Sociomoral Reflection Measure‚ Short Form (SRM-SF)
Gibbs‚ Basinger‚ & Fuller‚ 1992
1. Think about when you’ve made a promise to a friend of yours. How important is it for people to keep promises‚ if they can‚ to friends?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
2. What about keeping a promise to anyone? How important is it for people to keep promises‚ if they can‚ even to someone they hardly know?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
3. What about keeping a promise to a child? How important is it for parents to keep promises to their children?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
4. In general‚ how important is it to tell the truth?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
5. Think about when you’ve helped your mother or father. How important is it for children to help their parents?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
6. Let’s say a friend of yours needs help and may even die‚ and you’re the only person who can save him or her. How important is it for a person (without losing his or her own life) to save the life of a friend?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
7. What about saving the life of anyone? How important is it for a person (without losing his or her own life) to save the life of a stranger?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
8. How important is it for a person to live even if that person doesn’t want to?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
9. How important is it for people not to take things that belong to other people?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
10. How important is it for people to obey the law?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
11. How important is it for judges to send people who break the law to jail?
Why is that very important/important/not important (whichever one you circled)?
This assessment measures moral reasoning and moral judgment. It is conducted in a one-on-one interview. Conducted during a one-on-oneinterview. Respondents are to identify things they think are important for people to do‚ and explain why they think these things are important.
This instrument can be found on pages 115-118 of Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes‚ Behaviors‚ and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools‚ available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf
Students in grades 4 and 6‚ and in highschool.
Very important‚ Important‚ Not important
This scale is copyrighted. For permission to use and scoring information‚ contact:
John C. Gibbs‚ Ph.D.
Psychology Department
The Ohio State University
137 Townshend Hall
1885 Neil Avenue
Columbus‚ Ohio 43210
Tel: (614) 292-7918
Fax: (614) 292-4537
Gibbs JC‚ Basinger KS‚ Fuller D. Moral maturity: measuring the development of sociomoral reflection. Hillsdale‚ NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates‚ Inc.‚1992.