ABSTRACT
Some people claim that they favor capital punishment because they value law and order; they support affirmative action programs as a means of promoting equality; they support recycling programs because they value the environment; they go to war to defend freedom; and they frown on cheating because it is dishonest. All of these assertions refer to values (e.g., equality, freedom), which are abstract ideas that people consider to be important guiding principles in their life (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1996). More important, all of the assertions illustrate the hypothesis that values influence attitudes, such as attitudes toward capital punishment, recycling, and war.
