Values under pressure: A preliminary study on change in values in response to the COVID-19 crisis in Spain

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent situation of health emergency, lockdown and paralysation of activities, has led to a crisis of dimensions not experienced before by our generation and effects not yet identifiable or measurable. Risks of crises and catastrophes have increased due to technology, globalization and human interference in the natural environment, what has created an unprecedented situation of risk and unpredictability. When this happens, a great deal of pressure is put on social structures and systems of values and norms, which are in turn readjusted due to this alteration of material conditions. This research note presents the preliminary results of a study using items of the European Values Survey, conducted
during the weeks of lockout in Spain, on a set of value domains, sensitive to readjustment as a consequence of the crisis and collective trauma in Spain. The results show that some values have readjusted to less solidary and more individualistic positions or a perception of lower control over life, whereas other values have maintained their evolution over the last decades, such as growing post-materialist orientations, or a strong preference for the safeguard of individual rights to the detriment of greater security and surveillance.