The Correlation Between Beliefs, Values and Background

• Why do you think some people smoke while others totally oppose the idea?
• Why do you think committing suicide can be an option for one person and a nonexistent option for another person?

Simply because each of those people has their own background, values, and beliefs, it could be possible to predict how that person will behave under certain conditions based on those beliefs and values. For example, a person who has a strong religious belief would never consider committing suicide an option to solve problems. At the same time, someone else who does not believe in God could think that suicide is the best option in some cases.

What are beliefs?

Beliefs are ideas that you hold about different things. For example, you may believe that all women are liars or that all men cheat. Whatever idea you believe in, it will become a belief. Beliefs may be updated or even changed depending on life experiences and on new situations that you face.

What are “Personal Values”?

Freedom, honesty, and faith. What do you think these words are? As you may have guessed, these are examples of values. Values are the things that you value the most of the things that take precedence over other ideas or beliefs.

What does “Background” mean?

The Background is formed as a result of your life experiences and of every situation that you faced. The Background could be defined as the beliefs and values you have formed based on your past experiences.

Connecting everything to find someone’s personality

The beliefs people form in their childhood greatly affect the decisions they make during their adulthood. Let’s suppose that a person believed that all rich people are thieves. In such a case, if the person’s values allow him to become a thief, then he will do it in case he needs money.

On the other hand, if that person believes that all rich people are thieves, but at the same time, he values honesty, then there is a huge possibility that he will never become a thief even if he needed money.

So the conclusion we can make is that people act according to their own beliefs while being limited by their own values. Two people could have the same beliefs yet behave completely differently because they have different values.