Ethical Decision Making Guide™

Your Preference for Different Ways of Making Ethical Decisions

Ethical Decision Making Guide

Rate each of the following statements on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “I do not agree” and 10 being “I fully agree.”
Your preference for different ways of making ethical decisions (i.e., your favored “approach") will be ranked from highest to lowest by the computer.
You must rank all statements for the test to work out correctly.
If you cannot determine how “attracted” you are to a particular sentence, enter a 5 for a neutral ranking.
Upon completion, you will then receive information and feedback based on the “moral theory” you most prefer.
By clicking here, you agree to receive feedback and suggestions about your ethical theory results, values, inspiration, and wisdom. It’s free, and your email address won’t be traded or sold.

Ethical Approach 1

1. An act is right if I have a good reason for doing it

2. I always know when something is wrong because it goes against what I believe to be right

3. I trust myself to know when a decision I make is actually good, even when a lot of other people disagree with me

4. I have my own standards that help me decide what is right and what is wrong

5. It's OK to know a lot of theories about what is right, but in the end you still have to do what you personally believe is right, even if you can't describe in words why it is

Ethical Approach 2

6. It's the right thing to do if good things are likely to come from my decision

7. If you want to know what to do in any given situation you have to imagine what the outcome will be and then decide accordingly

8. What you intended your decision to do doesn't matter; it's the effects that count

9. If the consequences of a decision I make turn out good, then my decision was a good one

10. If I were to get rewarded or praised for my action, then it's the right thing to do

Ethical Approach 3

11. I think a good act is when someone benefits more from what you do for them than it costs you to do it

12. What I do can only be said to be good if it actually makes someone else's situation a little better without making mine worse

13. Before I do anything for someone else, I always give some thought to how it will affect my own life

14. Certain considerations are much more important than others, such as animal testing that may find cures to human diseases

15. What is right is based on a calculation about what the decision will cost, for whom, what the rewards will be, and who will receive them

Ethical Approach 4

16. Different cultures have different ways of deciding what is right

17. I learned right from wrong in the country I was born in, and I still believe the same today even though it's different in the country where I now live

18. Our country has the correct understanding of what is the right thing for us to do in a given situation, no matter what other countries may say

19. My religion or belief system has the only accurate perspective on what's right and wrong

20. It's wrong to go against my country's laws and traditions

Ethical Approach 5

21. It is best to consider how the consequences of my action will effect everything that will be affected - humans and animals alike - when deciding what is the right thing to do

22. It would be wrong to save one drowning person and let the ship with many people crash into the rocks

23. It is acceptable to hurt one person in order to help many, such as torturing a suspect for information that will save many others

24. The goal of an ethical decision should be to behave in such a way that it will make the most people happy, even if it means leaving out one or two people

25. You can't please everyone, so being moral means that you try to create the greatest good for the most people possible

Ethical Approach 6

26. You can't go wrong if you stick with the ethical rules you've been taught when you were young

27. If it's wrong to lie then it's wrong to lie, even if I believe things would turn out better if I told a harmless white lie

28. There is nothing abstract about deciding right and wrong; there’s a rule that applies to practically every situation

29. Even if it felt good to break the rules I wouldn’t do it

30. I try to imagine what rule I can apply to an ethical problem that will make the most people happy

Ethical Approach 7

31. My love for my family and friends is the primary consideration in deciding what to do in a given situation

32. I think about people's feelings very carefully and put primary emphasis on that when deciding what is right and wrong

33. Any act is wrong if it's going to hurt those I love

34. It's reasonable to make a decision that will benefit people I know more than it will benefit strangers

35. What is right is what will have the most positive effect on my relationships with other people

Ethical Approach 8

36. In making an ethical decision I make sure everyone is in agreement, and no one's opinion is ignored

37. Having everyone agree on an ethical decision is much better than 'majority rule' or 'might makes right'

38. I don't see the point in acting on a decision unless everyone agrees it's a good decision

39. The best course of action is the one you can eventually get everyone to agree to

40. An act is wrong when everyone in my community or country says that it is

Ethical Approach 9

41. I look to my experiences from the past to decide how things are likely to go if I make a given decision

42. If I'm struggling with a problem, I ask my family and friends how they decided similar problems, and that helps my thinking

43. I find the ethical stories in religious books, history texts, and even fictional novels are very helpful in making similar decisions

44. The best way to make an ethical decision is to research the outcome of decisions others have made along the same lines

45. What is right is based on how similar cases were resolved in the past so that they had good outcomes

Ethical Approach 10

46. What may be wrong in one instance may not be wrong in some other instance

47. It's too hard to say what's right and what's wrong in the abstract; it depends on the situation

48. Knowing the surrounding life circumstances and the people involved helps me decide if some action was wrong or not

49. There is really no, 'one-size-fits-all' approach to my ethical decision-making, it all depends on what's happening at the time

50. Laws are often useless in deciding how to do the right thing because they can't account for the uniqueness of each situation

Ethical Approach 11

51. An ethical decision is one that doesn't go contrary to the goodness in all of us

52. People know what the right thing to do is because we're all born with a fairly strong sense of it

53. I believe God gave us all the ability to judge right from wrong

54. A good decision is that which is in keeping with God's law, divine plan, and overarching rules of right and wrong

55. I believe there is a natural flow and order to everything, and a good decision is one that doesn't disrupt it

Ethical Approach 12

56. A person's intention is not as important as what results actually come from their actions

57. If the decision I make works out well then I'll know it was the right decision

58. An ethical theory shouldn't just be a goal to aim for; it should be something you can actually put into practice

59. A decision is only as good as the actual, real-world results that it produces

60. What is right is based on whether the results of my decision actually create the good I intended

Ethical Approach 13

61. When trying to make a decision that will affect someone else I try to imagine what it would be like to be that person

62. An act is wrong if I would not want that person to do that to me if the roles were reversed

63. I think about how I like to be treated and then act that way with others

64. Before I do anything I always ask myself how I would feel if this were done to me

65. I only do to others what I would wish them to do to me

Ethical Approach 14

66. I just know what's right and wrong; it's not so much a matter of thinking as it is a feeling I get

67. The right thing to do is what I intuitively believe to be right (i.e., “my conscience”)

68. Sometimes I just know that to do a certain thing is right because it just feels right

69. I rely on a voice inside – call it my 'gut' – to decide if something is wrong

70. We all have a sense of right and wrong, almost from the time we're born, that we can follow

Ethical Approach 15

71. Being ethical means never using others simply as a way to achieve your own goals

72. You can't be good by luck or accident; you have to choose to be good to be really good

73. I do what I would wish everyone else in the world to do in the same situation

74. Living up to your obligations to others is more important than just trying to be a 'good person'

75. If I do the right thing even when I don't really feel like putting forth the effort; that's when I know I'm being ethical

Ethical Approach 16

76. In order to make an ethical decision, you can't just follow some rule; you have to think for yourself and take responsibility for the rightness of your decision

77. If I'm comfortable taking responsibility for my decision then I know I've made the right decision

78. You can only make good ethical decisions involving others if, first of all, you really know yourself

79. There is no higher authority than me when it comes to making decisions about ethical issues

80. I'm making the right decision when I'm being true to my self

Ethical Approach 17

81. I like to discuss decisions I am considering with people I know and trust

82. I might make a decision – only to change my mind after I talk it over with someone I'm close to

83. Sometimes I'll read a book to let the author offer some suggestions on making a right decision

84. Because ethical decisions always involve and affect others, it's a good idea to talk over such a decision with other people

85. The best way to arrive at the best decision is by careful consultation with others

Ethical Approach 18

86. It's not really correct to talk in terms of 'right' and 'wrong;' every person has the right to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt others

87. As long as someone doesn't tell me what I can and can't do, I'm comfortable with that lifestyle

88. I think lying is wrong because it denies others the freedom to know the truth

89. A law is wrong when it restricts my freedom to say or do what I want

90. I'm being ethical when my decisions don't restrict anyone else's freedom

Ethical Approach 19

91. An act is wrong if God believes it's wrong

92. The Holy books of all the great religions tell humankind what's right and what's wrong

93. I trust the leaders of our religion to teach us right from wrong

94. When I have to make a difficult ethical decision I wait for an answer to my prayers

95. I look to the scriptures for guidance in deciding between right and wrong

Ethical Approach 20

96. More important than just doing the right thing is actually being a good person

97. Having been raised in a good household has given me the kind of personality that lets me make good ethical decisions

98. I believe a good person can't help but make good decisions simply because it's in their nature

99. If a child is raised properly it will grow up to do the right thing

100. The way I make an ethical decision is to imagine what a good person would do in my situation

Ethical Approach 21

101. Being biased in favor or against someone without good cause almost always leads to unethical decision-making

102. I prize absolute objectivity; I take myself out of the situation as much as possible when deciding if something is right to do

103. To be really fair, you have to be willing to make a decision that treats everyone equally

104. Being impartial is key: you can't even give friends or family members special consideration if you want to make a truly fair decision

105. I believe you can't play favorites with anyone if you want to make the right decision

Ethical Approach 22

106. It's both rational and reasonable to consider my own welfare before the welfare of others

107. An ethical decision that benefits me is always a good ethical decision

108. You have a duty to take care of yourself before you spend your time worrying about other people

109. I think it's important to look out for myself first so that I can then help make the world a better place

110. Most people only do good because it makes them feel good, and there's nothing wrong with that

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Today's Quote

The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don’t like their rules, whose would you use?

— Dale Carnegie

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