Look at a hypothetical situation, for example, an ethical question requiring you to make a choice. If you are assessing someone else's judgment, present a hypothetical question without specific answers that relates to the purpose of assessing their judgment, such as one regarding a job. For example, ask a moral question such as, "If a client offered you a bribe to change records, what would you do?" This type of question and situation requires thinking through the situation and evaluating the best course of action.
Ensure that you understand the situation before proceeding. Understanding the question is vital to determining the judgment skills, so ask questions if necessary. For those conducting an assessment, ensure that someone such as a potential employee understands the situation by asking whether he needs a question repeated or wants to ask anything. For example, explain the potential situation in further detail if needed such as stating that the records relate to the client's finances or a poor deal the client made that lost money.
Make a decision, which reflects your judgment skills. To make a decision, consider the facts, your experience and how they coincide. If the question is multiple choice, select a choice that you feel is most appropriate. If not, give a written or oral answer detailing your decision. If assessing someone else, wait for a decision. In the situation described previously, a multiple choice option might include, "Tell the police," "Refuse the bribe but do not tell the police," "Talk to a superior in the job" or, "Take the bribe and do as requested." For the short answer, you might say that you would not take the bribe and then would go to a superior for advice.
Evaluate the answer. Good judgment involves considering every potential factor, such as cultural differences, consequences and varying situations before making a choice. Those with poor judgment skills rush to an answer without thought and can make a choice that has negative consequences. In a multiple-choice question, the answers are correct or incorrect. For a short-answer question, the answers are less straightforward but can allow you to see how the answer was determined. For example, if the answer was to refuse the bribe and tell a superior, the reasoning might be that you are unsure whether you are being asked to commit a crime or do not want to get the company involved with the police.