Morally Debatable Behaviours Scale.

MDBS

What it measures

Permissiveness toward morally debatable behaviours - how justifiable a person finds acts such as lying, cheating on taxes, accepting a bribe, etc.; typically yields a personal-dishonesty/illegality dimension and a sexual/self-determination dimension

Length and format

~21 (Harding & Phillips); subsets used in the World/European Values Surveys. 10-point justifiability rating (never justifiable - always justifiable) (self-report questionnaire)

Language versions

Dozens of languages via WVS/EVS protocols; effectively global coverage

Normative data

Normative data for this instrument is held in our reference library. The per-population breakdown is not published here.

Licence

public-domain / open

Licence classification is a research judgement by the catalogue’s authors, not legal advice, and it can be out of date. Confirm terms with the copyright holder or publisher before using an instrument, especially for commercial use.

Reference

Harding, S., & Phillips, D. (1986). Contrasting Values in Western Europe. Macmillan. WVS/EVS moral-justifiability items.