Free Will-Determinism Scale – FWDS
Measures the strength of an individual's beliefs in free will (libertarianism), religious-philosophical determinism, and psychosocial determinism.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Free Will-Determinism Scale – FWDS was developed by Steven J. Stroessner & Charles W. Green (1990). It is designed to measure Belief in Free Will and Determinism. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents and adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 17 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Religious-Philosophical Determinism, Libertarianism, Psychosocial Determinism.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Religious-Philosophical Determinism | 6,8,12,14,15,17 | 6 |
| Libertarianism | 3,4,9,10 | 4 |
| Psychosocial Determinism | 1,2,5,7,11,13,16 | 7 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Moderately agree, 4 = Slightly agree, 5 = Neither agree nor disagree, 6 = Slightly disagree, 7 = Moderately disagree, 8 = Disagree, 9 = Strongly disagree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 17 to 153. Interpretation guidelines:
- Strong overall agreement with determinism / Low belief in free will: 17 – 62
- Moderate or mixed beliefs regarding free will and determinism: 63 – 107
- Strong overall disagreement with determinism / High belief in free will: 108 – 153
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Religious-Philosophical Determinism: alpha = .87; Psychosocial Determinism: alpha = .64; Libertarianism: alpha = .69.
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.