Measuring environmentally relevant values: Evaluation of an alternative item format for a measurement instrument with PVQ item format.

In environmental psychology, personal values are recognized as crucial drivers of pro-environmental perceptions and behaviors (Schmid et al., 2025). Due to limitations in the dominant value approach within environmental psychology, Schmid et al. (2025) performed a systematic literature review to create a refined typology of environmentally relevant values. In the pre-registered project 'Development and validation of a measurement instrument for environmentally relevant values', Schmid et al. (2024) are in the process of developing and evaluating a measurement instrument for environmentally relevant values. The items of this newly developed measurement instrument follow the item format of the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ; Schwartz et al., 2001, 2012). It is argued that compared to the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS; Schwartz, 1992) item format, the PVQ-item format is less cognitively demanding and more suitable for specific groups, such as individuals with a low level of education (Schmidt et al., 2007; Schwartz, 2005; Schwartz et al., 2001). However, values measured with the PVQ item format correlate more strongly with measured traits than the SVS item format, implying that PVQ items frequently encompass trait-like components in conjunction with values (Parks-Leduc et al., 2015). Moreover, because of the abstract nature of the value concept itself, the abstract item format of the SVS could be a more valid measure of values (Roccas et al., 2017). This study aims to evaluate the SVS-item format as an alternative item format for the newly developed measurement instrument for environmentally relevant values (Schmid et al., 2024). Firstly, this is crucial for ensuring that the factor structure can be established independently of the new instrument with PVQ item format, confirming that the proposed value structure found (Schmid et al., 2024, 2025) is not merely an artifact of the newly developed measurement instrument itself. Secondly, it contributes to the ongoing discussion on the best item format—SVS or PVQ—for assessing value orientations effectively (Roccas et al., 2017). To accomplish this, we will conduct an online survey and determine the psychometric properties of the measurement instrument with the SVS item format. Additionally, the perceived cognitive demand and the measurement invariance of both versions of the measurement instruments are compared across populations with different levels of education to determine whether the SVS item format produces comparable results to the PVQ item format when assessing environmental relevant values in different populations.