Findings The PVQ-R sample The PVQ-R questionnaire was administered to 610 respondents. As mentioned before, the PVQR is the most accurate and fine-tuned version of the Portrait Value Questionnaire, allowing for unprecedented precision in measuring the motivational values. The PVQ-R data analysis allowed for an in-depth study of the Iranian society's values structure, as analysis of the sample pointed to the most central values characterizing Iranian society: First, the mean of each group of items making up a value was compared to the general mean in the population. Then, the same procedure was carried out for the mean of each item, for more finetuned results. Eight tendencies of the Iranian society value structure emerged from the analysis (portrayed in Figure 4): high positive importance for security (both societal and personal), face and benevolence values, and high negative importance for power, both in terms of dominance and in
Figure 4
terms of resources, and achievement values. A finer analysis of the items themselves also reveals some further negative attitudes towards stimulation (item #28, Item mean = 2.9, Difference from General Mean = -1.10) though this is inconclusive, as the other item that represents the value of stimulation isn't as decisively negative. It is interesting to note that there seems to be a balance between significant pro-democratic attitudes (positive importance of benevolence values, negative importance of power and achievement values) and significant antidemocratic attitudes (positive importance of security and face values, some negative attitudes towards stimulation values). The mean Societal Potential for Liberal Democracy measured in the sample group is 0.0031, with a standard deviation of 0.09. As mentioned before, there are no other national
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