The EPQ

Items from the EPQ were originally published in Forsyth, D. R. (1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 175-184. The original response scale used was a 9-point scale, although the version presented here uses only a 5-point scale. Idealism scores are calculated by summing responses from items 1 to 10. Relativism scores are calculated by summing responses from items 11 to 20. As this scale is used for research purposes primarily, normative data are not available.

Please indicate if you agree or disagree with the following items. 
Each represents a commonly held opinion and there are no right or
wrong answers.  We are interested in your reaction to such matters
of opinion.  

Rate your reaction to each statement by writing a number to the
left of each statement where: 
1 = Disagree Strongly                        
2  = Disagree
3 = Neutral
4  = Agree  
5 = Agree Strongly

1.   People should make certain that their actions never
intentionally harm another even to a small degree. 
 
2.   Risks to another should never be tolerated, irrespective
of how small the risks might be. 

3.   The existence of potential harm to others is always
wrong, irrespective of the benefits to be gained.  

4.   One should never psychologically or physically harm
another person.

5.   One should not perform an action which might in any way
threaten the dignity and welfare of another individual.

6.   If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not
be done.

7.   Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing
the positive consequences of the act against the negative
consequences of the act is immoral.

8.   The dignity and welfare of the people should be the most
important concern in any society.

9.   It is never necessary to sacrifice the welfare of others.

10.  Moral behaviors are actions that closely match ideals of
the most "perfect" action.

11.  There are no ethical principles that are so important
that they should be a part of any code of ethics.

12.  What is ethical varies from one situation and society to
another.

13.  Moral standards should be seen as being individualistic;
what one person considers to be moral may be judged to be
immoral by another person.

14.  Different types of morality cannot be compared as to
"rightness."

15.  Questions of what is ethical for everyone can never be
resolved since what is moral or immoral is up to the
individual.

16.  Moral standards are simply personal rules that indicate
how a person should behave, and are not be be applied in
making judgments of others.

17.  Ethical considerations in interpersonal relations are so
complex that individuals should be allowed to formulate
their own individual codes.

18.  Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents
certain types of actions could stand in the way of better
human relations and adjustment.

19.  No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie
is permissible or not permissible totally depends upon
the situation.

20.  Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends
upon the circumstances surrounding the action.

Publications

Forsyth, D. R. (1992). Judging the morality of business practices: The influence of personal moral philosophies. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 461-470.

Forsyth, D. R., & Nye, J. L. (1990). Personal moral philosophy and moral choice. Journal of Research in Personality, 24, 398-414.

Singh, B., & Forsyth, D. R. (1989). Sexual attitudes and moral values: The importance of idealism and relativism. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 27, 160-162.

Forsyth, D. R., Nye, J. L., & Kelley, K. N. (1988). Idealism, relativism, and the ethic of caring. Journal of Psychology, 122, 243-248.

Pope, W. R., & Forsyth, D. R. (1986). Judgments of deceptive communications: A multidimensional analysis. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 24, 435-436.

Forsyth, D. R. (1985). Individual differences in information integration during moral judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 264-272.

Forsyth, D. R., & Scott, W. (1984). Attributions and moral judgments: Kohlberg's stage theory as a taxonomy of moral attributions. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 22, 321-323.

Forsyth, D. R., & Pope, W. R. (1984). Ethical ideology and judgments of social psychological research: A multidimensional analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1365-1375.

Forsyth, D. R., & Berger, R. E. (1982). The effects of ethical ideology on moral behavior. Journal of Social Psychology, 117, 53-652.

Forsyth, D. R. (1981). Moral judgment: The influence of ethical ideology. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7, 218-223.

Forsyth, D. R. (1981). A psychological perspective on ethical uncertainties in behavioral research. In A. J. Kimmel (Ed.), New directions for methodology of social and behavioral science: Ethics of human subject research, No. 10. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Forsyth, D. R. (1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 175-184.

Schlenker, B. R., & Forsyth, D. R. (1977). On the ethics of psychological research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 369-396.