Given their role as powerful motivators of behavior, values are a key focus of educational programs but are difficult to remold once set. Our and others’ recent longitudinal studies of youth indicate that changes in behavior may lead to changes in values—and maybe a more efficient way to alter values than seeking to modify them directly. This behavior-value link opens a new theoretical avenue for studying value changes. In BeValue, I propose to conduct the first-ever systematic assessment of the behavior-value link. I will build a novel, comprehensive theoretical model for understanding and testing how behavioral changes affect values. The theoretical model will answer three fundamental questions: What is the impact of behaviors on values? What are the mechanisms that explain this process? What conditions or factors allow or prevent this process?

BeValue will focus primarily on adolescents, address multiple levels (individuals, peers, parents, cultural characteristics) and combine the following diverse methodologies: natural field experiments, app-based and virtual reality experiments to examine the cognitive and emotional mechanisms of the behavior-value link,  longitudinal survey to trace construct development, school-based intervention designed to enhance pro-environmental behavior as a means to examine how behavioral change predicts value change and the role of self-consciousness in this process,  diary study to assess micro behavior-value longitudinal relations and the contribution of parental attribution, large-scale state-of-the-art Natural Language Process analysis of how behavior in social media platforms relates to future values in a broad population across various cultures. The behavioral change model will potentially serve as a practical tool for educators, parents, and policymakers to advance prosocial, pro-environmental, and other values.