Free Will and Determinism Plus scale (FAD Plus)

 

The FAD-Plus scale is a proposed improvement of the Free Will and Determinism (FAD) scale. It was published on Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(1), 96–104, 2011. The journal entry is titled The FAD–Plus: Measuring Lay Beliefs Regarding Free Will and Related Constructs. Also see Appendix A for the questions below.

This scale has since been used in numerous studies. Though how these studies are done is problematic even if we accept the FAD-Plus, there are various problems inherent in the FAD-Plus scale even though it is an improvement over the original FAD scale.

Below are the questions for the FAD-Plus scale:

FAD-Plus: Free Will and Scientific Determinism

For each statement below, choose a number from 1 to 5 to indicate how much you agree or disagree.

totally disagree 1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4 _ 5  totally agree

1. I believe that the future has already been determined by fate.
2. People’s biological makeup determines their talents and personality.
3. Chance events seem to be the major cause of human history.
4. People have complete control over the decisions they make.
5. No matter how hard you try, you can’t change your destiny.
6. Psychologists and psychiatrists will eventually figure out all human behavior.
7. No one can predict what will happen in this world.
8. People must take full responsibility for any bad choices they make.
9. Fate already has a plan for everyone.
10. Your genes determine your future.
11. Life seems unpredictable – just like throwing dice or flipping a coin.
12. People can overcome any obstacles if they truly want to.
13. Whether people like it or not, mysterious forces seem to move their lives.
14. Science has shown how your past environment created your current intelligence and personality.
15. People are unpredictable.
16. Criminals are totally responsible for the bad things they do.
17. Whatever will be, will be – there’s not much you can do about it.
18. As with other animals, human behavior always follows the laws of nature.
19. Luck plays a big role in people’s lives.
20. People have complete free will.
21. Parents’ character will determine the character of their children.
22. What happens to people is a matter of chance.
23. People are always at fault for their bad behavior.
24. Childhood environment will determine your success as an adult.
25. Life is hard to predict because it is almost totally random.
26. Strength of mind can always overcome the body’s desires.
27. People’s futures cannot be predicted.

Subscales

Free Will: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 23, 26.
Scientific Determinism: 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 21, 24.
Fatalistic Determinism: 1, 5, 9, 13, 17.
Randomness: 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 22, 25, 27.

Below are the questions split out by category:

Free will

  1. People have complete control over the decisions they make.
  2. People must take full responsibility for any bad choices they make.
  3. People can overcome any obstacles if they truly want to.
  4. Criminals are totally responsible for the bad things they do.
  5. People have complete free will.
  6. People are always at fault for their bad behavior.
  7. Strength of mind can always overcome the body’s desires.

Scientific Determinism

  1. People’s biological makeup determines their talents and personality.
  2. Psychologists and psychiatrists will eventually figure out all human behavior.
  3. Your genes determine your future.
  4. Science has shown how your past environment created your current intelligence and personality.
  5. As with other animals, human behavior always follows the laws of nature.
  6. Parents’ character will determine the character of their children.
  7. Childhood environment will determine your success as an adult.

Fatalistic Determinism

  1. I believe that the future has already been determined by fate.
  2. No matter how hard you try, you can’t change your destiny.
  3. Fate already has a plan for everyone.
  4. Whatever will be, will be – there’s not much you can do about it.
  5. Whether people like it or not, mysterious forces seem to move their lives.

Unpredictability

  1. Chance events seem to be the major cause of human history.
  2. No one can predict what will happen in this world.
  3. Life seems unpredictable – just like throwing dice or flipping a coin.
  4. People are unpredictable.
  5. Life is hard to predict because it is almost totally random.
  6. Luck plays a big role in people’s lives.
  7. What happens to people is a matter of chance.
  8. People’s futures cannot be predicted.