The free will inventory: Measuring beliefs about agency and responsibility

Consciousness and Cognition 25:27-41 (2014)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of the construction and validation of a new psychometric tool for measuring beliefs about free will and related concepts: The Free Will Inventory (FWI). In its final form, FWI is a 29-item instrument with two parts. Part 1 consists of three 5-item subscales designed to measure strength of belief in free will, determinism, and dualism. Part 2 consists of a series of fourteen statements designed to further explore the complex network of people’s associated beliefs and attitudes about free will, determinism, choice, the soul, predictability, responsibility, and punishment. Having presented the construction and validation of FWI, we discuss several ways that it could be used in future research, highlight some as yet unanswered questions that are ripe for interdisciplinary investigation, and encourage researchers to join us in our efforts to answer these questions.

Other Versions

No versions found

Similar books and articles

Folk intuitions on free will.Shaun Nichols - 2006 - Journal of Cognition and Culture 6 (1-2):57-86.

Analytics

Added to PP
2014-02-20

Downloads
7,247 (#855)

6 months
565 (#2,418)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author Profiles

Eddy Nahmias
Georgia State University
Chandra Sripada
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Thomas Nadelhoffer
College of Charleston
1 more

References found in this work

What do philosophers believe?David Bourget & David J. Chalmers - 2014 - Philosophical Studies 170 (3):465-500.
Freedom and Resentment.Peter Strawson - 1962 - Proceedings of the British Academy 48:187-211.
Responsibility and Control: A Theory of Moral Responsibility.John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza - 1998 - New York: Cambridge University Press. Edited by Mark Ravizza.
An Essay on Free Will.Peter van Inwagen - 1983 - New York: Oxford University Press.
The Significance of Free Will.Robert Kane - 1996 - New York, US: Oxford University Press USA.

View all 33 references / Add more references