Social Values

In two studies, we examined whether emotional and cognitive empathy relate differentially to Schwartz’s universal values. Emotional empathy was strongly and positively related to altruistic values and accounted for up to 18% additional variance beyond the Big Five, whereas cognitive empathy did not, consistent with the empathy-altruism hypothesis.

Using a sample of Swedes and Americans (N = 385), we examined how Dark Triad traits relate to Schwartz’s 10 universal value types. Machiavellianism and narcissism were linked to Achievement and Power, and psychopathy to Hedonism and Power. The Dark Triad traits explained unique variance in social values beyond the Big Five.