A value sysfem is an enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of conduct or end-states of existence along a continuum of relative importance' (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5). The use of such value systems for cross-cultural comparisons is strongly indicated by Rokeach's assumption, according to which 'all men everywhere possess the same values to different degrees' (1973, p. 3). The research here reported employed Rokeach's instrument for the description of value systems, and, therefore, it cannot be regarded as an attempt to confirm the universality of the values represented in the Rokeach Value Survey (Rokeach, 1967). Instead, Rokeach's above assumption is adopted, and the degree of similarity among a number of cultural groups is subjected to analysis.
A similar attempt was made by Rokeach (1973, pp. 89-93), who concluded that findings obtained with the aid of the value survey were consistent with intuitive knowledge about the cultures in question (U.S., Canada, Australia and Israel). The research at hand employed more recent data about some of the samples discussed by Rokeach (Australia and Israel) and added two further groups of some interest: Israeli Arabs and Germans.