Test of Value Activities

Abstract

The Test of Value Activities (TVA), developed by Shorr in 1953, is a foundational psychological instrument designed to quantify the intensity and structure of an individual’s personal and vocational values. Presented as an 80-item self-report inventory, the TVA assesses an individual’s preferences for a wide range of activities categorized across social, scientific, aesthetic, and economic domains. By requiring respondents to indicate a simple preference (Yes/No) for performing each activity, the scale aims to reveal underlying motivational drives crucial for fields such as vocational guidance and social psychology research.

Keywords

Value measurement, vocational preference, activity inventory, social psychology, J. Shorr, value intensity, self-report inventory.

Authors

J. Shorr.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Test of Value Activities is to provide an objective measure of the hierarchy and intensity of an individual’s values, which manifest through preferences for specific behaviors and actions. Developed within the framework of Educational Psychology, the scale was intended to assist in understanding how personal value systems might influence educational and career choices. It seeks to differentiate individuals based on their inclination toward various types of activities—ranging from altruistic and social engagement to scientific investigation and commercial enterprise.

Unlike instruments that directly ask about abstract values, the TVA uses concrete, observable activities as indicators, providing a practical assessment tool for counseling and empirical research into human motivation and interest patterns. The instrument contributes significantly to the early literature on value assessment methodologies.

Construct

The TVA measures the psychological construct of personal values, defined here as enduring beliefs that specific modes of conduct or end-states of existence are personally or socially preferable to opposite or converse modes of conduct or end-states of existence. These values are operationalized through the respondent’s stated preference for engaging in 80 distinct activities.

The activities are generally believed to cluster into several core value domains, reflecting major areas of human endeavor. These domains often parallel established value typologies, covering aspects such as theoretical (scientific/intellectual), social (welfare/altruism), aesthetic (artistic/cultural), and economic/political interests. The total score or subscale scores derived from the TVA reflect the strength or intensity of the respondent’s commitment to these underlying values.

Validity

As a scale developed in the early 1950s, the initial validation of the TVA primarily focused on establishing its content validity and face validity. The breadth of the 80 items covering diverse professional and social activities supports its claim to comprehensively sample major value areas relevant to vocational guidance and social functioning.

Subsequent research, often utilizing the TVA in larger research batteries (such as those compiled by the Institute for Social Research), has investigated its construct validity. This typically involves correlating TVA subscale scores with established measures of personality, interest inventories (like the Strong Interest Inventory), and behavioral outcomes (e.g., choice of academic major or career path). High correlations between the TVA’s scientific activity preference scores and scores on other measures of scientific interest would provide evidence of convergent validity for that factor.

Reliability

Reliability estimates for the Test of Value Activities, given its dichotomous (Yes/No) response format, are typically assessed using measures of internal consistency, such as the Kuder-Richardson Formula (KR-20), or through test-retest methods. High reliability is crucial for ensuring that the measured value preferences are stable and not merely random responses.

While specific detailed reliability coefficients from Shorr’s original 1953 publication are often cited in specialized psychological texts, the scale’s longevity in research suggests acceptable levels of stability and internal consistency within its derived subscales. Reliability studies conducted in later decades (e.g., by researchers utilizing the Robinson and Shaver compilation) generally affirm its utility as a reliable measure of enduring value preferences.

Factor Analysis

Although Shorr’s initial work focused on the development and face validity of the activities, later psychometric analyses, particularly those summarized in comprehensive scale handbooks, employed factor analysis to explore the underlying dimensions of the TVA. The analysis typically reveals several distinct, orthogonal factors that correspond directly to the hypothesized value domains.

Commonly extracted factors include: 1) Social Welfare/Altruism (items related to helping the needy or elderly); 2) Scientific/Theoretical (items involving research, experimentation, and mathematics); 3) Aesthetic/Artistic (items related to art, music, or interior design); and 4) Economic/Political/Administrative (items concerning business, finance, or running for office). These factor structures provide the empirical basis for scoring the instrument across specific value domains rather than relying solely on a single overall value score.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory; Vocational and Value preference scale.

Format: 80 items requiring a dichotomous (Yes/No) response (e.g., “Yes, I would like to do this activity” or “No, I would not”).

Language Available: English (Original).

Population Group: General population, primarily used for research and vocational guidance with students.

Age Group: Typically high school age through adulthood (16+).

Population Details: Originally standardized and developed on samples relevant to post-secondary education and early career planning in the mid-20th century. Used globally in research on social and political attitudes.

Test Methodology: Respondents are instructed to consider each activity and mark whether they would enjoy or prefer to engage in it. Scores are derived by summing the “Yes” responses within pre-determined groupings of activities corresponding to specific value domains.

Keywords

Psychological testing, activity preferences, vocational guidance, self-report, value intensity, educational assessment, personality.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not available for J. Shorr)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Test of Value Activities was developed and published in 1953 by J. Shorr. This instrument is considered a classical measure in psychology and is often reproduced in academic compilations for research and teaching purposes, such as the 1969 volume by Robinson and Shaver. Researchers interested in using the scale should consult the primary source publications for detailed scoring keys and permissions, although for academic research, the full scale text is often publicly accessible.

The original PDF containing the instrument and surrounding context can be downloaded here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF.

Reference’s

• Shorr, J. (1953). The development of a test to measure the intensity of values. Journal of Educational Psychology, 44, 266-274.

• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan/. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Items of the Test of Value Activities

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

1. Meet new people and get acquainted with them.
2. Take a car load of children for an outing.
3. Serve as a companion to an elderly person.
4. Like to be with people despite their physical deformities.
5. Work with a group to help the unemployed.
6. Work with labor and management to help solve their conflicts.
7. Go with friends to a movie.
8. Help distribute food at a picnic.
9. Play checkers with members of your family.
10. Make a phone call for movie reservations.
11. Collect specimens of small animals for a zoo or museum.
12. Do algebra problems.
13. Develop an international language.
14. Do an experiment with the muscle and nerve of a frog.
15. Study the various methods used in scientific investigations.
16. Do research on the relation of brain waves to thinking.
17. Visit a research laboratory in which small animals are being tested in a maze.
18. Plan the defense and offense you are to use before a tennis game.
19. Read the biography of Louis Pasteur.
20. See moving pictures in which scientists are heroes.
21. Judge entries in a photo contest.
22. Sketch action scenes on a drawing pad.
23. Participate in a summer theatre group.
24. Compare the treatment of a classical work as given by two fine musicians.
25. Mould a statue in clay.
26. Be a ballet dancer.
27. Be a sign painter.
28. Plant flowers and shrubbery around a home.
29. Listen to ” jive ” and “jazz” records.
30. Play the juke box.
31. Lead a round-table discussion.
32. Be a chairman of an organizing committee.
33. Buy a run-down business and make it grow.
34. Borrow money in order to “put over” a business deal.
35. Run for political office.
36. Own and operate a bank.
37. Be a bank teller.
38. Take a course in Business English.
39. Major in commercial subjects in school.
40. Collect luncheon money at the end of a school cafeteria line.
41. Send a letter of condolence to a neighbor.
42. Help people to be comfortable when traveling.
43. Belong to several social agencies.
44. Treat wounds to help people get well.
45. Help an agency locate living places for evicted families.
46. Be a medical missionary to a foreign country.
47. Attend a dance.
48. Dine with classmates in the school cafeteria.
49. Play checkers.
50. Ride in a bus to San Francisco or a neighboring city.
51. Be a laboratory technician.
52. Be a scientific farmer.
53. Develop new kinds of flowers in a small greenhouse.
54. Solve knotty legal problems.
55. Develop improved procedures in a scientific experiment.
56. Develop new mathematical formulas for research.
57. Look at the displays on astronomy in an observatory exhibit.
58. Visit the fossil display at a museum.
59. Keep a chemical storeroom or physical laboratory.
60. Sell scientific books.
61. Judge window displays in a contest.
62. Collect rare and old recordings.
63. Be an interior decorator.
64. Make a comparative study of architecture.
65. Write a new arrangement for a musical theme.
66. Paint a mural.
67. Visit a flower show.
68. Make and trim household accessories like lamp shades, etc.
69. Dance to a fast number.
70. Paint the kitchen with colors of your choice.
71. Install improved office procedures in a big business.
72. Plan business and commercial investments.
73. Be an active member of a political group.
74. Address a political convention.
75. Operate a face track.
76. Become a U. S. Senator.
77. Purchase supplies for a picnic.
78. Live in a large city rather than a small town.
79. Work at an information desk.
80. Be a private secretary.