The Moral Foundations Questionnaire was developed by Jesse Graham, Jonathan Haidt, and Brian Nosek to measure the moral intuitions underlying ethical judgment. It is one of the most widely used instruments in moral psychology research. Reproduced with attribution to the Moral Foundations Research Group.

Moral Foundations Theory proposes that human morality is not built on a single principle but on several innate psychological systems (foundations) shaped by evolutionary pressures and cultural variation. People differ in how strongly they rely on each foundation when making moral judgments.

What the MFQ Measures

The test assesses five core moral foundations:

• Care / Harm — sensitivity to suffering; virtues of care, compassion, and protection from harm
• Fairness / Cheating — concerns about justice, rights, autonomy, and equal treatment
• Loyalty / Betrayal — group cohesion, patriotism, and the wrongness of betrayal
• Authority / Subversion — deference to hierarchy, tradition, and legitimate authority
• Sanctity / Degradation — revulsion toward degradation, disgust, and violations of the sacred or natural

Moral foundations theory has been posited as an explanation of differences among political progressives, conservatives, and libertarians, and has been used to explain variation in opinion on politically charged issues.

How Scores Are Interpreted

Harm and Fairness are called individualizing foundations (focused on individual welfare and rights). Loyalty, Authority, and Purity are binding foundations (focused on group cohesion and social order). Higher scores indicate greater moral weight placed on that foundation. At the end, you can see how your scores compare to the average scores for politically moderate Americans.

How to Take This Test

• Answer based on your first instinct — not what you think you “should” believe
• The test has two parts with different response scales — read each section header carefully

Use your results as a starting point for self-reflection on the values that guide your moral reasoning.