Life Values Inventory (LVI)

Abstract

The Life Values Inventory (LVI) is a widely recognized psychometrics instrument designed to measure the importance of 14 distinct terminal and instrumental life values that influence an individual’s behavior, decision-making, and life role choices. Conceptualized primarily by Duane Brown and R. Kelly Crace, the LVI helps individuals, particularly in educational and career development settings, identify their core motivational drivers. The scale consists of 42 items rated on a 5-point scale, yielding profiles across 14 value domains. Its primary application lies in vocational guidance and personal development planning.

Keywords

Life Values Inventory, LVI, values assessment, career counseling, vocational psychology, personal values, Duane Brown, R. Kelly Crace, psychometric scale.

Authors

Duane Brown, R. Kelly Crace, M. L. Almeida, H. R. Pinto.

Purpose

The central purpose of the LVI is to facilitate the identification and clarification of an individual’s core life values. By quantifying the importance of these values, the instrument serves as a critical tool in educational, counseling, and vocational settings, helping individuals understand the motivational forces behind their choices and actions.

In career counseling, the LVI assists individuals in making informed decisions about life roles and occupational choices that align with their intrinsic motivations, thereby promoting greater job satisfaction and overall well-being. It is also utilized in research to study the relationship between values, goal setting, and behavioral outcomes across diverse populations.

Construct

The LVI measures the psychological construct of personal values, defined as enduring beliefs that guide behavior and life choices across various situations. The scale organizes these beliefs into 14 distinct value domains, each assessed by three items, totaling 42 items. These domains cover a broad spectrum of human motivation, ranging from highly personal concerns (e.g., Privacy, Health) to interpersonal and societal concerns (e.g., Concern for Others, Loyalty).

The 14 value constructs measured by the LVI are:

• Achievement: Challenging oneself and working hard to improve performance.
• Belonging: Feeling accepted and liked by others.
• Concern for the Environment: Protecting nature and appreciating its beauty.
• Concern for Others: Being sensitive to others’ needs and rights.
• Creativity: Generating new ideas and discovering new things.
• Financial Prosperity: Achieving wealth and financial success.
• Health and Activity: Maintaining good physical shape and being athletic.
• Humility: Downplaying compliments and avoiding credit for accomplishments.
• Independence: Having control over one’s time and giving one’s opinion.
• Loyalty to Family or Group: Respecting traditions and making decisions with the group in mind.
• Privacy: Having time alone for thought and a private place to go.
• Responsibility: Being reliable, trustworthy, and meeting obligations.
• Scientific Understanding: Using science for progress and knowing about math/science.
• Spirituality: Believing in a higher power and living in harmony with spiritual beliefs.

Validity

The validity of the Life Values Inventory is primarily rooted in the robust theoretical model of values in life role choices developed by Brown and Crace (1996), establishing strong content validity. This theoretical framework provides a justification for the selection and clustering of the 42 items into the 14 value factors. Subsequent psychometric research typically focuses on confirming the structural integrity of this model across different populations.

Empirical evidence for construct validity is usually gathered through correlations with established, theoretically linked measures of personality, motivation, and other value inventories. The scale’s utility in predicting vocational satisfaction and goal attainment further supports its applied validity. Cross-cultural adaptations, such as the experimental Portuguese version (Almeida & Pinto, 2002), provide evidence regarding the universality and structural equivalence of the LVI constructs.

Reliability

The reliability of the LVI is assessed using standard psychometrics procedures, primarily focusing on internal consistency. Given that each of the 14 factors is measured by only three items, high internal consistency, typically reported via Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, is essential to ensure that the items within each subscale are measuring the same underlying construct.

Technical documentation associated with the LVI generally reports acceptable to good reliability estimates for the subscales, supporting their use in both research and counseling practice. Furthermore, test-retest reliability studies confirm the stability of the measured values over short and moderate time intervals, reinforcing the understanding of personal values as relatively enduring psychological characteristics.

Factor Analysis

The 42-item structure of the Life Values Inventory is empirically validated through Factor Analysis. The instrument is explicitly designed to isolate 14 distinct factors, corresponding to the 14 value domains. Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) have been employed to test the underlying structure.

Successful factor analysis results confirm that the specific item groupings (three items per factor) demonstrate adequate factor loadings, supporting the instrument’s intended multidimensional measurement model. This structural integrity ensures that the LVI is capable of providing a differentiated profile of an individual’s value hierarchy, rather than yielding a single, undifferentiated score.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Inventory / Psychometric Assessment

Format: 42 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English, Portuguese (experimental version), potentially others.

Population Group: General population, primarily students, adults undergoing career development, and counseling clients.

Age Group: Adolescents (high school level) through adulthood.

Population Details: Suitable for individuals seeking self-clarification regarding personal priorities and motivation that guide life choices.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the extent to which each item guides their behavior using a 5-point Likert Scale. Scores are summed for each of the 14 factors, providing a profile of value priorities.

Keywords

Achievement, Belonging, Responsibility, Spirituality, Independence, Humility, Financial Prosperity, value clarification, psychological assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The conceptual model for the Life Values Inventory was published in 1996 (Brown & Crace). The instrument is frequently used in non-commercial and educational settings, often without charge. However, specific permissions and any associated fees for commercial or clinical application must be confirmed directly with the primary authors or copyright holders of the LVI.

The original PDF of the instrument, including items and scoring key, can be downloaded here: https://bhmt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BHMT_CC_Life-Values_Inventory.pdf

Reference’s

1. Brown‚ Duane and Crace‚ R. Kelly. (1996). Values in Life Role Choices and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model. The Career Development Quarterly‚ 44(3)‚ 211-223.
2. Almeida‚ M. L. & Pinto‚ H. R. (2002). Inventário dos Valores de Vida (experimental version). Lisboa.

Items of the Life Values Inventory (LVI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Challenging myself to achieve
2. Being liked by others
3. Protecting the environment
4. Being sensitive to others’ needs
5. Coming up with new ideas
6. ha‎ving financial success
7. Taking care of my body
8. Downplaying compliments or praise
9. Being independent (doing things I want to do)
10. Accepting my place in my family or group
11. ha‎ving time to myself
12. Being reliable
13. Using science for progress
14. Believing in a higher power
15. Improving my performance
16. Being accepted by others
17. Taking care of the environment
18. Helping others
19. Creating new things or ideas
20. Making money
21. Being in good physical shape
22. Being quiet about my success
23. Giving my opinion
24. Respecting the traditions of my family or group
25. ha‎ving quiet time to think
26. Being trustworthy
27. Knowing things about science
28. Believing that there is something greater than ourselves
29. Working hard to do better
30. Feeling as though I belong
31. Appreciating the beauty of nature
32. Being concerned about the rights of others
33. Discovering new things or ideas
34. Being wealthy (ha‎ving lots of money‚ land or livestock)
35. Being strong or good in a sport (being athletic)
36. Avoid credit for my accomplishments
37. ha‎ving control over my time
38. Making decisions with my family or group in mind
39. ha‎ving a private place to go
40. Meeting my obligations
41. Knowing about math
42. Living in harmony with my spiritual beliefs

Response Scale: 1= Almost Never Guides My Behavior‚ 3= Sometimes Guides My Behavior‚ 5= Almost Always Guides My Behavior

Scoring Key (Factor Groupings):

• ACHIEVEMENT: Items 1 + 15 + 29
• BELONGING: Items 2 + 16 + 30
• CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Items 3 + 17 + 31
• CONCERN FOR OTHERS: Items 4 + 18 + 32
• CREATIVITY: Items 5 + 19 + 33
• FINANCIAL PROSPERITY: Items 6 + 20 + 34
• HEALTH AND ACTIVITY: Items 7 + 21 + 35
• HUMILITY: Items 8 + 22 + 36
• INDEPENDENCE: Items 9 + 23 + 37
• LOYALTY TO FAMILY OR GROUP: Items 10 + 24 + 38
• PRIVACY: Items 11 + 25 + 39
• RESPONSIBLITY: Items 12 + 26 + 40
• SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING: Items 13 + 27 + 41
• SPIRITUALITY: Items 14 + 28 + 42