Assumptions

Test Your Assumptions About Ethics
By Logan Watts, PhD

Most people have strong beliefs about ethics, whether they realize it or not. You probably do too. Your beliefs, or assumptions about ethics, can influence your ability to make good decisions. To help test your assumptions, we created a short quiz.
 
Assumptions about ethics quiz
Instructions: Read the 10 following statements and, using a 1 to 5 scale, rate the extent to which you agree with each sentence.
1 - Strongly disagree
2 - Somewhat disagree
3 - Neither disagree nor agree
4 - Somewhat agree
5 - Strongly agree

1. Making ethical decisions is simple because rules are black or white.
2. People are either good or bad.
3. “Going with your gut” is a good strategy when facing an ethical dilemma.
4. People who make unethical decisions are monsters.
5. Religious individuals tend to be more ethical.
6. Individuals are to blame for their mistakes, not their situations.
7. Good people are incapable of making unethical decisions.
8. People who make unethical decisions get ahead in the long run.
9. Ethical dilemmas are rare events.
10. People are incapable of change.

                 
To score your results, add up the ratings you provided across all 10 statements.
 
Here’s how to interpret your total score. The 10 statements represent commonly held beliefs about ethics that are largely untrue. In other words, they are myths.
 
 If you scored between 10 and 29, well done! Your score indicates that you tend to view ethics as complex, challenging, and gray. This view matches well with how experts on the subject view ethics. If you scored between 30 and 50, it indicates that you still hold a number of naïve beliefs about ethics, such as viewing decision making as relatively simple, rule-based, and straightforward.
 
If you buy into these myths, you may be unprepared when facing your next ethical dilemma. How do you think your assumptions about ethics may have influenced your decisions in the past?