Abstract

As part of a cross-cultural survey of value(The Chinese culture connection, 1987), a 40 value-questionnaire(The Chinese Value Survey) was administered to an incidental sample of 120 college students in the Seoul area, and the students were asked to rate each value for its subjective importance on a 9-point scale, 13 value factors were identified, of which achievement turned out to be the single most important factor, accounting for 33% of the total variances. The per cent variance accounted for by other factors ranged from 12% to 2%. The mean importance ratings showed that the Korean students valued achievement, harmonious interpersonal relationship, and dependability most while they downgraded the importance of such traditional values as tradition, politesse, chastity in woman, justice, financial honesty, and scruplousness. Some values judged very important did not appear as value factors, presumably because there is little variance in the response of the subjects. Evidence for a test-taking response tendency was presented, which might have partly biased the obtained value factors-a tendency on the part of the respondents to react to the chunks of the values(sets of proximately located value items) on the questionnaire rather than to each value item separately.