Learning Objectives:

• To facilitate participants’ reflection on their own socio-cultural and collective values from family, communities, and society
• To facilitate participants’ reflection on their own personal values
• To promote awareness of the influence of socio-cultural context on personal values and the potential for conscious choice in one’s values

Materials: Worksheet 3.4.1 – List of Examples of Full Living Values, pens

Time Required: 30 Minutes

Activities & Instructions

Instructions to Participants

• Facilitator describes the overall purpose of the exercise by saying, “As we discussed in the last two sessions, we each have our own set of values that guide us through our lives. In this exercise, we will explore our cultural and personal values and their relationship to one another.”
• “This is a short exercise that is followed by another fun exercise. Values refer to what really matters to us; they guide our direction in life – in what we do, in what we appreciate, and what we wish to pursue.”
• “Although our goals and achievements may be guided by our values, they are not really our values. For example, I obtain a certificate from the Art College; the certificate is not my value. My value is creative expression.”
• (One facilitator hands out the list of sample words for values – Worksheet 3.4.1: List Of Examples of Full Living Values – and reads the instructions on the handout.)
• (Invite the participants to work on their own for about 5 minutes. Remind participants that they are free to add to the list any particular value that is important to them but is missing.)
• Some participants may have a hard time choosing 3 values. Remind them by saying, “We may choose different values for different situations and contexts. For exercise, just choose the ones that are relevant to you now.”
• (After 5 minutes, facilitator debriefs the activity.)

Debriefing Questions

Invite participants to share their values and their reflections on them:

• “Would anyone like to share their cultural and personal values?”
• “Do you notice any relationship between the two sets of values?”
• “In what way are your cultural values helpful? In what way have you found them problematic?”

Key Summary Points

Summarize all the reflections shared about this exercise. Noting that:

• Some of our personal values may be identical to our cultural values; some may have “evolved” or adapted from our cultural values; some may have no relationship with our cultural values; and some may be in conflict with or opposite to our cultural values;
• The relationships between our cultural and personal values may increase synergy or pose tension for us depending on whether they are aligned or not;
• However, ultimately, it is important to note that we have the autonomy and freedom to choose our own values.

In the next activity, we will further explore how our values can guide our goals and actions.

Source:

1. A non-exhaustive list based on various values lists, including those commonly ascribed to major cultural or religious values.
2. http://www.barriedavenport.com/list-of-400-values/
3. https://sites.google.com/site/welcometoindianculture/home/ethnicity/indian-values-and-beliefs
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
7. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Cardinal_Virtues
8. Cheung F. M., Cheung. S. F., Wada, S., Zhang, J. (2003). Indigenous measures of personality assessment in Asian countries: A review.
   Psychological Assessment, 15(3):280–9.
9. Fung, K. P. (2003). Study of Alexithymia in Chinese Canadians. Master’s thesis. Toronto: University of Toronto.

Worksheet 3.4.1 – List of Examples of Full Living Values

1. Please circle the top 3 Cultural Values that most reflect your up-bringing and your socio-cultural values from your family, community, and society, and write “CV” beside them.
2. Please circle the top 3 Personal Values of your own choice, which may or may not be the same as above, and write “PV” beside them. If there are important values that are not listed, please feel free to add them to the list.