Human beings are complex creatures whose thinking processes and behavior depend on their values, morals, and ethics. While frequently being used interchangeably, the three concepts have specific distinctions. At the same time, an individual’s morals, values, and ethics are interconnected and affect one another. Moreover, although not often and not significantly, the constructs may change, thus transforming what people perceive to be important or right in different situations. Personal values, morals, and ethics influence individuals’ worldviews and subsequent conduct within society.
Values represent the first concept that affects people’s thoughts and behaviors. Personal values (PVs) are broad desirable goals that reflect what is worthy to a specific individual and serve as guiding principles throughout life (Arieli et al., 2018; Daniel et al., 2021). Accordingly, PVs facilitate the drive for action, meaning that people are typically willing to put effort into promoting their PVs and attaining their motivational objectives (Arieli et al., 2018). For example, someone who focuses on achievement values is likely to be directed by these PVs in making a decision regarding occupation, like choosing one that is more prestigious (Arieli et al., 2018). Consequently, PVs have distinct hierarchies for every person, indicating that an individual will be more moved by a PV that they regard to be the most important (Arieli et al., 2018). Therefore, PVs are motivational goals that guide people’s choices and behavior based on their significance.
A noteworthy aspect of PVs is that they are not always unchanging. PVs are relatively stable but may adapt in response to shifts that affect multiple aspects of life, like migrating to a new area (Daniel et al., 2021). For example, after major existential threats, values that prioritize security and tradition are likely to increase in importance, whereas those emphasizing self-direction and hedonism tend to decrease (Daniel et al., 2021). Nonetheless, after some time, from several hours to several months, the significance of distinct PVs tends to return to the original level (Daniel et al., 2021). Notably, the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns have facilitated PVs that focus on maintaining order and hindered those promoting openness to change (Daniel et al., 2021). As a result, the pandemic has restricted people from value-expressive behaviors, such as striving for independence and creativity (Daniel et al., 2021). Accordingly, PVs and individuals’ conduct depend on situations that affect the public.
Furthermore, people’s moral derives from PVs and is represented in their demeanors. In particular, personal moral can be understood as PMRs (Personal Moral Rules), which are value-based constraints concerning what is right or wrong to do in different situations (Barton-Crosby, 2020). PMRs reflect how individuals view and judge behaviors and actions (Barton-Crosby, 2020). For instance, one person may have PMRs that regard stealing food to feed a family as not entirely immoral, whereas someone else’s PMRs may state that theft is bad regardless of circumstances (Barton-Crosby, 2020). Notably, PMRs can dictate criminal behavior through compliance with the law because legal regulations are regarded as more legitimate when they align with personal moral values (Barton-Crosby, 2020). Moreover, although PMRs emanate from PVs, the former is also considerably impacted by society. One’s morality results from various developmental experiences, including moral education and interactions with others (Barton-Crosby, 2020). Therefore, an individual’s moral is based on their PVs and upbringing and can represent what is perceived as right and wrong.
Ethics can be considered as the final concept that reflects people’s view of life. Ethics refers to one’s character and moral nature, and personal ethics (PE) depicts individual virtue abstracted from society (Bietti, 2020). While often confused with moral rules of appropriate social behavior, ethics has a more private connotation (Bietti, 2020). PE can derive from different sources, including philosophy, logical argumentation, culture, or personal experience (Nambiar, 2021). Rather than simply judging someone or a situation they are involved in, PE is interested in making a specific decision concerning an event (Nambiar, 2021). Accordingly, the decision-making process in PE is based on and guided by a person’s values and morals (Nambiar, 2021). Notably, PE cannot be fully separated from professional ethics because when facing dilemmas at work, people are likely to act in accordance with their PE to a certain extent (Nambiar, 2021). Therefore, PE depends on PVs and PMRs to make an appropriate decision when encountering an issue.
To summarize, personal values, morals, and ethics are interconnected and reflect how an individual views life events and behaves in response to them. Values are primary goals that illustrate people’s desires and motivate actions. While being moderately stable, values may adapt to distinct circumstances and change a person’s priorities. Values play an important role in generating an individual’s moral rules and reactions to different situations, such as adherence to the law. Consequently, people’s ethics emanate from their values and morals, affecting decisions concerning challenging events. As a result, one can assume that if the importance of PVs modifies as a reaction to major life happenings, then PMRs and PE may also transform when encountering a crisis. Therefore, while personal values, morals, and ethics depict thoughts and behaviors, the three concepts are also crucial in preventing individuals from making decisions that may lead to negative consequences.
References
Arieli, S., Sagiv, L., & Roccas, S. (2018). Values at work: The impact of personal values in organisations. Applied Psychology, 69(2), 230-275. Web.
Barton-Crosby, J. (2020). The nature and role of morality in situational action theory. European Journal of Criminology, 19(6), 1421-1437. Web.
Bietti, E. (2020). From ethics washing to ethics bashing: A view on tech ethics from within moral philosophy. Proceedings of the 2020 conference on fairness, accountability, and transparency. ACM Digital Library. Web.
Daniel, E., Bardi, A., Fischer, R., Benish-Weisman, M., & Lee, J. A. (2021). Changes in personal values in pandemic times. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(2), 572-582. Web.
Nambiar, H. P. (2021). Personal and professional ethics. LinkedIn. Web.