Validating a five-factor model of ethical decision making

Abstract

Experience often drives decisions by favoring previously successful methods. The present study asked if differing ethical methods for decision-making developed similar dispositions over time or if their utility was based on the situational. To address this, the present study drew upon a framework from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics containing five ethical perspectives (virtue, rights, justice/fairness, common good, utilitarianism). Within that framework, a scale measurement called the Ethical Perspectives Scale (EPS) was designed to capture individual differences among the five perspectives. This study tested the validity of the EPS. The consistency, discriminant validity, and predictive validity of the five-factor EPS model were confirmed in the present study. The current findings offer the first steps into developing a scale to represent the five-perspective framework.