Ethics Position Questionnaire – EPQ
Measures individual differences in moral beliefs and ethical ideologies along two dimensions: idealism and relativism.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Ethics Position Questionnaire – EPQ was developed by Donelson R. Forsyth (1980). It is designed to measure Ethical Ideology. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 20 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Idealism, Relativism.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Idealism | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 | 10 |
| Relativism | 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 | 10 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Completely disagree, 2 = Largely disagree, 3 = Moderately disagree, 4 = Slightly disagree, 5 = Neither agree nor disagree, 6 = Slightly agree, 7 = Moderately agree, 8 = Largely agree, 9 = Completely agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 1 to 9. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low (Mean score of 1 to 5 on the respective subscale): 1 – 5
- High (Mean score of 6 to 9 on the respective subscale): 6 – 9
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Idealism alpha = 0.80, Relativism alpha = 0.73.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.