Values and Politics

Values are evaluative beliefs that people use to make judgments about desirable and undesirable actions, people, and events. The value concept has a long history in the social sciences that spans psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. A great deal of research has sought to show that values help shape people’s evaluations of politicians and government policies. Other research has argued that values can be a substitute for abstract ideological reasoning that many people may not be capable of engaging in. This entry [Page 888]discusses the definition of values and value systems and summarizes research linking values to political attitudes and choices.