[Sam988]

I'm curious to know what people think about Clare Graves Values System. My guess is that most people here will fit into either Level 5,6, or 7. Some, very few, might even have reached the Level 8.

Knowing those value levels can be really useful, as they can describe people perfectly. I've found to fit almost perfectly into value level 5, although i have some parts of value level 7.

This system is not about "the higher the value number the better value" it's rather about which value fits the behavior that is needed in order to achieve different goals.

Also, one can have many value parts, not just be one strict level. But everyone has a dominant value level with small influences of other value levels. The dominant value level will be the person's value level, although its normal for people to have different value parts within the dominant value level.

That's very interesting, because this value system tells what kind of general behaviors are needed in order to achieve certain ends. The values differ according to one's environment and needs/goals. Here it is:



Values Level 1: Survival Level

“Express self now for Survival”

According to Graves, there are no major collections of people living at this Level on a regular basis. Graves described this Level as the survival Level in which individuals lived alone, seeking basic survival needs on a day-to-day basis. He likened this to an animalistic, pre-societal stage. Although Graves probably intended his system to be applied only to adults, this might be best represented in the context of individual evolution by infants and small children in Piaget's sensorimotor stage, dependent upon their care givers for survival resources. For adult examples we may turn to pathological situations which might include street people or scattered survivors after a war or natural disaster.

The prime need for this Level is to attend to immediate physiological needs such as food and shelter in order to stay alive today. Behavior is instinctive and automatic. Social structure is minimal, with groups forming for mating, migration, sharing shelter, or harvesting food from the same area, and then disbanding. There is no lasting tribal structure at this Level, and individuals have little awareness of themselves or others except as objects. Learning is by habituation.

At the lowest end of development at Level 1, individuals may perish because of inability to find survival resources, or may need to be cared for by others at a higher Level. At the highest Level of development, individuals at this Level can become self-sufficient within their familiar surroundings.

The need to give constant attention to survival makes this Level equivalent to Maslow's first Level. Transition to Level 2 occurs when several individuals have learned to be self-sufficient at day-to-day survival, but discover challenges which one can not handle alone. Temporary banding together may develop into longer relationships for purposes of hunting, defense against predators other groups of people (tribes at Level 2, for example) or for caring for children that a single mother cannot do alone. A more highly evolved Level 1 person may come to recognize that having other people under his control may constitute a survival strategy. At this point, transition to Level 2 can occur.



Level 2: Tribal Level

“Sacrifice Self Now for the Tribe, Ancestors, Spirits and the Chief”

At Level 2, we see the emergence of a power structure involving two or more individuals. This Level consists of collections of people living together, with power and authority concentrated into the hands of a very small number, frequently only one or two people. By Level 2, people have begun to observe and systematize observations about their environment and the other organisms around them.

Phenomena are explained by supernatural occurrences and the interventions of spirit beings are believed to be responsible for everyday happenings. Inanimate objects as well as plants and animals are believed to have powers and abilities to affect people and the environment, both benevolently and malevolently. Tribes and tribal members adopt magic, superstition, sacred objects, protective totems, and omens for prediction of future events.

At Level 2, the biggest threat to survival is safety for the group in a threatening world. Warfare with other tribes and natural disasters such as drought, famine, or epidemics are possible threats to the survival of the group. As long as none of these things occur, tribal people have adequate survival skills and cooperation strategies to provide for their basic needs, and develop language, ritual, religion, and tribal customs. Sameness and conformity are necessary for group survival; pursuit of individual interests is counter-productive to tribal interests. Roles and duties are fairly rigid, with each person providing service to the group that adds to survival value of all group members. Roles are determined by kinship, strength, and seniority within both genders.

Management structure at Level 2 typically consists of a Chief, a shaman who interprets omens and conducts healing and ceremonial roles, and in larger tribes possibly a council of elders. Members of the group comply with the dictates of the leaders. There is no collective decision making. Tribal members will not acknowledge authority from anyone else in the tribe or outside the tribe.

At the highest level of development for Level 2, tribes and their members live in harmony with nature. Connection with and respect for earth, nature and other living species typify highly evolved tribes. Domestication of animals begins at this Level. As survival needs are fully met and there is division of labor, specialization in crafts emerges. Creativity can be expressed in dance, art, carving, singing and chanting, games, and music with simple instruments such as drums and wood flutes. The Kevin Kostner film “Dances With Wolves” portrayed an example of tribal people living at an advanced stage within the Level 2 values system.

The use of tribal concepts can be found in a variety of contexts in modern society. Basic military training breaks the trainees back to this Level, then builds them back up to a Level 4 organization. The drill sergeant represents a powerful authority (the Chief) and trainees learn survival skills appropriate to a military context under his direction Training at Level 2 uses rituals, rules, routines, operant conditioning, magic, fantasy, visualization.

Each values Level resonates with two or more of the Myers-Briggs categories. Level 2 individuals are sensor – feeler (SF) types. The sensor category indicates that the individuals are detail oriented, and the feeler category indicates a strong kinesthetic or emotional interpretation of the world.

Individuals begin to transition to Level 3 when they feel pressure to develop their personal authority against the tribal power structure, or to reject the prescribed roles and duties or customs of the tribe to seek another way that offers the possibility of personal expression.







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