From Affect to Values: A Lexical Approach

Personal values act as guiding principles in life and are thought to be connected to affective experiences; however, past research has primarily examined the direction from values to affect rather than the reverse. This study identified theoretical frameworks suggesting a causal pathway from affect to values and tested this pathway using a lexical approach.

Study 1 (N = 230) developed and validated a Chinese Personal Values Dictionary (CPVD) to assess personal values in Chinese texts, revealing meaningful correlations between self-report values and those identified through the CPVD. Using the CPVD, Study 1 also investigated the relationship between past affect and values with cross-sectional data (N = 230), while Study 2 analyzed real-time panel data from social media (N = 14,020) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results indicated that individuals with positive affect tended to prioritize anxiety-free values (openness to change and self-transcendence), suggesting that positive affect fosters a commitment to the greater good, independence, novelty, and personal growth. In contrast, anxiety-related values (conservation and self-enhancement) displayed a more intricate relationship with affective experiences, indicating that the mechanisms underlying value development extend beyond mere anxiety-related factors.

This research offers valuable insights into how affective experiences contribute to value development through a lexical approach.