6 Moral Foundations Test: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters in the Workplace

Ever wonder why two people can both be ethical—but totally disagree on what “doing the right thing” means?

That’s not just personality.
It’s moral foundations at work.

The 6 Moral Foundations Test helps you understand the deep values that drive human decisions—at work, in life, and especially in those tricky gray areas where logic alone doesn’t cut it.

Whether you’re hiring, building a team, or just want to understand people better, this test offers incredible insights.

Let’s break it all down.

📘 Want to start with the basics? Check out the full guide: How to Test Moral Judgement for Employment

🧭 What Is the 6 Moral Foundations Theory?

Developed by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and colleagues, the Moral Foundations Theory proposes that all human morality is based on six universal but differently prioritized values.

Think of them as the “moral instincts” we’re all wired with—but in different strengths and balances.

📊 The 6 Moral Foundations (Explained Simply)

Foundation	What It Represents	How It Shows Up at Work
Care/Harm	Compassion, protecting others	Helping teammates, avoiding unnecessary risk
Fairness/Cheating	Justice, equality, reciprocity	Equal opportunity, transparency in promotions
Loyalty/Betrayal	Group loyalty, standing by your team	Team unity, support under pressure
Authority/Subversion	Respect for hierarchy and structure	Respecting leaders, chain of command
Sanctity/Degradation	Cleanliness, purity, sacredness	Ethical standards, protecting brand integrity
Liberty/Oppression	Freedom, resistance to domination	Autonomy, freedom to speak or innovate

💡 Each person gives different weight to each foundation.
Some people care more about fairness, others prioritize loyalty or authority.

🧪 What Is the 6 Moral Foundations Test?

The 6 Moral Foundations Test is an assessment designed to measure how strongly someone aligns with each of the six values.

The test typically includes:

• Statements or scenarios
  
• Agree/disagree response scales
  
• Insights into which values guide your moral reasoning
  

🔎 Example Questions from the Test

Statement	Which Value It Tests
“Compassion for those who are suffering is the most crucial virtue.”	Care/Harm
“It is more important to be loyal to your group than to speak out against it.”	Loyalty/Betrayal
“People should be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as they don’t harm others.”	Liberty/Oppression

🎯 Why Use the 6 Moral Foundations Test in Hiring?

Here’s why it’s useful for recruiters and team leaders:

Benefit	Application
Understand ethical fit	Does a candidate value fairness or loyalty more?
Build value-aligned teams	Avoid unnecessary moral conflicts in groups
Enhance cultural diversity	Not everyone leads with the same moral compass
Spot decision-making patterns	Predict how someone may act in dilemmas

📘 Want complementary tools? Pair it with the Moral Sense Test or the Moral Dilemma Quiz to see how values translate into real decisions.

👥 How to Use This Test in a Workplace Setting

1. During Hiring

Use it as a values alignment tool, especially for roles in leadership, HR, customer-facing, or compliance-heavy positions.

🛠 Example: Hiring for a leadership role?
A candidate who scores high in Authority and Loyalty may thrive in structured teams.
One high in Liberty and Fairness might excel in innovative or flat organizations.

2. In Leadership Development

Knowing your moral foundation profile helps you:

• Understand your own bias (e.g., do you prioritize harmony over fairness?)
  
• Better communicate with people who value different things
  
• Improve conflict resolution and decision-making
  

3. For Team Building & Culture

Imagine a team where some value loyalty, others value liberty, and nobody realizes why they’re clashing.

The 6 Moral Foundations Test can help uncover these differences early—and open the door for better collaboration.

⚠️ Common Misconceptions

Misconception	The Truth
“One foundation is better than the others.”	All six are valid—what matters is context and balance.
“This test tells you who’s right or wrong.”	Nope—it just shows what moral lens you see the world through.
“People can’t change their foundations.”	While they’re rooted, awareness can help people evolve.

🙋 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the 6 Moral Foundations Test used for?

It helps you understand which core moral values guide your decisions, like fairness, care, loyalty, or authority. It’s often used in hiring, leadership coaching, and self-awareness to uncover why people make the choices they do—especially in gray-area situations.

2. Can this test actually help in hiring?

Yes—and it’s incredibly insightful.
The test reveals whether a candidate is more driven by compassion, structure, fairness, or freedom. That’s gold when you’re hiring for roles where trust, decision-making, and value alignment matter (think HR, leadership, compliance, client-facing).

3. Is one moral foundation better than another?

Not at all.
There’s no “best” moral foundation. Each of the six—Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, and Liberty—has its place. The real strength comes from understanding your balance and recognizing others may weigh these differently.

4. Can I change my moral foundation preferences over time?

Yes—though they tend to be stable, life experience, reflection, and context can influence how strongly you lean on certain foundations. Leaders especially benefit from understanding and adapting their moral perspectives.

5. How is this different from a personality test?

Great question.
Personality tests look at traits like introversion or openness. The 6 Moral Foundations Test digs deeper—it looks at your moral compass. It answers: What do you instinctively believe is right or wrong? That’s a very different kind of insight.

✅ Final Thoughts

The 6 Moral Foundations Test is a powerful tool to uncover what truly motivates people beneath the surface—especially when logic and emotions collide.

It’s not just for psychology buffs.
It’s for hiring managers who want to build trust, leaders who want to grow, and teams who want to work better together.

Because when you understand how people see right and wrong,
you understand how they’ll act when it really counts.