Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ, Forsyth)
Ethics & CSRReliability: Idealism alpha 0.80; Relativism alpha 0.733 sample items
About this scale
A 20-item measure of ethical ideology along two dimensions: idealism (belief in absolute moral principles) and relativism (rejection of universal moral rules).
Sample item(s)
“A person should make sure their actions never intentionally harm another even to a small degree (idealism)”
“Different types of moralities cannot be compared as to 'rightness' (relativism)”
“What is ethical varies from one situation and society to another (relativism)”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: Idealism alpha 0.80; Relativism alpha 0.73. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Foundational ethical-ideology measure.
Source & citation
Forsyth, D. R. (1980): A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 175–184.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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