MTG and Theory of Basic Value
The Theory of Basic Value divides values into 10 different categories: Self-Direction, Stimulation, Hedonism, Achievement, Power, Security, Conformity, Tradition, Benevolence, and Universalism. These values are meant to represent the range of the most basic near universal values. Opposing values can conflict with one another and value does not mean the person has the traits associated with those values. Originally the maker of the Model wanted to included Spiritualism as a value which I will bring up later. However, He decided not to as he did not find it near Universal. A person can value two things that oppose each other.
The model does not perfectly translate into MTG but it does highlight important conflicts between colors. For instance it would have been much neater if all of each color had two values exclusively. This is not the case.
Even if you disagree with everything I have said, please check out the Theory of Basic Value. Since MTG is a game about characters who fundamentally disagree with each other in some important way they will have different values. Considering this is an attempt to capture human values it is interesting to try and make the colors more human. Hardly needs to be said, but, people of the same color differ so I am at giving an idea of the general value the color will have. One Black character could value Achievement more than power while another the reverse. But it does not make sense that a Black (mono) character values say conformity as that would be ridiculous.
Defining goal of Self-Direction is,
“Defining goal: independent thought and action--choosing, creating, exploring”
Self-Direction is associated with,
“creativity, freedom, choosing own goals, curious, independent, self-respect, intelligent, privacy”
Defining goal of Stimulation is,
“excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.”
Stimulation is associated with,
“a varied life, an exciting life, daring”
Defining goal of Hedonism is,
“pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself”
Hedonism is associated with,
“pleasure, enjoying life, self-indulgent”
Defining goal of Achievement is,
“personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards.”
Achievement is associated with,
“ambitious, successful, capable, influential, intelligent,
self-respect, social recognition”
Defining goal of Power is,
“social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources.”
Power is associated with,
“authority, wealth, social power, preserving my public image, social recognition”
Defining goal of Security is,
“safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self.”
Security is associated with
“social order, family security, national security, clean, reciprocation of favors, healthy, moderate, sense of belonging”
Defining goal of Conformity is,
“restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms”
Conformity is associated with,
“obedient, self-discipline, politeness, honoring parents and elders, loyal, responsible”
Defining goal of Tradition is,
“respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that one's culture or religion provides”
Tradition is associated with,
“respect for tradition, humble, devout, accepting my portion in life, moderate, spiritual life”
Defining goal of Benevolence is,
“preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent
personal contact (the ‘in-group’).”
Benevolence is associated with,
“helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life”
Defining goal of Universalism is,
“understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature”
Universalism is associated with,
“broadminded, social justice, equality, world at peace, world of beauty, unity with nature, wisdom, protecting the environment, inner harmony, a spiritual life”
“Both power and achievement values focus on social esteem. However, achievement values (e.g., ambitious) emphasize the active demonstration of successful performance in concrete interaction, whereas power values (e.g., authority, wealth) emphasize the attainment or preservation of a dominant position within the more general social system.”
“Tradition and conformity values are especially close motivationally; they share the goal of subordinating the self to socially imposed expectations. They differ primarily in the objects to which one subordinates the self. Conformity entails subordination to persons with whom one frequently interacts—parents, teachers, and bosses. Tradition entails subordination to more abstract objects—religious and cultural customs and ideas. As a corollary, conformity values exhort responsiveness to current, possibly changing expectations. Tradition vaes demand responsiveness to immutable expectations from the past”
“Benevolence and conformity values both promote cooperative and supportive social relations. However, benevolence values provide an internalized motivational base for such behavior. In contrast, conformity values promote cooperation in order to avoid negative outcomes for self. Both values may motivate the same helpful act, separately or together.”
Butting Heads, Value Conflict
The author explains that valuing one thing conflicts with valuing another for some but not all of the values. I have included what I thought would conflict outside of what the author has said.
Achievement conflicts with Benevolence (Blue vs. Green)
When you are trying to become successful it means you are not doing things for others.
SPOILER WARNING For Shameless
If anyone has seen the show Shameless, this reminds me of Fiona's character ark. Fiona starts as the most Benevolent character on the show devoting almost all of her time to her siblings. However, as the show progresses she wants to Achieve more for herself but this means ignoring her role as caretaker.
Stimulation conflicts with Tradition and Security (Red vs. White)
If you want change then you do not value what already is. Additionally, people who live daring lives are more likely to die because they live dangerously, If you sky dive it is unlikely that you value security as much as stimulation.
Self-Direction conflicts with Conformity and Tradition (Black vs. White and Green)
If you want to choose what you do and think then you oppose doing what others want you to do and think. If you conform to tradition then you are not acting and thinking for yourself.
Universalism conflicts with Power (Green vs. Black)
If you want power over others it is unlikely that you view them as equals.
Spirituality conflicts with Hedonism (Green vs. Black)
You may have noticed that all of the values have conflicts expect Hedonism. I think this is because of the exclusion of Spirituality which would likely conflict with Hedonism.
The author explains that the values feed into one another and act as more of a continuum. This reminds me of how the color pie has allies whose values are closely associated.
The author shows how the values are similar to the values next to it
“a)power and achievement--social superiority and esteem;
b) achievement and hedonism--self-centered satisfaction;
c) hedonism and stimulation--a desire for affectively pleasant arousal;
d) stimulation and self-direction--intrinsic interest in novelty and mastery;
e) self-direction and universalism--reliance upon one's own judgment and comfort with the diversity of existence;
f) universalism and benevolence--enhancement of others and transcendence of selfish interests;
g) benevolence and tradition--devotion to one's in-group;
h) benevolence and conformity--normative behavior that promotes close relationships;
i) conformity and tradition--subordination of self in favor of socially imposed expectations;
j) tradition and security--preserving existing social arrangements that give certainty to life;
k) conformity and security--protection of order and harmony in relations;
l) security and power--avoiding or overcoming threats by controlling relationships and resources. ”
The two images below show how the values relate to one another.
Self-Enhancement and Openness to change cover all of the Grixis values and Conservation and Self-Transcendence cover Selesnya values.
Values on the left are Anxiety-based and stem from wanting to control uncertainty in life.
“Pursuit of values on the left in Figure 2 serves to cope with anxiety due to uncertainty in the social and physical world. These are self-protective values. People seek to avoid conflict (conformity) and to maintain the current order (tradition, security) or actively to control threat (power).
Values on the right pay less attention to the uncertainty in life.
“Values on the right (hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence) express anxiety-free motivations. These are growth or self-expansive values.”
Before even going into each of the different 10 values, we should expect that Black will have values in the personal value section while White should have values in the Social focus section.
The order in which a color places a high importance on a value with colors on the left valuing it the most and colors on the right valuing it the least (Values it more than any color.... Values it least out of all the colors).
Black, Red/Blue, Green/White
I may be mistaken, but I see this in two main parts. Freedom of thought and freedom of action. The distinction between freedom of thought and of action is nicely explained in the following quote.
“You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose.”
Self-Direction is mostly Black as it values both freedom of thought and freedom of action equally. I am even more convinced of this when I look at Black's enemies, Green and White, who would be the ones who least valued self-direction. While both Blue and Red would certainly highly value self-direction, Blue would focus more on freedom of thought while Red would focus more on freedom of action. Additionally, Self-Determination is a personal focus value. Grixis would be the most focused on self-determination with Selesnya the one least valuing self-determination.
Red, Black, Green, Blue, White
Stimulation seems very Red and very not White. Wanting a daring and exciting life while also valuing novelty could not be more Red. Since, this is a Red White fight it makes sense that Green would be in the middle as it is allies of both colors. Black values stimulation but not as much as Red and Blue does not value stimulation but not as much as White.
Black, Red, Blue/Green, White
Hedonism is the trigger word for Rakdos and it makes sense that Black and Red would value feeling good. However, Stimulation much more closely describes what Red is seeking and not necessarily Hedonism. Black is the one more likely to be abusing drugs while Red is more likely to be cliff jumping. As the color of restraint, White no doubt values Hedonism the least of all the colors. Blue is likely indifferent to Hedonism. Green is the color of spirituality and thus likely anti-hedonism. However, Green has a highly animistic side which would value feeling good. Unsure of Blue’s Placement.
Blue, Black/White, Red, Green
Achievement is competence according to social standards. While Black may feel like the achievement color Black does not value social standards. Black is ambitious but it acts according to it’s own standards and not societies. While White values social standards more than anyone it is not as ambitious as Blue who literally wants perfection. Additionally looking at the words associated with Achievement shows words that would show up in Black or White but not both together (ambitious, successful, capable, influential, intelligent,
self-respect, social recognition). Esper would most value achievement so I could see the argument for having them all value achievement equally. While Red does not value Achievement Green opposes valuing achievement.
White/Black, Red/Blue, Green
While Power it the key word for Black, the two trigger words I saw in the words associated with power are authority and wealth. Authority is White while wealth is Black. Too many of the words associated with Power are White for power to be only Black (authority, wealth, social power, preserving my public image, social recognition).It is important to remember that power includeds wanting social status and prestige which are very White values. Green is about accepting your lack of power and thus most opposes it. Red/Blue are indifferent as far as I can tell.
White, Blue, Green, Black, Red
It is no surprise that Red values security the least. Red is the most reckless color and will often endanger itself. I associate security with control decks as control is all about protecting yourself against threats. The Azorious colors are the most controlling colors but White values security more than Blue. Just looking at the words associated with security points pretty strongly to White (social order, family security, national security, clean, reciprocation of favors, healthy, moderate, sense of belonging).
White, Green, Blue/Red, Black
Everything in conformity strongly points to White(obedient, self-discipline, politeness, honoring parents and elders, loyal, responsible). Black values Self-Determination which directly opposes Conformity, Black does not care what others want Black to do. Green is someone who values community and thus likely values conformity the next most. As discussed earlier, Blue and Red value thinking and acting for yourself respectively and thus do not particularly value conformity.
Green, White, Red, Blue/ Black
It may be questionable that I put Green ahead of White. However, the values associated with tradition include; respect for tradition, humble, devout, accepting my portion in life, moderate, spiritual life. These seem more Green than White. Humble, accepting, respect for tradition, and moderate are all more associated with Green than White while devout and spiritual could easily apply to both. I imagine Red does not really care about tradition unless it in someway restricts freedom. Blue wants progress which tradition opposes and Black is not humble or devout and does not want to accept it’s portion in life. I could see the argument that Black is more opposed to Tradition than Blue. However, Progress is a core component of Blue which clearly opposes Tradition.
Green, White/Red, Blue, Black
Benevolence has words associated with it that are most associated with Green (helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life). While these are also highly associated with White (helpful, Honest, sense of belonging) more of them are associated with Green. I put red as equally valuing Benevolence since it values true friendship and mature love. Black and Blue do not associate with any of these values and oppose them. Since Blue values achievement it does not value Benevolence as they oppose each other and Blue is also deceitful while also being emotionally detached from people. Black does not value a sense of belonging, meaning in life, loyalty, helpful, honest, or a spiritual life (understatement of the year). I could see the argument for putting Black and Blue together but I think Black opposes Benevolence more.
Green, White, Red/Blue, Black
Universalism has words associated with it that are most associated with Green (unity with nature, wisdom, protecting the environment, inner harmony, and a spiritual life). White values social justice, equality, world at peace while Green values. Red and Blue do not value Universalism while Black has values that oppose Universalism.
Most valued: Conformity, Security, Power
Values: Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Achievement
Least valued: Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-Determination
Values: Security, Self-Determination
Most valued: Power, Hedonism, Self-Determination
Values: Stimulation, Achievement
Least valued: Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Conformity
Values: Benevolence, Hedonism, Self-Determination
Most valued: Benevolence, Universalism, Tradition
Least valued: Power, Achievement, Self-Determination
Big Five Traits associated with Values
It is also interesting to note that a study found how values (Theory of Basic Values) relates to traits(Big Five). The relation of Big Five Traits and colors has been explored by many people and I will link a good one to look at the bottom of the page. I have only included traits which are significantly (.15 or greater) associated or dissociated with value for a full list look at the link at bottom of page.
Self-Direction (Black also Blue and Red)
Associated with: Openness to Experience(.52), Extroversion (.17)
Associated with: Extroversion (.31)
Dissociated with: Agreeableness (.-.42)
Achievement (Blue also Black and White)
Associated with: Extroversion (.31), Conscientiousness (.17)
Dissociated with: Agreeableness (-.24)
Hedonism (Black also Red)
Associated with: Extroversion (.20)
Dissociated with: Conscientiousness (-.19)
Stimulation (Red also Black)
Associated with: Openness to Experience (.36), Extroversion (.36)
Dissociated with: Conscientiousness (-.16)
Universalism (Green also White)
Associated with:Openness to Experience (.33), Agreeableness(.39)
Benevolence (Green also White and Red
Associated with: Agreeableness (.61)
Conformity (White also Green)
Associated with: Agreeableness (.26), Conscientiousness (.27)
Dissociated with: Openness to experience (-.27), Extroversion(-.17)
Tradition (Green also White)
Associated with: Agreeableness(.22)
Dissociated with: Openness to Experience(-.31), Extroversion (-.17)
Security (White also Blue)
Associated with: Conscientiousness (.37)
Dissociated with: Openness to experience (-.24)
Please let me know what you think. It is entirely possible I misattributed colors to values please let me know where and why(make sure you understand each of the values description as some sound like something when they are something else)! I did not explain how the values as a continuum relate to the colors please feel free to. Additionally I could not make sense of the anxiety-based vs. anxiety-free values in terms of a color dichotomy again, please give your opinion on what it might be.
Please keep thoughts and discussion on the Color Pie Reddit page.
Theory of Basic Value- https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=orpc
Link between Big Five and Theory of Basic Value-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24963077
Big Five of Colors and Words associated with colors-https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/KbaJsfBtdpGv7EKbC/the-mtg-color-wheel
