Get the input value of the first matched element
<html> <head> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.3.2.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(document).ready(function(){ function displayVals() { var singleValues = $("#single").val(); $("p").html(singleValues); } $("select").change(displayVals); }); </script> </head> <body> <body> <p></p> <select id="single"> <option>Single</option> <option>Single2</option> </select> </body> </html>