People around the world cherish diverse social values. Examples are plentiful. We may strive for equality, preach forgiveness, advocate for freedom, or try to protect our environment.
These abstract aims are shaped by our personal and cultural histories – histories that include roles for many individuals and groups, including parents, relatives, peers, teachers, elders, spiritual leaders, community groups, government, political parties, employers, and corporations.
But how do values get translated into action?
This is the question addressed by the ViA interdisciplinary research centre.
The research in ViA is guided by the three “I”s:
Importance: We seek to test how our insights relate to contemporary issues of high importance, such as crime, environmental protection, health, integrity, and trust.
Insight: We seek genuinely novel advances in understanding the process that bridges between values and action.
Integration: True understanding of how values get translated into action requires the generation of models that bridge between traditional disciplinary boundaries.