# Benevolence Forgiving, helping, and being loyal are important to you. You likely look to preserve and improve the lives of those that share your core interests or identities. Being reliable and devoted to the needs of those around you gives you great satisfaction; you likely do a great deal to keep your close relationships thriving. {% hint style="success" %} ### Value items helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, **sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life** {% endhint %} ![Benevolence](/files/RdxltNTQB2ScPqWwpI6A) ### Defining goal preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent personal contact (the ‘in-group’). Benevolence values derive from the basic requirement for smooth group functioning (cf. Kluckhohn, 1951) and from the organismic need for affiliation (cf. Maslow, 1965). Most critical are relations within the family and other primary groups. Benevolence values emphasize voluntary concern for others’ welfare. Benevolence and [conformity](/knowledge-base/theory-of-basic-values/conservation/conformity.md) values both promote cooperative and supportive social relations. However, benevolence values provide an internalized motivational base for such behaviour. In contrast, [conformity](/knowledge-base/theory-of-basic-values/conservation/conformity.md) values promote cooperation in order to avoid negative outcomes for the self. Both values may motivate the same helpful act, separately or together. ### Subtypes * dependability (Promoting the welfare of one’s in-groups by being trustworthy and reliable) * caring (Promoting the welfare of one’s in-groups by being devoted to the needs of the in-group) {% hint style="info" %} Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.climatemind.org/knowledge-base/theory-of-basic-values/self-transcendence/benevolence.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.