How to Make a Good Decision

Should I cheat on an exam or assignment? Look the other way when I see someone being bullied? Spread
negative things about people through texting, Facebook, gossip, etc.? Go to a party that I know my parents
wouldn't approve of? Engage in risky behavior (sex, drugs, drinking)? Would my action pass these tests:

1. BEST SELF TEST: Does this action represent my "best self"? Does it reflect the
kind of person I want to be?

2. UNIVERSAL ethical values test : Does this action violate any ethical values—
such as integrity, respect, fairness, or kindness—that all people should live by?

3. Consequences Test : Will this have negative consequences—hurtful to someone
else or myself— that I will come to regret?

4. Conscience Test : Does this go against what my conscience tells me is right? If
I do this, will I feel guilty or lose self-respect?

5. Parent/TEACHER/CO ACH Test : If I were to ask my parents, teachers, coaches,
or any other adults I respect, would they approve of my doing this?

6. GOLDEN RULE (REVERSIBILITY) TEST: Would I want someone to do this to me?
7. what -If-EVERYBODY-DID-THIS Test : Would I want to live in a world where
everybody did this (lied, cheated, stole, disrespected or used others, etc.)?
8. Truth Test : Am I telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth—no lies,
no omissions, and no half-truths?

9. INTERNET test : Would I want this made public through Facebook, You-Tube,
texting, etc., and seen by my teachers, parents, employers, or future spouse?

10. RELIGION TEST: If I have religious beliefs, what do they teach about whether
this action is right or wrong?

© 2011 excellence & ethics, Center for the 4th and 5th Rs. May be copied without permission. Adapted from Thomas Lickona's Character Matters and reprinted in Smart & Good High Schools, www.cortland.edu/character. Relat ed Curricular Resourc e: Power2Achieve Foundations, an Institute for Excellence & Ethics curriculum for developing moral and performance character. Sample unit: www.excellenceandethics.com. Ethics-in-Action Self-Quiz: How to Make a Good Decision