Value-Instantiating Beliefs: A Practical Substitute for Meaning

Abstract

The construct of “meaning”, although commonly used by psychologists, does not have a formal operationalization. In this article I specify a construct of envaluation, intended to quantify individual differences in motivationally relevant aspects of meaning. An envaluation is a personal belief about consequences of an object, action, or event for a personal value. I describe predictors and consequences of envaluations, the role of envaluations in attitude formation, and potential applications of envaluations for research on values, intergroup relations, persuasion, and culture. Using envaluations to assess individual interpretations of psychological stimuli can aid in specifying and testing boundary conditions for psychological effects and improving the predictive power of psychological models. The construct of envaluations can further generate new research directions that address questions about meaning.

Why is right-wing media consumption associated with lower compliance with COVID-19 measures?

“…We introduce the construct of value-instantiating beliefs (VIBs) to describe personal beliefs about perceived consequences of objects, actions, or events for values (Ponizovskiy et al, 2019;Ponizovskiy, 2020). Examples of VIBs are "COVID-19 is dangerous" (positing a negative relationship between an object, COVID-19, and the value of security) or "social distancing limits my freedom" (positing a negative relationship between the behavior, social distancing, and the value of self-direction).…”

“…VIBs may differ in strength (COVID-19 can be seen as very, moderately, or slightly dangerous) and in direction (social distancing can be seen as limiting or expanding personal freedom). VIBs can be acquired through socialization and may moderate the relationship between socialization experiences and attitudes (Ponizovskiy et al, 2019;Ponizovskiy, 2020).…”