1. Personal values, beliefs and attitudes
Affirming Human Dignity

3. What are values?
Values are principles, standards or qualities that an individual or group of people hold in high regard. These values guide the way we live our lives and the decisions we make. A value may be defined as something that we hold dear, those things/qualities which we consider to be of worth.
A ‘value’ is commonly formed by a particular belief that is related to the worth of an idea or type of behaviour. Some people may see great value in saving the world’s rainforests. However a person who relies on the logging of a forest for their job may not place the same value on the forest as a person who wants to save it.
Values can influence many of the judgments we make.

4. Activity: What are some of my values?
Manners—are they old fashioned? Do they hold a high or low value in your life?
Pride—are there things you need to be proud of? Do you value pride or do you value humility?
Clothes—how important are clothes at work? At play?
Behaviour on the sports field—what behaviours do you value? Sportsmanship? Winning? Team spirit? Individuality?
Family life? What do you value about family life?
Write down some of the values you hold in these areas. Talk to the person next to you and ask them these same questions. Do the answers differ?

5. Where do values come from?
family
peers (social influences)
the workplace (work ethics, job roles)
educational institutions such as schools, universities or TAFE
significant life events (death, divorce, losing jobs, major accident and trauma, major health issues, significant financial losses)
religion
music
media
technology
culture
major historical events (world wars, economic depressions).

6. Dominant values
Dominant values are those that are widely shared amongst a group, community or culture. They are passed on through sources such as the media, institutions, religious organisations or family, but remember what is considered dominant in one culture or society will vary to the next.

7. Using the sources listed above, some of your values could be:
family—caring for each other, family comes first
peers—importance of friendship, importance of doing things that peers approve of
workplace—doing your job properly
educational institutions—the valuing or otherwise of learning significant life
events—death of loved ones and the impact on what we value as being important
religion—beliefs about ‘right and wrong’ and beliefs in gods
media—the impact of TV, movies, radio, the Internet and advertising on what is important in our lives, what is valued and not valued
music—music often reflects what is occurring in society, people’s response to things such as love and relationships which may then influence the development of our values
technology—the importance of technology or otherwise
culture—the importance of individuality as opposed to conforming to groups
major historical events—not wasting anything, saving for times of draught, valuing human life,

8. What do you truly value?
It is important that you develop an awareness of what you value, as these values will be important in informing your relationships with others.
The following is a list of common dominant values in Australian society. Tick the values that apply to you and then select the ten most important values you ticked and rank them.
(1 = most important, 10 = least important)
Click here for the list (or download from your Weebly site)

9. Did you learn something about yourself that you didn’t expect?
What is important here is your ability to be able to identify the values that are important to you.
It is important to be conscious of our values. This knowledge helps us to:
ask ourselves why we are doing what we are doing
identify the consequences of our actions for ourselves and others
consider other and better options if necessary.
It is important to not only have a knowledge of your value system, but to understand that your values underpin your beliefs and beliefs underpin behaviour. How we behave is a reflection of our beliefs and our beliefs are a reflection of our values.

10. Exploring your values
We are all influenced in varying degrees by the values of our family, culture, religion, education and social group. Knowing your own values can help you work effectively with others, resolve conflicts and support the ideal of caring for others.
Wherever our values come from they make us the unique person we are today!
Answer the questions on the following slides and then think about what it tells you about yourself, where your values have come from and how people with different backgrounds and life experiences would answer these questions. There are no right or wrong answers—just answer honestly and be willing to explore and reflect upon your own values.

11. Value Questions Race Gender
With what race do I identify?
Do I know people from a different race to me?
Do I believe people from different races should live together?
What would life be like if my skin colour was different?
What do I think about marriages and relationships between people from different races?
How many friends do I have from the opposite sex?
If I was a different gender how might life be different?

12. Value Questions Religion Culture
What is my religion? Do I believe in it?
What is my family’s religion?
Are most people in my community from this religion?
How does my religion influence my life?
What culture do I identify with?
What do I like and dislike about my culture and traditions?
What other cultures interest me? Do I like learning about them? Why?

13. Value Questions Language Education What is my first language?
What other languages do I speak?
Who should decide what language people should speak?
Where have I attended school?
What do I like and dislike about school?
What is the purpose of attending school?

14. Reflect on your answers about where your values have come from.
What did this activity tell you about your values?
Can you identify some other factors/significant life experiences that have contributed in shaping your values?
How do you think your values will guide your actions?
The aim of this activity is to make you aware of issues that could arise and the differing values people can have. There are no right or wrong answers, so when completing this activity try to be as honest as you can.

16. What is a belief?
Beliefs come from real experiences but often we forget that the original experience is not the same as what is happening in life now. Our values and beliefs affect the quality of our behaviour and all our relationships because what you believe is what you experience. We tend to think that our beliefs are based on reality, but it is our beliefs that govern our experiences.
The beliefs that we hold are an important part of our identity. They may be religious, cultural or moral. Beliefs are precious because they reflect who we are and how we live our lives.

18. What is an attitude?
The word ‘attitude’ can refer to a lasting group of feelings, beliefs and behaviour tendencies directed towards specific people, groups, ideas or objects.
An attitude is a belief about something. It usually describes what we think is the ‘proper’ way of doing something. The attitudes that we feel very strongly about are usually called values. Other attitudes are not so important and are more like opinions.
Sometimes our own attitudes can make us blind to other people’s values, opinions and needs. Attitudes will always have a positive and negative element and when you hold an attitude you will have a tendency to behave in a certain way toward that person or object.
You will need to be aware of your own personal values, beliefs and attitudes and how they might impact on your relationships with others.

19. The influence of attitudes
Our attitudes develop over time and not only reflect where we have come from i.e. the influence family, friends and experiences have had on our attitudes, but also how we will proceed with our life in the future. Attitudes are therefore a powerful element in our life, are long enduring and hard to change—but not impossible!

20. The problem with attitudes
One of the problems with our attitudes is we often ignore any information which is not consistent with them—we become selective in the way we perceive and respond to events and issues—and lose our ‘objectivity’ about the world.
By developing insights about our attitudes we reduce the risk of making decisions based on our unconscious, pre-existing perceptions, allowing us work more openly with others.

21. Your identity has shaped the person you are today!
Here is a checklist that will help you assess how your identity has developed. (or download from your Weebly site)
The exercise you have just completed will have given you some sense of where your own identity has come from. Think about this as you answer the following questions.

22. https://sielearning. tafensw. edu
Contents of this power point presentation have been modified from the website above