Few studies have assessed how respondents, themselves, understand and evaluate the value measurement task in both national and cross-national surveys of personal values. This study, conducted in Canada and Denmark, aimed at a better understanding of respondents' reactions to value items. Alternate approaches to measuring people's value priorities were tested. This was achieved by explicitly distinguishing between respondents' day-to-day ("real") and their "ideal" life. The predictive power of both value types was tested with the concept of product involvement. Results from both countries reveal some significant differences between "real" and "ideal" life values. Both were related to product involvement. The findings highlight the need for greater attention to the mesaurement methodology for obtaining value data, especially in cross-national research.