What are Values?
As part of the DISC Behavioral Assessment, we dive into your motivational values. Motivational values are based on the six values identified by Eduard Spranger, a German philosopher and psychologist from 1914, through his research and observations. These values represented people’s drive in life, what they found important and motivated them each day.
Over time, the philosophy behind the motivational values evolved and led to seven motivational values instead of the original six. Values are formed over time and depend on your experiences. They can alter, but it is usually a slow progression.
The seven identified values are:
Aesthetic – beauty, form, and harmony drive you
Altruistic – philanthropic work and assisting others motivates you
Economic – you look for economical or tangible gains
Individualistic – you have a strong desire to be independent or unique
Power – you like to be in control or have influence over others
Regulatory – organization and structure drive you
Theoretical – knowledge and comprehensive understanding motivates you
Aesthetic
Those who score highly in the aesthetic place importance on form and balance. Your life is made up of experiences that are enjoyed as they come and are judged by symmetry, elegance, and suitability. You don’t need to be an artist to have a high aesthetic value. It simply means you enjoy the beauty in life each day. You place importance on diversity of experiences and tend to believe the beauty of something is more important or has equal importance to the truth. Your opposite is those with a high theoretical value.
Altruistic
Altruistic individuals place high importance on philanthropy and care of others. They tend to be kind, empathetic, and generous and will share their talents and time with others as a teacher. Altruistic people are driven by helping others achieve growth. You also value collaboration and are a natural humanitarian. Your opposite is those who have a high-power value.
Economic
People with a high economic value are focused on performance. You tend to be competitive and look for sensible solutions to problems. Stemming from self-preservation, economic individuals now thrive in applied matters such as production, marketing, and tangible wealth. They tend to run by the numbers and often find themselves in conflict with people who value other characteristics.
Economic individuals are exceedingly practical and only gather what is useful. They therefore run afoul sometimes of those with high theoretical values who gather knowledge for knowledge’s sake. They can also oppose those with a high aesthetic value when they place beauty into commercial boxes. Those with a high economic value seek to surpass others with wealth, rewards, or other tangible results.
Individualistic
Individualistic people thrive when they are working independently. They want to have autonomy over their decisions and actions and usually aim to stand out from the crowd. People with a high individualistic value are confident and self-reliant, valuing freedom over all else. They don’t strive for leadership or control, but they also can struggle in a team environment, especially if another seeks to hold power over them. When they feel another attempting to suppress them or remove their autonomy, they can become focused solely on regaining their independence.
Power
Individuals with a high power covet power and control. They are usually highly competitive and are not afraid of power struggles. They will readily take charge of projects and will accept the credit for success or the blame for failure. They are strong leaders and can take and maintain control in a variety of situations. Authority, influence, and recognition are their top priorities.
Regulatory
Those who are driven by the regulatory value seek organization and structure. They are self-disciplined and follow the rules to a T. They can have a broad outlook and seek to understand the world as a whole, embracing the structure of the world and finding their place in it or the highest order. Regulatory individuals are often detail-oriented and can be a problem-solver within the established protocols. They can often get stuck in details and procedures however, and are not flexible to changes. They may struggle seeing the big picture when they are focused on the proper protocol.
Theoretical
Theoretical individuals are intellectualists at heart and aim to observe and understand. They are critical and rational thinkers and gather knowledge in all aspects. Those with a high theoretical value do not concern themselves with beauty or utility. They are concerned with collecting information and categorizing it, purely to understand what they are observing. They have an appetite for learning and show high technical knowledge.