Whom to Save? A Novel, Realistic Paradigm for Studying Human Decision-Making in Moral Dilemmas

How can we examine human decision-making in extreme situations? Previous studies often show limitations in realism and flexibility of the experiment environment. Here, we propose a novel virtual paradigm involving multi-staged moral decision-making under time pressure in a realistic scenario, in which participants need to decide whom to save. This paradigm allows for detailed, controlled investigations of fundamental aspects of moral decision-making, including correlations with personality traits, self-sacrifice, and moral thresholds. We also discuss pilot results that attest good realism and establish interesting trends for decision-making related to psychopathy and utilitarian personality traits as well as environmental features, showcasing the potential of our paradigm.