title: The circular structure of values: The case of China.
abstract: This study examined the circular structure of values in China. The circular structure is a central element of Schwartz value theory and visualises the idea that some values are similar while others conflict with one another. Whereas numerous studies addressed the question whether the circular structure of values can be generalised cross-culturally, results for China are inconclusive. In this paper, we argue that taking a closer look at China provides a challenge to the circular structure and allows for drawing conclusions regarding the limits versus generalizability of Schwartz' theory. For this purpose, we first conduct a re-analysis of Chinese data from a former meta-analysis (Study 1) and second, present results from a large study of 10,652 Chinese college students (Study 2). Results of Study 1 revealed that graphical representation of the circular structure matched theoretical expectations but five out of six samples showed relatively bad fit to the theorised structure. By contrast, data in Study 2 showed a good model fit. As an overall conclusion, the circular structure is well supported in the Chinese context, and small sample sizes in previous studies might have caused the imperfect match to the prototypical circular structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heim
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.|Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Zeigenfuse
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maercker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Margraf
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology*; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: China; Circumplex; Portrait Value Questionnaire; Values