MOTIVATIONAL BASIS OF PERSONAL VALUES FORMATION MECHANISMS IN PSYCHOLOGY OF ADULT EDUCATION

The present study analyzes the motivational basis of the mechanisms of adults' values formation in the process of their education, describes ten personal values prioritized by men and women. Besides, the research explores the rela-tionships between two opposing values, achievement and benevolence, specifying stimulation as a mediator between them. It is examined whether such a mediation model could be further qualified by age and sex as moderators. The 40-item Portraits Values Questionnaire (PVQ), measuring ten basic values, was administered to 500 adults in education. Gender and country differences between the ten values were computed, and hierarchical regression methods were ap-plied to explore mediation and moderation mechanisms among the three selected values and gender, and age. Minor gender differences emerged for some of the ten basic values. An indirect relationship among the three selected values was identified. Stimulation was found to operate as a mediator between achievement and benevolence. A conditional process model was established with sex moderating the achievement – stimulation path (men had a steeper slope than women), whereas age moderated the stimulation – benevolence path (younger individuals had a steeper slope than older ones). Gender also moderated the achievement – benevolence path (men had a steeper slope than women). For men, the association between achievement and stimulation values was stronger than that for women. For the younger persons, the association between stimulation and benevolence values was stronger than for older ones. For women, the level of benevolence was independent of their achievement level. The present analysis revealed peculiarities of indirect and differential associations among personal values, adding a perspective to research cognitive mechanisms involved in the formation of ten basic values.