l’intérieur (inner-directed) opposée à la personnalité guidée par autrui (other-directed).
- La théorie du développement moral et de l’intériorisation normative : Le SVQ s’articule avec les courants contemporains des travaux de Lawrence Kohlberg sur le raisonnement moral. Perloe cherchait à déterminer comment les individus articulent la morale conventionnelle (axée sur le maintien de l’ordre, les règles du groupe et l’approbation sociale) et la morale post-conventionnelle ou autonome (fondée sur des principes universels de justice, d’égalité et de droits humains universels).
- La psychologie des groupes et la conformité sociale : L’influence des paradigmes expérimentaux de Solomon Asch sur la conformité et de Kurt Lewin sur la dynamique des groupes est omniprésente dans les items évaluant le pouvoir du groupe à influencer la dissidence et la tolérance à l’égard de la déviance au sein des systèmes démocratiques.
- L’éthique de la responsabilité et l’effet témoin : Conçu peu après l’onde de choc médiatique et scientifique causée par l’homicide de Kitty Genovese en 1964, le SVQ opérationnalise directement la responsabilité morale active du témoin d’une infraction ou d’une détresse face à la passivité complice et à la diffusion de responsabilité (formal tendances qui allaient être documentées expérimentalement par Latané et Darley en 1968).
7. Validité / Validity
L’évaluation psychométrique du SVQ a fait l’objet de protocoles empiriques rigoureux documentés par Perloe (1967, 1968) et analysés par Robinson et Shaver (1969) dans le volume Measures of Political Attitudes :
Validité de contenu et d’apparence
Le pool initial d’énoncés a été construit à la suite d’entretiens approfondis et d’analyses documentaires sur les chartes institutionnelles, les codes éthiques universitaires et les textes fondateurs de la philosophie politique démocratique. Chaque énoncé a été rédigé de manière à présenter des dilemmes moraux plausibles et équilibrés, évitant les réponses manifestement tautologiques.
Validité de construit et convergente
Les scores aux sous-échelles du SVQ ont démontré des corrélations empiriques robustes et théoriquement cohérentes avec de multiples construits psychologiques :
- Responsabilité sociale : La dimension Social Welfare corrèle positivement et significativement avec l’échelle de responsabilité sociale de Gough, Berkowitz et Daniels (coefficients r compris entre 0,45 et 0,58, p < 0,001).
- Autoritarisme et dogmatisme : La sous-échelle Moral Pressure corrèle positivement avec l’échelle F d’Adorno et l’échelle de dogmatisme de Rokeach (r oscillant entre 0,38 et 0,49), indiquant que la propension à imposer des règles de groupe strictes partage une variance commune avec les tendances autoritaires conventionnelles.
- Libéralisme civique et droits civiques : Les étudiants manifestant des scores élevés en Social Welfare et une faible adhésion à la coercition morale aveugle soutenaient significativement plus les politiques en faveur des minorités raciales et la liberté d’expression sur les campus (r = 0,52, p < 0,01).
Validité prédictive et de critère
Dans les enquêtes longitudinales menées par Perloe au Haverford College et dans plusieurs institutions comparatives, les scores au SVQ prédisaient de façon statistiquement significative le choix d’activités bénévoles réelles, la participation active à des manifestations civiques et les choix de carrière orientés vers les services publics ou l’enseignement, par rapport aux orientations mercantiles.
8. Fidélité / Reliability
La fidélité métrique du Social Values Questionnaire a été confirmée à travers différentes méthodes d’estimation empirique :
- Consistance interne : En raison de la taille substantielle du questionnaire (132 énoncés), la fidélité composite de l’ensemble de l’instrument s’avère extrêmement robuste, avec un alpha de Cronbach global excédant 0,90 dans les échantillons normatifs initiaux. Pour les sous-échelles spécifiques, les coefficients de cohérence interne (alpha de Cronbach) rapportés par Perloe (1967) sont les suivants :
- Social Welfare (Bien-être social) : α = 0,84
- Cooperation toward Group Goals (Coopération) : α = 0,78
- Identification with Groups (Identification sociale) : α = 0,81
- Moral Pressure (Pression morale) : α = 0,74
- Fidélité test-retest : Lors d’administrations répétées auprès de sous-échantillons d’étudiants sur des intervalles temporels de quatre à huit semaines, les coefficients de stabilité temporelle (test-retest r) se situaient entre 0,76 et 0,85, attestant que le SVQ capture des orientations de valeurs fondamentales stables plutôt que de simples fluctuations d’humeur circonstancielles.
- Homogénéité par demi-partition (Split-Half) : Les estimations calculées selon la formule de Spearman-Brown ont indiqué des indices de corrélation corrigés variant de 0,79 à 0,88 pour les macro-dimensions du questionnaire.
9. Analyse factorielle / Factor Analysis
L’analyse factorielle exploratoire (AFE) menée par Perloe (1967) sur les matrices de corrélations inter-items a constitué une étape décisive pour clarifier la taxonomie des valeurs sociales à une époque où l’informatique appliquée à la statistique était encore à ses débuts. Les analyses ont été conduites par la méthode des composantes principales suivie de rotations orthogonales (Varimax) et obliques (Promax) :
- Extraction et structure dimensionnelle : L’examen des valeurs propres (critère de Kaiser et éboulis des valeurs propres) a révélé l’existence de quatre à six facteurs dominants expliquant la majorité de la variance commune. La structure en quatre facteurs principaux s’est avérée la plus parcimonieuse, théoriquement intelligible et réplicable.
- Saturation des items (Factor Loadings) : Les items centraux de l’échelle présentent des saturations primaires marquées (supérieures à 0,40 et atteignant fréquemment 0,60 à 0,70 sur leur facteur assigné) avec des saturations croisées résiduelles faibles sur les autres dimensions. Par exemple, l’énoncé « Happiness comes when a man puts self interest aside and devotes himself to the welfare of others » (Item 25) et l’énoncé « People should be as concerned with the rights and conditions of others as they are of themselves » (Item 27) ont saturé fortement sur le facteur Social Welfare (saturations respectives de 0,64 et 0,67). Les énoncés valorisant l’indépendance radicale (tels que l’Item 18 « To be superior a man must stand alone ») ont saturé négativement sur le facteur Identification with Groups.
- Inter-corrélations des facteurs : Les rotations obliques ont révélé que les facteurs Social Welfare et Cooperation toward Group Goals entretiennent une corrélation positive modérée (r ≈ 0,38), tandis que la dimension Moral Pressure présente une corrélation quasi nulle à légèrement négative avec la vision humaniste du bien-être social élargi, démontrant une distinction clinique et empirique cruciale entre la bienveillance altruiste et le conformisme autoritaire.
10. Instrument de mesure / Instrument
- Nom officiel : Social Values Questionnaire (SVQ) — Questionnaire des valeurs sociales
- Auteur : Sidney I. Perloe, Ph.D. (1967)
- Type d’instrument : Échelle d’auto-évaluation psychologique et sociologique (papier-crayon ou informatisée)
- Population cible : Adultes, jeunes adultes, étudiants d’université et citoyens participant à des études psychosociales ou politiques
- Nombre d’items : 132 énoncés affirmatifs
- Format et modalité de réponse : Échelle de Likert à 6 points sans point neutre :
- 1 = strongly agree (fortement d’accord)
- 2 = moderately agree (modérément d’accord)
- 3 = slightly agree (légèrement d’accord)
- 4 = slightly disagree (légèrement en désaccord)
- 5 = moderately disagree (modérément en désaccord)
- 6 = strongly disagree (fortement en désaccord)
- Cotation et inversion : De nombreux items formulés de manière individualiste ou contestant les devoirs sociaux sont marqués d’un astérisque (*) dans le protocole de recherche pour signaler leur recodage inversé lors de l’établissement des scores des sous-échelles de solidarité et d’engagement de groupe. Les scores sont calculés par la moyenne ou la somme des items rattachés à chacune des 4 dimensions.
- Durée moyenne de passation : Environ 30 à 45 minutes pour la version complète de 132 items.
11. Permissions, Tarifs et Année du test / Permissions & Fee and Test Year
- Année de développement : 1967 (avec des travaux préliminaires s’étalant de 1956 à 1967 et des rapports complémentaires en 1968).
- Statut des droits d’auteur et permissions : Le questionnaire a été élaboré dans le cadre d’un rapport de recherche financé par des fonds fédéraux américains (Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Project No. S-308). En vertu de ce statut et de sa publication dans les archives publiques de l’ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) et de l’Université du Michigan (ISR), l’instrument est dans le domaine public à des fins de recherche académique, scientifique et pédagogique non commerciale.
- Tarification : Accès libre et gratuit (aucun droit de redevance ou licence commerciale payante requis pour son utilisation dans un cadre scientifique). Les chercheurs sont tenus de citer les rapports originaux de Perloe et le recueil de Robinson & Shaver.
12. Références / References
- Perloe, S. I. (1967). To develop and partially validate a questionnaire to measure values relevant to good citizenship and to prepare a large-scale project to study value change in a variety of colleges (Research Report, Project Number S-308, Bureau Number 5-8210). Haverford College & Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED010636
- Perloe, S. I. (1967). The factorial structure of the social values questionnaire. Dittoed manuscript dated October 1967, Haverford College.
- Perloe, S. I. (1968). Social responsibility and individualism in college students: A preliminary report. Dittoed manuscript dated April 1968, Haverford College.
- Robinson, J. P., & Shaver, P. R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF
13. Questions et items du questionnaire / Scale Items
Response scale: 1. strongly agree‚ 2. moderately agree‚ 3. slightly agree‚ 4. slightly disagree‚ 5. moderately disagree‚ 6. strongly disagree
- In life an individual should for the most part go it alone‚ assuring himself of privacy‚ having much time to himself‚ attempting to control his own life. [attempting to resist being influenced by others.]*
- The typical law abiding person who avoids situations in which transgressions occur‚ rather than acting in such situations to protect those who are being injured‚ does not deserve the respect of his fellow citizens.
- Most satisfying is the knowledge that one is an indispensable and appreciated member of a purposeful and effective group (team or institution).
- The members of a group ought to be willing to inconvenience themselves in order to help the group accomplish its goals.
- One must avoid dependence upon persons or things; the center of life should be found within oneself.
- If a person is not genuinely and spontaneously concerned with the welfare of others he should vat engage in social welfare activities.
- Spontaneous‚ vigorous action is more important than taking precautions to minimize the inconvenience one’s acts cause to others.
- Whether someone works for the welfare of others or devotes himself to his private interests is less important in determining his worth than whether or not he acts on the basis of genuine personal interest.
- It is often better for a group to agree upon specific rules to regulate behaviors of importance to the group than to leave the regulation to the individual judgments of the group members.
- A person who witnesses an unlawful or immoral act and does not try to prevent its occurrence shares some part of the guilt with the transgressor.
- Concern for the welfare of others should go beyond seeing that they have their essential physical needs met.
- A person must limit the range of people toward whom he acts with consideration and compassion.
- It is immoral for a person to show indifference toward the well-being of members of his immediate circle of friends.
- People cannot rely solely upon ministers‚ policemen and judges to insure moral behavior among the citizens of a community; they oust each act to dissuade others from anti-social acts.*
- It is quite reasonable for the members of a group to try to influence indifferent or mildly dissenting members to go along with the grump.
- A member of a group which engages in immoral acts shares the guilt of the group unless he does all he can to prevent its immoral behavior.
- An individual who has not caused another’s misfortune has no obligation to help the other person.
- To be superior a man must stand alone.
- A man’s self-fulfillment through his work and his life with family and friends should almost always transcend his obligations to the larger community in which he lives. [to participate in the civic activities of his community‚ e.g.‚ being active in a local civic‚ political‚ cultural or charitable organization.]*
- It is wrong to limit the freedom of one man because it inconveniences another.
- Although groups are composed of individuals‚ they have valuable characteristics which cannot be found in any of the individual members.
- The feeling of having caused someone harm or discomfort is one of the most painful a human can have.
- Some of life’s greatest satisfactions are found in working cooperatively with others.
- Nature’s law for all organisms is the survival of the fittest; to hinder its operation is to endanger the survival or health of the entire community.
- Happiness comes when a man puts self interest aside and devotes himself to the welfare of others.
- The aims and procedures of a group ought to be arrived at through free give and take discussion and then adhered to by all the members.
- People should be as concerned with the rights and conditions of others as they are of themselves or their immediate families.
- Whether an individual acts to protect and enhance the welfare of persons beyond his circle of friends and relatives is a matter of personal preference‚ not moral obligation.*
- People cannot be considered moral if they are indifferent to the welfare of the members of the community in which they live and work.
- A man who is unable to take care of the needs of himself and his family does not deserve the respect of others.
- Everyone has an obligation to criticize other members of his community when they behave in an immoral‚ anti-social manner.
- It is worth embarrassing another person in order to make a good joke or carry out a clever prank.
- Men are first and foremost individual beings; the identifications they may have with groups never really alters their essential separateness from one another.*
- It is only natural that the desires of the individual and the desires of the group to which he belongs will come into conflict frequently.
- The person who chooses to pay little or no attention to the welfare of persons with whom he has no personal connection is acting immorally.
- No limitations should be placed on the freedom of people to do as they please unless their acts unquestionably cause serious damage to others.
- Altruistic acts are not sufficiently valued in our society.
- It is better for a person to ignore the larger social concerns of the community in which he lives than to force himself to take part in these concerns merely from a sense of obligation.*
- When one person behaves unjustly toward another‚ it is wrong for a third person to intervene to correct the injustice unless he is a close friend or relative of one of the parties. [unless he has been asked to do so.] *
- Democracy requires both the free participation by group members in deciding upon the goals and regulations of the group and the willingness of the members to abide by these decisions.
- Not only does everyone have an inalienable right to life‚ liberty and the pursuit of happiness‚ he also has an equally inalienable obligation to protect others from having these rights taken from them.
- One’s major obligation to other men is to let them alone so that they may sink or swim by their own efforts.*
- Man’s natural state is as a member of a group; the individual who holds himself aloof from active participation in a community-is acting against his natural inclinations.
- People should leave the prevention of immoral acts up to those whose job is specifically concerned with such prevention.*
- Minor conflicts between one’s own comfort and convenience and that of a neighbor should be resolved in favor of the neighbor more often than not.
- It is often more gratifying on work for the accomplishment of a goal held by a group to which one belongs than to work for the attainment of a purely personal goal.
- Although altruism and a feeling of responsibility for the welfare of others are admirable qualities‚ a person should not be required to have them in order to be respected by himself or others.*
- Most of life’s goals are accomplished better by people organizing themselves into groups and working in a coordinated way than by people working as individuals.
- A community in which people were very concerned with each other’s morality as well as their own would be an intolerable one in which to live.*
- People should be willing to diminish their own comfort and convenience in order to avoid interfering with the rights and welfare of their neighbors.
- An individual most deserves the feeling of satisfaction with himself after he has done something to help someone else.
- A person should be willing to speak out against [to openly criticize] individuals who break the rules agreed upon by the group.
- It is important for an individual to be closely identified with at least one group.
- No one can be genuinely concerned with the welfare of people whom he doesn’t know and has never seen.
- A young person’s most important responsibility is developing his own skills and capacities and his ability to appreciate what life has to offer.
- When groups have to exert pressure on some members in order to accomplish group goals and uphold norms‚ the goal or norm loses its value.
- Individual consciences need the support of laws and social codes in order to function most effectively in producing moral behavior.
- Things work best when people concern themselves with their own welfare and let others take care of themselves.*
- It is natural and proper that a person should approach other people with a view to how they can help him reach his goals.
- Group members ought to join in group activities even if they are initially indifferent or mildly opposed to these activities.
- The individualist is the men who is most likely to discover the best road to a new future.
- A community in which everyone could be sure that his well – being would be protected and fostered by his fellow citizens would soon lose its vitality and cease to develop.
- It is better to let someone behave inconsiderately toward another person than to butt into the relationship in order to correct the injustice.
- Virtue and honor do not belong to those who merely dissociate themselves from the immoral acts of their fellow men; rather‚ it belongs only to those who energetically work to prevent such acts.
- Conformity to group norms and goals should be left to the consciences of the individual members.
- One of the worst feelings a person can have occurs when he has fallen short of what his group expected of him.
- It is just as important to work toward group goals and adhere to the established rules of the group as it is to gratify one’s individual desires.
- When one individual behaves unjustly toward another‚ it is wrong for a third person to intervene to correct the injustice unless he has been asked to do so.
- Every person’s values ultimately spring from some group to which he has belonged‚ currently belongs or aspires to belong.
- It is better to ignore a person in need when one feels no personal come‚ passion for him than to act compassionately out of a sense of obligation or guilt.*
- The most profound happiness is reserved for those who are capable of selfless dedication to a cause.
- Regardless of the content of the act‚ it is better to do something that springs from a genuine personal interest than from a feeling of social obligation.
- It is the man who stands alone who excites our admiration.
- A men should not be respected for his achievements if they were obtained by interfering with the welfare and development of others.
- Only a person who remains aloof from social organizations and group allegiances can fully develop his potential as an individual.*
- The consequences flowing from the limitation of a person’s freedom to use his resources and skills as he wishes are often far worse than the discomfort such freedom might cause to others.
- Man’s natural state is as an independent‚ unattached individual; he acts in conflict with his essential qualities when he acts jointly with others as a member of a solidary group.*
- It is dishonorable to feel indifferent towards persons in distant lands who are deprived of their rights or well-being.
- The mere fact that one group or nation is prosperous and another is not places no obligation on the “have” group to improve the lot of the “have-not’‚ group.*
- Individuals do not really fulfill their human potentials unless they involve themselves deeply in some group.
- Regardless of how democratically a group sets up its rules‚ it ceases to be a democratic group once it begins to pressure its members to conform to these rules.*
- Groups and communities which refuse to regulate the behaviors of their members encourage the exploitation of the weak by the powerful.
- There is no necessary opposition between an individual’s fulfillment of his own needs and his fulfillment of the needs of the groups to which he belongs.
- Individuals should be ready to inhibit their own pleasures if these inconvenience others.
- People who identify strongly with some group usually do so at the expense of their development and individual self-fulfillment.*
- Doing something for a friend is more satisfying than doing something for yourself.
- When the needs of a group and the preferences of some of its members come into conflict‚ the latter ought to be given far greater weight in determining the outcome.
- It is up to the government to make sure that everyone has a secure job and a good standard of living.
- When democratically organized groups begin to influence and regulate the behaviors of their members‚ they either disintegrate or become transformed into undemocratic‚ autocratic groups.*
- An individual’s responsibility for the welfare of others extends no further than the boundaries of his immediate circle of friends and relatives.*
- The absence of rules regulating the social conduct of the members of a community has the effect of implicitly condoning anti – social behavior.
- It is not proper for an individual to refuse to actively participate in some of the group activities of the community in which he lives. [It is wrong If an individual refuses to participate actively in at least some of the group activities of the community in which he lives.]
- Except for one’s immediate family and closest friends‚ people have a perfect right to pursue their own goals without regard to the convenience or comfort of others.*
- Tyra development of individual consciences and the development of formal group regulations and codes are mutually antagonistic.
- Encouraging others to behave in accord with generally accepted moral standards is as important as one’s own living up to these standards.
- One should accept moderate amounts of unfairness as an inevitable part of life and avoid trying to make people more moral and considerate than they generally are. [One should avoid trying to make people more moral and considerate than they generally are.]*
- A person should be willing to cooperate with democratically selected group leaders‚ even though they are not the ones he personally preferred.
- Group members have a right to resist doing something in which they have no interest even when the action in question is necessary for their group to reach its goal. [Group members should not be criticized when they refuse to do something in which they have no interest even when the action in question is necessary for their group to reach its goals.]*
- The essence of democracy is protection of the individual against any group pressures designed to make him conforms
- As soon as a person begins to consider what effects his actions will have on bystanders‚ neighbors‚ or fellow workers‚ he begins to compromise his value as an individual.
- Individuals and groups exist in a symbiotic relationship; neither can flourish without satisfying the needs of the other.
- Life is more a festival than a workshop or a school for moral discipline.
- Although others may equal it in importance‚ there is no value more important than compassion and consideration for others.
- We intrude unjustifiably into the privacy of other individuals when we try to get them to abide more closely by some moral code. [which they accept as a vague ideal‚ but which they do not follow in their behavior.]*
- Regardless of whether groups are democratically or autocratically organized‚ they tend to encroach upon the individual freedoms of their members.
- Individuals should feel responsible for fostering the moral growth as well as the physical well-being of others.
- If one individual is treated unjustly by another‚ but does not do anything to remedy the injustice‚ it is improper for an outsider to interfere and take the part of the injured person.
- In the long run‚ people are best off if left to regulate their ant behavior rather than setting up group norms and sanctions.*
- A person is justified [right] in feeling annoyed or angry when other members of his group ignore legitimate [justifiable] group demands.
- A citizen has the responsibility to answer questions put to him by proper authorities about illegal acts he-may have witnessed‚ but he has no obligation to volunteer such information if he is not asked.
- People who are unable to provide for their own welfare have a right to expect help from others.
- The ideal society would be one in which each individual was true to his own conscience and immune to the effects of group pressure.
- Acting to protect and enhance the rights and interests of otter members of one’s community is a major obligation for all persons.
- Every person should be his brother’s keeper in the physical and moral sense.
- The only people guilty of immoral acts are those who commit them or directly cause them to be committed; others who might have prevented the acts‚ but did not‚ should bear no blame.*
- People should give up activities which bring them pleasure if these activities cause serious discomfort to others.
- Conformity to the policies of your group when you are not wholeheartedly in agreement with them is wrong‚ even when the policies are the result of a democratic process in which you were free to participate.*
- An individual truly finds himself when he merges with a social group and joins with others in resolute and determined activity for the realization of social goals.
- A person should not feel bound to follow the decisions of the groups to which he belongs if these decisions are not in accord with his private preferences.*
- The presence of rules and regulations governing aspects of community life tends to lead individuals to rely upon external authorities rather than on their own consciences in determining what is right and what is wrong.
- All men have an obligation to promote not only the welfare of their immediate circle of relatives but also to work for the welt -being of all the members of the community in which they live.
- It is wrong for a man to point out other people’s moral shortcomings.*
- It is sympathetic love among persons which alone gives significance to life.
- It is the duty of every good citizen to correct anti-minority remarks made in his presence‚
- People damage themselves as individuals when they inhibit or in some other way modify their behaviors as a result of the rules of the groups to which they belong.*
- A democratically organized group has the right to determine what should be considered proper behavior in areas relevant to the group.
- Individuals should feel no obligation to participate in the group activities of the communities in which they happen to live or work.*
- Each cancan do no more to achieve a just society than to see to it that his own behavior is moral.
- It is proper for a group to decide to mete out some kind of punishment to group members who act without regard to the goals and rules of the group.
- Man is a social animal; he cannot flourish and grow without identifying himself with some group.
- It is legitimate for democratically organized groups to influence members who disagree with the prevailing opinion by presenting arguments and information‚ but not by rewarding acquiescence or punishing deviance.
- Emphasizing the obligations people have to help one another impugns their abilities to take care of themselves.