Sacred Value Measure (SVM): Construction and validation of an instrument to assess sacred values

Sacred values (or protected values) (in German: Geschutzte Werte, GW) are values that a community treat as absolute, not tradable and exchangeable for other values. To date, no reliable and valid measure of sacred values has been developed. The research presented here was therefore designed to develop a measure of sacred values (German title: Geschutzte Werte Skala, GWS) and to provide preliminary tests. Study 1 examined the reliability and validity of the GWS and revealed satisfactory results. In terms of discriminant validity, the results suggest that GW has to be distinguished from attitude importance. Examining various group differences also supported the validity of the scales. In Study 2, a comparison between two extreme groups (proponents and opponents of gene technology) was conducted. These results provided additional evidence for the validity and conceptual differentiation between GW and attitude importance.