Consequentialism Scale Test

Understand how you weigh moral rules against outcomes in ethical dilemmas in about 2 minutes. Ten items separate rule rejection from happiness maximization for clear, nuanced insights.

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Questions: 102 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

16,383 views

1,219 completions

1,020 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

17/25

Deontological Beliefs (DB)

Measures how strongly a person prioritizes moral rules and duties when judging actions, independent of outcomes.

Low

Moderate

High

5 – 12: Low | 13 – 19: Moderate | 20 – 25: High

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a balanced tendency to consider moral rules while not treating them as absolute in every situation.

example score

15/25

Utilitarian Beliefs (UB)

This scale measures how strongly someone prioritizes outcomes and the greater good when judging what is morally right.

Rule-focused

Balanced

Utility-focused

5 – 11: Rule-focused | 12 – 18: Balanced | 19 – 25: Utility-focused

A score of 15 falls in the Balanced range, suggesting a moderate tendency to weigh overall consequences and collective benefit without relying on utility as the sole moral guide.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Ethics and philosophy students

41%OF USERS

They take it to see whether their moral reasoning leans more toward strict principles or outcome-based thinking.

Researchers and survey designers

34%OF USERS

They use it to measure deontological and utilitarian tendencies separately in studies about judgment and decision-making.

Debaters and civic advocates

25%OF USERS

They take it to understand how they justify tough choices when discussing policy, justice, and real-world tradeoffs.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Deontological Beliefs (DB)

Average

15.2

Normal range

11.5 — 18.9

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Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Utilitarian Beliefs (UB)

Average

12.7

Normal range

10 — 15.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a list of general statements. You may disagree with some items and agree with others. There are no right or wrong answers. Please read each statement carefully. Then indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree.

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 10 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Consequentialism Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

moral

This measure is designed to assess individual differences in moral orientation when evaluating ethical dilemmas. The Consequentialism Scale provides a brief self-report profile of endorsement of outcome-focused versus rule-based moral considerations (Greene).

The instrument includes 10 items and typically requires about 2 minutes to complete. Respondents rate their agreement with statements reflecting utilitarian commitments (e.g., maximizing overall welfare) and deontological commitments (e.g., adherence to moral rules), which are scored as separable dimensions rather than a single continuum.

In research and applied settings, the Consequentialism Scale may be used to characterize moral judgment tendencies and to support discussion of how individuals weigh principles against consequences. Interpretation should be contextualized within the assessment purpose and not treated as a standalone indicator of clinical functioning.

Author: Joshua D. Greene

Literature: Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M., & Cohen, J. D. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science. 2001.; Robinson, J. S. Development and validation of a scale to measure deontological and utilitarian beliefs. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Toronto. 2012.