A632.5.4.RB - How Protected are Your Protected Values?
Protected values are values that are not vulnerable to trade-offs; these unbreakable values can create issues for policymakers who, simply, cannot appease everyone. Trade-offs, in our diverse society, must be accepted in order to establish legislation and policies. Protected values could also be claimed as a person’s absolute value, which cannot be measured and is invaluable. With absolute values, a person is likely to control a decision between two people; in an even worse scenario, if both people claim to have absolute values, no mutual decision will be made.
One absolute value I have realized I protect is my career ambitions. I have made many decisions, both subconsciously and deliberately, that do not interfere with my goal at work. These decisions sometimes cause sacrifices in other parts of my life. One belief from this absolute value is that I am in no position to start a family. The pros to this belief is that I am subjected to less discrimination in the US workforce. A study shows that although the pay gap of women versus men continues to decrease, a “family gap” is still evident between women with children and those without (Waldfogel 1998). The con to this belief is that I am may be purposefully missing out on something that I may miss out on. Another belief to this value is that I should limit the amount of vacation and time off I take. Although I may be gaining trust and a reputation of reliability I may be trading off some fantastic memories and travel experiences. Investing in myself is another belief that I adhere to; in hopes of continuing to achieve my career goals. These investments include professional clothing and education. The only trade-off with this belief is that I acquire what I believe will benefit me in relation to my job. This means I am more likely to pursue a technical certificate instead of a cooking class or other hobby. The pro to this belief is that I am improving myself and gaining experience in the field.
Another protected value of mine may seem pretty common but is still true to myself; that is value in money. Protected values are resistant to trade-offs, particularly to “economic values” (Baron & Spranca 1998), so this value is especially potent. Growing up my family was on the lower class of the country but I always realized how wonderful and lavish they lived; they constantly spent their money on fun things and enjoyed life. Although I do admire this enjoyment, I have tried to live frugally to avoid some absurd amount of debt and have some savings for a rainy day. One belief of this value is that I never do something I can do myself, this includes haircuts, nail grooming, or facials. Some pros to this belief is that I urge myself to learn these skills and I save money doing it. An obvious con to this is that I do not treat myself or relax as I need something done. This belief has controlled the way I think when it comes to treating myself.
The last protected value I could think of is that of women’s equality. I have never thought of myself as a feminist; however, I do find myself siding with gender equality during some discussions. One belief of this value includes equal standards of Army standards. While participating in physical training tests in ROTC, I always hit the male standards marks and wondered why wouldn’t they just be equal. If women want to be seen equally they should have the same standards. The pros to this belief is that I pushed myself to hit all of the required numbers that men had to achieve. The con to this is that many females would not agree with me and would distance themselves because of my beliefs. Another belief of women’s equality is that the pay gap in the United States needs to go away. The pro to the belief is that I am aware of the gap which makes me work harder in an attempt to prove to others in the industry that women can perform just as well as men can. A tradeoff to this belief is that companies may decrease maternity leave to create more equality between the pay and benefits of men and women.
After completing this assignment, I’ve realized that protected values can change as a person grows. As Baron and Leshner state in their study, “our results suggest that PVs are strong opinions, weakly held(2000).” Although, I still feel strongly about the mentioned values, I do think I might change my mind as I experience more years to come.
Baron, J., & Leshner, S. (2000). How serious are expressions of protected values? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 6(3), 183-194. doi:10.1037/1076-898x.6.3.183
Baron, J., & Spranca, M. (1997). Protected Values. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 70(1), 1-16. doi:10.1006/obhd.1997.2690
Waldfogel, J. (1998). Understanding the "family gap" in pay for women with children. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 137-156. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/212093335?accountid=27203
One absolute value I have realized I protect is my career ambitions. I have made many decisions, both subconsciously and deliberately, that do not interfere with my goal at work. These decisions sometimes cause sacrifices in other parts of my life. One belief from this absolute value is that I am in no position to start a family. The pros to this belief is that I am subjected to less discrimination in the US workforce. A study shows that although the pay gap of women versus men continues to decrease, a “family gap” is still evident between women with children and those without (Waldfogel 1998). The con to this belief is that I am may be purposefully missing out on something that I may miss out on. Another belief to this value is that I should limit the amount of vacation and time off I take. Although I may be gaining trust and a reputation of reliability I may be trading off some fantastic memories and travel experiences. Investing in myself is another belief that I adhere to; in hopes of continuing to achieve my career goals. These investments include professional clothing and education. The only trade-off with this belief is that I acquire what I believe will benefit me in relation to my job. This means I am more likely to pursue a technical certificate instead of a cooking class or other hobby. The pro to this belief is that I am improving myself and gaining experience in the field.
Another protected value of mine may seem pretty common but is still true to myself; that is value in money. Protected values are resistant to trade-offs, particularly to “economic values” (Baron & Spranca 1998), so this value is especially potent. Growing up my family was on the lower class of the country but I always realized how wonderful and lavish they lived; they constantly spent their money on fun things and enjoyed life. Although I do admire this enjoyment, I have tried to live frugally to avoid some absurd amount of debt and have some savings for a rainy day. One belief of this value is that I never do something I can do myself, this includes haircuts, nail grooming, or facials. Some pros to this belief is that I urge myself to learn these skills and I save money doing it. An obvious con to this is that I do not treat myself or relax as I need something done. This belief has controlled the way I think when it comes to treating myself.
The last protected value I could think of is that of women’s equality. I have never thought of myself as a feminist; however, I do find myself siding with gender equality during some discussions. One belief of this value includes equal standards of Army standards. While participating in physical training tests in ROTC, I always hit the male standards marks and wondered why wouldn’t they just be equal. If women want to be seen equally they should have the same standards. The pros to this belief is that I pushed myself to hit all of the required numbers that men had to achieve. The con to this is that many females would not agree with me and would distance themselves because of my beliefs. Another belief of women’s equality is that the pay gap in the United States needs to go away. The pro to the belief is that I am aware of the gap which makes me work harder in an attempt to prove to others in the industry that women can perform just as well as men can. A tradeoff to this belief is that companies may decrease maternity leave to create more equality between the pay and benefits of men and women.
After completing this assignment, I’ve realized that protected values can change as a person grows. As Baron and Leshner state in their study, “our results suggest that PVs are strong opinions, weakly held(2000).” Although, I still feel strongly about the mentioned values, I do think I might change my mind as I experience more years to come.
Baron, J., & Leshner, S. (2000). How serious are expressions of protected values? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 6(3), 183-194. doi:10.1037/1076-898x.6.3.183
Baron, J., & Spranca, M. (1997). Protected Values. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 70(1), 1-16. doi:10.1006/obhd.1997.2690
Waldfogel, J. (1998). Understanding the "family gap" in pay for women with children. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 137-156. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/212093335?accountid=27203
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