Activity 4A.
Values Sorting
Description
This activity will highlight that challenges in groups are often not values conflicts, but
rather differences in which values are important in a particular context.
Learning Goals
• Understand how we rank and order our values based on the context and issue
• Understand that we sometimes have very different interpretations of a value
• Recognize the importance of discussing our values
Practice (30 minutes)
Step One Here is a suggested list of the values. These can be adapted to fit 10 min
particular topic areas:
• Security
• Community
• Prosperity
• Individual Responsibility
• Diversity/Inclusion
• Equality
• Consistency/Tradition
• Opportunity
• Justice
• Liberty/Freedom
• Change/Innovation
Security
1 Community
10 Prosperity
9 Individual Responsibility
5 Diversity/Inclusion
4 Equality
11 Consistency/Tradition
7 Opportunity
8 Justice
2 Liberty/Freedom
3 Change/Innovation
Each participant will rank the values and be able to identify in
particular their top 5 values and their last two values.
Step Two Share and discuss your top 5 values. 15 min
Participants should discuss how they interpreted or defined the
value and see if others interpreted the value differently.
Talked about in groups
Step Four Debrief as a group. 15 min
• How can understanding that many people share similar
values but prioritize them differently help us work
together in groups?
Understanding this can help recognize that others hold
the same core values even if it is expressed differently,
this helps lead to a more respectful and inclusive group
environment. It also helps with facilitating compromise,
negotiation, and helps to build stronger relationships
• How might collaborative groups explore and find
common values?
You can try open dialogue and discussion, sharing visions,
storytelling, and observing group behavior.
Reflection Assignment
• Where do values come from? How are they shaped?
Values come from a combination of sources, including family, culture, religion, education,
and personal experiences. It’s shaped by the interactions and influences encountered
throughout life.
• From whom and how did you learn your values? How was this shown or
expressed to you?
Values are typically learned from significant figures in someone’s life, like
teachers, parents, teachers, mentors, and community leaders. It can occur
during observation of role models behaviors and the consequences of actions.
• How do you recognize the influence of your values on your behaviors and actions?
It can be recognized through consistent decision making, reactions to situations, and
one’s own priorities
• Are there any values that you were taught but you know how to reject or find
less important? What influenced this change of values?
It’s common for people to reevaluate and potentially reject/deemphasize
certain values learned earlier in life. This shift can be influenced by new
experiences, increased self-awareness, exposure to different perspectives, or a
change in personal priorities and life goals.
Additional Resources
• Public Problems, Values and Choices, Phillip Boyle.
[Link]
choices#:~:text=Before%20people%20can%20decide%20how,Boyle%2C%20Philli
p.
• Ben Franklin Circles (13 Virtues)
• Aristotle’s Ethics in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.