System wartości a odbiór treści religijnych i moralnych

Abstract

The article concentrates on the role played by value system in receiving religious and moral information. A value can be regarded as an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence. A value system is an enduring organization of such beliefs. They provide standards for evaluating actions, justifying opinions and conduct, planning behaviour, deciding between various alternative, engaging in social influence and presenting the self to others. One of the most important functions of values is connected to basic human needs. Values have a strong motivational component as well as cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. They can be said to be motivating because they are the conceptual tools that we employ in order to maintain and enhance self-esteem. The idea that values are crucial factors in processing information is based on two approaches: value-expressive function and value-relevant involvement. Both refer to one of four attitude functions: the valueexpressive function which exists in attitudes that express central values and the self-concept. We suggest that if religious and moral values are important in value system, then individuals will be more persuaded by a message that successfully addresses religious and moral contents. In other words, a person has an increased vulnerability to persuasive attempts that matches his or her value system. It stems from many links between the concept of attitude and value.