Identify Your Core Moral Values: Examples and a Practical Worksheet
By Julian Croft · Updated November 3, 2026
Moral values are priorities you use when considering right and wrong, responsibilities, or other people's interests. Identifying your core values means describing what matters to you through choices and tradeoffs, not selecting an impressive list of words. A provisional description is enough to begin.
An optional moral reflection questionnaire can supply questions, but it does not discover an unquestionable ethical identity. Start with a choice and use the worksheet to name the concern and tradeoff behind it.
Values, morals, and ethics: use the words clearly
For this exercise, use values for priorities regarded as important, morals for views about right and wrong, and ethics for reasoning about those views or a stated code. These are working descriptions for your notes, rather than a claim that every field uses identical definitions.
A value word is not yet an action. “Respect” could lead someone to listen without interruption, protect privacy, or explain a difficult decision. If two people use the same word differently, ask what it means in the situation before assuming they agree.
Likewise, identifying a priority does not establish that every action taken in its name is justified. Loyalty could support helping someone through a difficult process, while fairness could constrain which help is appropriate. The conflict needs reasons and context, not merely a declaration that the value is authentic.
Examples of moral values in observable terms
Use the following examples to find words for your concerns. You can use another word if it describes your concern more precisely.
| Value word | A possible expression | A question that complicates it |
|---|---|---|
| Honesty | Correct information you know is mistaken | How can you be truthful without unnecessary exposure? |
| Compassion | Ask what support someone wants | Are you assuming you know their needs? |
| Respect | Give someone a meaningful choice | Can they disagree without pressure? |
| Responsibility | Check a commitment before accepting it | Who else bears the cost if you cannot deliver? |
| Fairness | Explain the process used to allocate an opportunity | Does the process account for relevant differences? |
| Generosity | Offer time or resources you can afford | Have you promised more than you can give? |
| Courage | Raise a concern through an appropriate route | What action is safe and useful? |
| Humility | Acknowledge what you do not know | Are you still willing to make a needed decision? |
| Loyalty | Support someone through a difficult situation | Does support require agreeing with every request? |
| Integrity | Explain and review the reasons for a decision | Will you correct a choice when new information matters? |
A list can help with vocabulary, but it cannot choose your priorities for you. The important work starts when you attach a word to a situation, an action, and a limitation.
A starting vocabulary rather than a standard A-to-Z list
If you want a broader starting list, consider: accountability, care, compassion, courage, fairness, generosity, honesty, humility, integrity, justice, kindness, liberty, loyalty, reliability, respect, responsibility, service, tolerance, truthfulness, and work ethic.
This is a starting vocabulary list. Some words overlap, and you may distinguish them differently. Select a small number to examine rather than treating every attractive word as equally central.
Research frameworks are different from a personal values list
Graham and colleagues' moral foundations research uses a particular framework for studying moral concerns. Its foundations are not the same thing as the ten example virtues above. Atari and colleagues' later work uses a different measurement structure and investigates cultural variation. [1,2]
The website's adaptation also differs from the published questionnaires. Its basic display provides one overall score, not a ranking of your individual values. You should not call it an MFQ score or infer that it establishes your strongest virtue. The moral test results guide explains that distinction.
This exercise does not assess neurological mechanisms, personality disorders, or a stage of moral development. A values list cannot explain someone's brain or establish a disorder. Those questions require the appropriate evidence and professional context, rather than turning a moral disagreement into a medical label.
Find priorities by comparing a real tradeoff
Schwartz describes values as ordered by relative importance. Their influence on a choice depends on the tradeoff among the values relevant to it, rather than the absolute importance of one appealing word. [3] That is why selecting “honesty,” “care,” and “responsibility” from a list is only a first step.
Try comparing two feasible actions. You could attend a family event after promising to help a colleague, or keep the earlier commitment and offer another form of family support. For each, write what you protect and what you give up. If both options express care, ask whose needs are urgent, what you already promised, and whether another person would absorb the cost.
Then change one fact. What if the event is the only chance to see a relative for a long time? What if the colleague can easily change the date? A priority can remain important while the appropriate action changes. This makes the value statement more informative than “family always comes first” or “promises can never change.”
Value descriptions are also revisable. Russo and colleagues' systematic review describes personal values as relatively stable rather than immutable, while noting that much experimental evidence concerns short-term self-report changes in student samples. [4] Use a worksheet to clarify a current account, then revisit it when experience gives you a reason. You do not have to turn one afternoon's list into a permanent identity.
Identify a possible value through three different kinds of example
Start with a choice you want to understand. You might choose an action you are comfortable with, one you regret, and one that remains uncertain. The point is to test your first explanation against more than one memory.
Describe what happened without immediately naming a virtue. Then ask what you were trying to protect, what cost you accepted, and whose interests you may have missed. An emotional reaction can prompt a question; it should not automatically be treated as proof of a core value or someone else's wrongdoing.
You can also ask where your description came from. Was it a phrase learned in your family, a professional responsibility, a religious teaching, or an experience you have interpreted for yourself? These are questions for your account, not claims that a single background determines your priorities. The culture and morality guide explores that boundary.
Compare Personal and Professional Commitments
A priority can matter in both personal and professional life while requiring different actions. If you promised a friend support, reliability might mean clarifying what you can do before agreeing. At work, it might mean checking a deadline, recording responsibility, and raising a risk before someone relies on your promise. These are examples for comparison, not a claim that one behaviour proves a virtue.
For fairness, compare a family request for help with allocating a workplace opportunity. Ask who has a choice, which process was promised, and whose needs have not been heard. The value word may stay the same while the responsibilities differ.
Schwartz distinguishes goals from traits: valuing a goal does not mean displaying the corresponding characteristic [3]. Use that difference when a self-description and an action disagree. Rather than choosing between “I am fair” and “I am unfair,” name the decision and the correction it may need.
For origins, Graham and colleagues note disagreement about what morality means [1], while Russo and colleagues describe substantial personal differences and relative stability [4]. Family, work, faith, and experience can be questions you ask about your own account. They are not a ready-made explanation of why another person values something.
A worked example: care, obligation, and a realistic limit
In this fictional case, Riley is invited to help at a family event after already accepting another commitment. Riley initially writes, “Family is my core value, so I should always agree.” That statement describes an aspiration but does not yet examine the choice.
Riley records the facts: the date, the earlier commitment, and what help the family actually needs. Then Riley separates the concern from the requested action. Caring for family might mean attending, preparing something earlier, helping find another volunteer, or explaining the conflict honestly.
Next, Riley looks for a counterexample. On another occasion, protecting a family member's choice mattered more than fulfilling an expected obligation. That suggests a more precise description than “always agree”: “I want to support family while respecting choice and commitments.”
Riley keeps the description provisional and writes an action to try: clarify the actual need before promising help. The worksheet has not discovered a permanent identity. It has produced a value statement with a behavior and a boundary that can be reviewed.
Fill in a values evidence worksheet
Use this worksheet to connect a possible priority to an example, a tradeoff, and a next action.
| Field | Fill-in prompt | Riley's fictional example |
|---|---|---|
| Event | What happened? | A request for help conflicted with an earlier commitment |
| Candidate value | What concern might explain your reaction? | Care for family |
| Evidence | What did you do or consider doing? | Clarified what help was actually needed |
| Cost or conflict | What else mattered? | Reliability and personal choice |
| Counterexample | When does the first description fit less well? | Respecting a relative's refusal to join an event |
| Working statement | How can you describe the priority more precisely? | Support family while respecting choice and commitments |
| Action and boundary | What could you do, and what will you not assume? | Ask before promising; do not equate care with automatic agreement |
| Review | What could change your description? | New information about need, capacity, or responsibility |
If several value words fit, retain more than one. You do not need to force a ranking that the examples do not support. A context-specific priority can be more accurate than a single hierarchy intended to explain every decision.
Empathy as a word in your own record
People may use “empathy” for an ability, an experience, or a value they want to express. In your record, describe the action: asking about another person's perspective, listening to their answer, or checking an assumption.
That avoids the unhelpful claim that anyone who disagrees lacks empathy. Understanding a perspective also does not require accepting a harmful request or giving up a necessary boundary.
References
- Graham J, et al. Mapping the moral domain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2011;101(2):366–385. doi: 10.1037/a0021847.
- Atari M, et al. Morality beyond the WEIRD: How the nomological network of morality varies across cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2023;125(5):1157–1188. doi: 10.1037/pspp0000470.
- Schwartz SH. 2012. An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. doi: 10.9707/2307-0919.1116.
- Russo C, Danioni F, Zagrean I, Barni D. 2022. Changing Personal Values through Value-Manipulation Tasks: A Systematic Literature Review Based on Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe12070052.
Turn a value description into one reviewable action
Choose one working statement and one action within your control. If you want a schedule for practice, the 30-day ethical action plan keeps the task focused on behavior rather than raising a score. You can also stop with a clearer question; reflection does not need to become constant self-evaluation.
If distress or conflict persists and affects daily life, consider qualified support. If you face immediate danger or a risk of self-harm, contact local emergency or crisis support. A values worksheet or questionnaire is not an emergency assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions About Moral Values
What are 10 moral values?
Examples include honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, fairness, generosity, courage, humility, loyalty, and integrity. Attach a concrete action and tradeoff to the word you choose.
What are examples of moral values?
You might name care, honesty, fairness, or responsibility, then describe the action and tradeoff that give the word meaning for you. A concrete example is more informative than a list alone.
What are the five core moral values?
There is no single five-word list established by this website's result. Do not confuse a personal list of virtues with the five foundations in one particular research framework. Ask whether a list helps you describe your actual choice. [1]
What are the 20 moral values?
The list above provides possible words. They are prompts for reflection, not an exhaustive inventory or a standardized measure. You can add, remove, or redefine terms to describe your examples more accurately.