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Cultural and Value Orientations Test

In one minute, the Cultural and Value Orientations Test explores how the culture under consideration relates to time, nature, relationships, human nature, and purposeful activity. Five questions indicate whether that culture shows dynamic, modern, or traditional orientations, offering a concise basis for reflecting on shared values and decision-making.

Questions: 51 minute

Cultural and Value Orientations: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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4,177 completions

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Dynamically Developing CultureDDC

Measures how strongly a group’s culture emphasizes future-focused progress, individual autonomy, and achievement-oriented results guided by formal rules.

example score3/5

3/5Moderate dynamic orientationexample score

0 – 1Low dynamic orientation

2 – 3Moderate dynamic orientation

4 – 5High dynamic orientation

A score of 3 indicates a moderate tendency toward a fast-changing, future-oriented culture that values initiative and results while still balancing them with other cultural priorities.

Modern CultureMC

Measures the extent to which a group’s values and norms reflect a present-focused, rights-oriented, and ethically regulated modern cultural orientation.

example score4/5

4/5High modern orientationexample score

0 – 1Low modern orientation

2 – 3Moderate modern orientation

4 – 5High modern orientation

A score of 4 indicates a high modern cultural orientation, suggesting strong emphasis on contemporary values, personal development, human rights, and role-based norms guided by ethical standards.

Traditional CultureTC

Measures the extent to which a group is oriented toward past traditions, collective norms, and community-regulated ways of living.

example score2/5

2/5Moderate traditional orientationexample score

0 – 1Low traditional orientation

2 – 3Moderate traditional orientation

4 – 5High traditional orientation

A score of 2 indicates a moderate emphasis on tradition and collective norms, with openness to more flexible or present-focused approaches alongside established practices.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

HR and Team Leaders

41%OF USERS

They use it to map a team’s shared values quickly and improve communication, onboarding, and conflict prevention.

Psychologists and Coaches

34%OF USERS

They take it to understand how group norms shape behavior and to tailor interventions for teams or communities.

Researchers and Students

25%OF USERS

They use it for coursework or studies to compare cultural patterns across groups and track value trends over time.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Dynamically evolving cultureDec

You?

Average3.7

Typical rangeTypical2.9 – 4.6

Possible0 – 5

Modern CultureMC

You?

Average3.7

Typical rangeTypical2.9 – 4.4

Possible0 – 5

Traditional CultureTC

You?

Average2.6

Typical rangeTypical1.8 – 3.4

Possible0 – 5

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

For each statement, please select the response that, in your opinion, most accurately describes the cultural orientation of your people. When responding, try to recall what you were taught by your family, school, and religion. Please do not base your answers on your current views if they differ from what you were taught.

- In my culture, people consider the past (traditions, history) the most important factor in decision-making.
- In my culture, people consider the present (today, and only today) the most important factor in decision-making.
- In my culture, people consider the future (what will happen) the most important factor in decision-making.
- In my culture, people generally see themselves as victims of natural forces and believe that nature cannot be brought under human control.
- In my culture, people generally believe that they live in harmony with nature; human beings are an extension of nature and the "supernatural," not in opposition to it.
- In my culture, people generally believe that they control many forces of nature, and that nature should be put to human use.
- In my culture, it is believed that if people are not controlled, they are likely to do bad things.
- In my culture, it is believed that if people are not controlled, they are likely to do both bad and good things.
- In my culture, it is believed that if people are not controlled, they are likely to do good things.

These are 3 of the 5 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Cultural and Value Orientations Test - Description and methodology of the test

ethnopsychology

cultural values

Readers interested in how shared assumptions shape decisions can use the Cultural and Value Orientations Test to examine broad patterns in a community or cultural setting. This cultural orientations test focuses on time, nature, human nature, relationships, and purposeful activity. Its result offers a comparative profile of orientations, helping the respondent reflect on values without reducing culture to one fixed type.

What This Assessment Explores

In this value orientations test, cultural preferences are examined through the assumptions that shape decisions, relationships, and expectations; the profile compares emphasis rather than judging any culture as superior.

These are the three result dimensions:

Dynamically Developing Culture (0-5) reflects future focus, rapid results, individuality, autonomous decisions, legal regulation, task progress, and material rewards: Low dynamic orientation 0-1; Moderate dynamic orientation 2-3; High dynamic orientation 4-5.
Modern Culture (0-5) reflects present and contemporary life, harmony with nature, personal development, human rights, self-realization, role-based relations, and moral regulation: Low modern orientation 0-1; Moderate modern orientation 2-3; High modern orientation 4-5.
Traditional Culture (0-5) reflects the past, history, family and religious ties, collective decisions, regulated activity, and community control: Low traditional orientation 0-1; Moderate traditional orientation 2-3; High traditional orientation 4-5.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item presents three contrasting statements, and the respondent selects the one that best describes the culture under consideration. The five prompts address time orientation, nature, human nature, relationships, and activity orientation. The questionnaire reports separate results on the three displayed scales, showing relative emphasis across the dimensions. The item-to-score weighting is not documented, so the form does not establish how each answer contributes to a scale or whether a total score is calculated.

As a culture and values questionnaire, the method is conceptually consistent with Pochebut's 2012 framework. Its contrasts also correspond to the value-orientation framework of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck. However, this online form is not documented as a validated adaptation of either framework.

This online questionnaire has no stated population norms, reliability estimates, or clinical cutoffs. Its displayed scoring provides descriptive bands, while responses can vary with personal experience, current context, and how well the respondent separates personal preferences from perceived cultural patterns. The result is most useful as a prompt for thoughtful comparison when considered alongside cultural context and the respondent's own experience.

Author: Milton Rokeach, Shalom H. Schwartz

Literature:

Pochebut, L. G. (2012). Cross-Cultural and Ethnic Psychology. St. Petersburg: Piter. 336 pp.
Dugarova, T. Ts., & Badiev, I. V. (2017). Cultural and Value Orientations of Russian, Buryat, and Mongolian Students. RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics, 14(2), 190-200. 10.22363/2313-1683-2017-14-2-190-200
Rybak, O. S. (2018). Value Orientations of People Leaning Toward Different Types of Culture: An Empirical Study. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 9(2), 11-23. 10.15503/jecs20182.11.23
Kluckhohn, Florence Rockwood, & Strodtbeck, Fred L. (1961). Variations in Value Orientations. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson and Company. 437 pp.

Updated: 2025-10-02