Value-Needs Alignment Theory Explained

Skaar's Theory of Value-Needs Alignment: Framework Overview

Working Paper

Amy Skaar
Axiomatic Insights
ORCID ID: 0009-0000-1763-6644

Methodology Development Note: The systematic approaches documented in this paper emerged from thirty years of practical application and were formally codified in 2025. These methodologies represent proven patterns discovered through sustained practitioner-researcher engagement rather than predetermined academic protocols seeking validation.

Abstract

Skaar's Theory of Value-Needs Alignment presents a novel framework identifying values-needs conflicts as the fundamental driver of problematic human behavior, internal suffering, and poor decision-making. The framework distinguishes between fixed elements (fundamental human needs and human autonomy) and chosen elements (personal values and strategies for meeting needs), revealing that most human suffering stems from unconscious operation within this choice-constraint matrix. The central intervention tool—"What need are they trying to meet?"—functions as a complete framework delivery system containing embedded assumptions that revolutionize behavioral analysis. Cross-cultural literary analysis provides preliminary validation, showing that humanity's greatest narratives consistently center on values-needs conflicts. The framework offers unprecedented explanatory scope across individual psychology, literature, criminal behavior, and therapeutic applications, with particular strength in prevention through early meta-skills education rather than symptom treatment.

Introduction

Despite extensive research in psychology, behavioral economics, and moral philosophy, a fundamental gap persists in understanding why intelligent, well-intentioned individuals consistently make choices that undermine their stated values and long-term wellbeing. Existing frameworks address symptoms—cognitive dissonance, moral conflicts, behavioral inconsistencies—but fail to identify the underlying structural dynamic that generates these patterns across diverse contexts and populations.

This paper presents Skaar's Theory of Value-Needs Alignment, a framework that emerged from thirty years of systematic observation across corporate, personal, and therapeutic contexts. The theory identifies a previously untheorized dynamic: most problematic human behavior results from conflicts between fundamental needs (fixed elements required for human functioning) and chosen values (beliefs about what is important or right), particularly when individuals operate unconsciously within this dynamic.

The framework's significance lies not merely in its explanatory power, but in its practical applications. By providing tools for conscious navigation of the choice-constraint matrix that governs human behavior, the theory offers pathways from reactive patterns to conscious agency, from symptom treatment to prevention, and from individual intervention to systemic transformation.

Theoretical Foundation

The Choice-Constraint Matrix

The framework's core innovation lies in distinguishing fixed elements from chosen elements in human experience:

Fixed Elements (Non-Negotiable):

Fundamental human needs required for biological, psychological, and social functioning
That unmet needs will drive behavior when chronically unsatisfied
Human autonomy—the capacity to think, choose, and act

Chosen Elements (Subject to Conscious Decision):

Personal values—beliefs about what is important, right, or worthwhile
Strategies for meeting needs—how individuals pursue fulfillment
Whether to examine and make these choices conscious

This distinction provides the architectural foundation for understanding human agency. While certain elements remain fixed constraints, others exist within the realm of conscious choice. The failure to recognize this nuanced interplay creates conditions for most human suffering.

Revolutionary Insight

Most human suffering stems from unconscious operation within this matrix. Individuals typically:

Fail to recognize they can consciously choose their values
Remain unaware of which needs drive their behavior
Lack effective strategies for meeting needs while honoring values
Operate as if everything is either completely fixed or completely chosen

Core Principle: Values are choices. Needs are not, but how we meet needs is.

The Complete Intervention Tool

The framework's elegance lies in its primary intervention: "What need are they trying to meet?" This single question functions as a complete framework delivery system because it contains embedded assumptions that revolutionize perspective:

Implicit Framework Elements:

Human behavior is purposeful and intelligible
Underlying needs drive observable actions
Current strategies may be ineffective or suboptimal
Better strategies for meeting needs are discoverable
Understanding the true need enables effective solutions
Individuals possess agency to choose different approaches

This question transforms any conversation by shifting focus from behavior judgment to need understanding, enabling immediate practical application without requiring theoretical education.

Conceptual Distinctions

Defining Needs versus Values

Fundamental Needs represent non-negotiable requirements tied to survival and life pursuit. They share several characteristics:

Required for biological, psychological, and social functioning
Create dysfunction, suffering, or death when chronically unmet
Drive behavior unconsciously when unsatisfied
Universal across humans (though expression varies culturally)
Cannot be permanently transcended while maintaining human functioning

Values represent chosen beliefs about what is important, right, or worthwhile. They are:

Culturally and individually variable
Subject to examination and change through conscious reflection
Guide decision-making and prioritization
Define what individuals consider right, wrong, or important
Pursued as means for living meaningfully beyond mere survival

This distinction resolves conceptual confusion present in existing frameworks, particularly Maslow's hierarchy, which treats love/belonging as a mid-level need despite attachment research demonstrating its foundational importance for human development.

The Consciousness Transformation

A critical insight emerges regarding unconscious versus conscious values. Unconscious values function as fixed elements because individuals don't recognize they can change them. This creates a paradox:

Unconscious values feel unchangeable and operate like fixed constraints
Conscious recognition transforms values from "fixed" to "chosen" in experience
Most individuals operate from inherited value sets from family, culture, and social groups
These unconscious values feel like "just how things are" rather than active choices

The framework provides tools for transitioning from unconscious inheritance to conscious choice in values selection.

Evidence and Validation

Literary and Cultural Evidence

Cross-cultural analysis reveals that humanity's greatest literature consistently centers on values-needs conflicts:

Western Literature:

Hamlet: Need for safety/survival versus value of honor/justice
Romeo and Juliet: Need for love/belonging versus value of family loyalty
Les Misérables: Need for survival versus value of law/order
Anna Karenina: Need for authentic love versus value of social duty

Cross-Cultural Examples:

The Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna's crisis between need for peace and value of duty
Things Fall Apart: Need for belonging/respect versus value of tradition
The Tale of Genji: Need for love/connection versus values of court propriety

These narratives represent humanity's most enduring cultural expressions across civilizations. Audiences connect deeply with these stories because they recognize their own internal conflicts, suggesting universal recognition of the values-needs dynamic even when not explicitly theorized.

Empirical Validation Strategy

The ongoing Way of Heroes research project provides systematic empirical validation through analysis of 1000 heroic individuals across history and culture. This research examines:

Whether values-needs alignment patterns distinguish heroic achievement
Core human needs identification through problem pattern analysis
Effective conflict resolution strategies across diverse contexts
Cross-cultural validation of framework universality

Preliminary case evidence from thirty years of intuitive application demonstrates effectiveness across contexts from workplace ethics to family dynamics, including documented prevention of violence through framework intervention.

Applications and Implications

Scalable Implementation

The framework operates at multiple levels of complexity:

Individual Level:

Simple question-based interventions for immediate conflict resolution
Comprehensive values clarification and life design
Meta-skills development for ongoing conscious navigation

Organizational Level:

Design of systems meeting human needs while supporting organizational values
Leadership frameworks for addressing workplace conflicts
Cultural transformation through values-needs alignment

Societal Level:

Educational curricula teaching fundamental life skills
Policy development acknowledging universal needs while respecting diverse values
Prevention-focused approaches to social problems

Prevention versus Treatment Paradigm

Unlike existing approaches that primarily treat symptoms after problems manifest, this framework offers tools for preventing issues through early education in:

Need identification and tracking
Values clarification and conscious selection
Strategy development for meeting needs while honoring values
Meta-cognitive awareness of choice-constraint dynamics

The framework's accessibility enables individuals to benefit at their current level of meta-cognitive awareness while maintaining pathways for deeper engagement.

Theoretical Contributions

The framework makes several significant contributions:

Operational Distinctions: Clear definitions separating fundamental needs from chosen values, resolving conceptual confusion in existing literature
Dynamic Interaction Model: Recognition of needs operating in ecosystem rather than hierarchy, explaining why "higher" needs can override "lower" ones
Prevention Focus: Tools for addressing root conflicts before destructive patterns develop
Universal Framework with Cultural Awareness: Values content varies culturally while values-needs dynamic appears universal
Integration Across Domains: Single framework explaining patterns from individual psychology to literature to criminal behavior

Research and Development Priorities

Immediate Research Needs

Systematic Validation: Multi-practitioner studies across diverse populations to validate framework effectiveness beyond single-practitioner case evidence
Assessment Tool Development: Standardized instruments for measuring values-needs alignment and conflict identification
Cross-Cultural Validation: Research confirming universal applicability while respecting cultural variations in values content and need expression
Longitudinal Studies: Impact tracking of early framework education on long-term outcomes

Theoretical Development

Need Categorization: Empirical validation of fundamental need categories through hero research analysis
Intervention Protocols: Systematic documentation of effective question sequences and safety protocols
Contraindication Identification: Clear guidelines for when framework application is inappropriate or potentially harmful
Integration Studies: Relationship mapping with existing psychological and philosophical frameworks

Limitations and Considerations

Implementation Challenges

The framework's power creates specific implementation obstacles:

People unconsciously resist examining unconscious organizing principles
Values discussions represent psychologically threatening territory
Framework requires sophisticated thinking across multiple levels simultaneously
Most individuals lack prerequisite meta-cognitive skills initially

Safety Protocols

Values work represents the most psychologically threatening human interaction because values form the core of identity and meaning-making systems. Implementation requires:

Comprehensive practitioner training in compassionate application
Clear safety protocols and contraindication recognition
Robust support systems for both practitioners and participants
Recognition that consciousness of conflicts can initially increase distress

Scope Limitations

The framework demonstrates specific failure modes:

Insufficient self-awareness skills preventing engagement
Crisis-state overwhelm blocking reflective capacity
Values-needs alignment in concerning behaviors (no conflict to resolve)
Severe cognitive limitations preventing abstract thinking

Conclusion

Skaar's Theory of Value-Needs Alignment offers a novel framework for understanding human behavior by identifying the previously untheorized dynamic of values-needs conflicts as the fundamental driver of problematic patterns. The framework's strength lies in its combination of theoretical sophistication with practical accessibility, enabling applications from simple individual interventions to comprehensive systemic transformation.

The theory's positioning of values as conscious choices rather than fixed constraints, combined with recognition of fundamental needs as universal drivers, provides tools for moving from reactive patterns to conscious agency. Cross-cultural literary evidence and preliminary case studies suggest universal applicability, while ongoing empirical research aims to validate core constructs systematically.

If validated through rigorous research, this framework could transform approaches to mental health, education, and human development by addressing root conflicts rather than symptomatic expressions. The combination of prevention focus, scalable applications, and immediate practical utility positions the theory to influence how humans understand themselves and design systems supporting genuine flourishing rather than mere problem management.

The framework represents thirty years of development through systematic observation and practical application, now formally documented to enable systematic testing, validation, and practitioner training. Future research will determine whether this theoretical innovation can fulfill its potential for reducing human suffering through conscious navigation of the choice-constraint matrix governing human behavior.

About the Author

Amy Skaar is the founder of Axiomatic Insights and a systems thinker specializing in framework development and human behavior analysis. She holds Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and has over 15 years of Fortune 500 experience, including leadership positions managing teams of up to 250 people with budgets exceeding $35 million. Her interdisciplinary background spans management consulting, instructional design, entrepreneurship, and award-winning fine art. This framework emerged from thirty years of systematic observation across corporate, personal, and philosophical contexts, with formal theoretical articulation documented in 2025.

Corresponding Author: Amy Skaar, Axiomatic Insights
Email: amy@axiomaticinsights.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0000-1763-6644

Document Information:

Classification: Working Paper
Version: 2.0
Date: July 2025
Length: Extended Abstract (3-4 pages)
Status: Under Development