Background

Practitioners frequently need to assess the core values of their clients, or engage their clients in self-reflection exercises that begin by examining the values they most strongly endorse. However, many existing methods for identifying core values are time-consuming, opaque, or challenging to apply in practical settings.

Aims

We will describe the hierarchical, ipsative, preference method (HIP) to identify an individual’s “core” values – the four values they regard as most central – from 80 candidate values (Stanislaw & McCreary, 2022). The method is fully transparent and can be administered in as little as 5-7 minutes.

Method

602 respondents recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) used HIP to select their four core values from 80 candidates. They also rated how strongly each of the 80 values motivated and inspired them. The data were examined for response biases, and the concurrent validity of HIP was assessed by comparing the value selections it produced with the ratings assigned to those same values. User satisfaction was assessed as well.

Results

The HIP value selections were consistent with the rating data, providing evidence for HIP’s concurrent validity. HIP exhibited minimal response bias, and produced value selections in about 5-7 minutes. Users were also highly satisfied with HIP; 88% indicated the values identified by HIP motivated and inspired them “more than any other values you can think of.”

Conclusion

HIP is a user-friendly tool that can quickly identify the four values that clients endorse most strongly from a list of 80 candidate values. Throughout the HIP value selection process, users are fully aware they are selecting some values and rejecting others, which prompts deep self-reflection. Attendees can judge these qualities for themselves during the “experience” component of the presentation, which will allow each member of the audience to use HIP to identify their own core values.