This research probes human behavior that seems motivated "independently of its prospect of success," that is, by Sacred Values that often involve ethical or religious beliefs. The hypothesis is that sacred values - which encompass aspects of what philosophers, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists call moral, non-instrumental or protected values - are critical in generating and sustaining culturally distinct and often conflicting political and resource-management systems that people deem essential to cultural survival. To better understand and deal with this issue, the research: 1) provides a comprehensive theoretical framework and wide-ranging empirical analysis of the role of sacred values in judgment and decision making, and 2) shows how sacred values inform issues relating to cultural conflict. Results are geared to: 3) further possibilities for negotiation and adjudication of conflicting values over transcultural boundaries, and 4) reduce the threat of violence as people attempt to implement these values in an increasingly global competition for political, social and economic resources.
Current risk management approaches to resolving resource conflicts or countering terrorism often assume adversaries model the world on the basis of rational choices that are commensurable across cultures. Such assumptions are prevalent in risk assessment and modeling by foreign aid and international development projects run by institutions such as the World Bank and many NGOs, and by U.S. diplomatic, military and intelligence services as well. Psychological experiments, anthropological fieldwork and political science surveys relating to social conflicts over natural resources and terrorism encourage exploration of whether culturally distinct value frameworks constrain preferences and choices in ways not readily translatable (fungible, substitutable) across frameworks. Planning and acting in ignorance or disregard of different value frameworks may exacerbate conflict, with grievous loss of national treasure and lives.
