Measurement of Ethical Values
The judgments of the magnitudes of goodness or badness (ethical values) of their successive situations over several days were recorded by three groups of college students. The relationship of their judged magnitudes of goodness and badness to the reported durations of their situations is described here. Judgments in terms of named and briefly described category scales of goodness and badness (given to the students) and judgments in terms of numerical scales (selected within limits by students) displayed the same power relationship between the average durations of the situations and the judged magnitude intervals of ethical value. This relationship held for large numbers of judgments of an individual as well as for the three student groups. It is suggested that this relationship offers a derivative method for measurement of ethical values, relating the category or numerical scales used to the fundamental scale of duration. The relationship also supports the operational definitions of “a good situation” as “a situation in which we act so as to continue the situation as long as we can or as long as it will, and tend to repeat it,” and “a bad situation” as “a situation in which we act so as to discontinue the situation as soon as we can or as soon as it will, and tend not to repeat it.”