| Dilemma | Type | Description |
| D1 (type 1 questionnaire) | Personal sacrificial dilemma (other-benefit dilemma) [10] | Trolley problem: Footbridge. In the path of a runaway train car are five railway workers who will surely be killed unless you, a bystander, do something. You are standing on a pedestrian walkway that arches over the tracks next to a large stranger. Your body would be too light to stop the train, but if you push the stranger onto the tracks, killing him, his large body will stop the train. In this situation, would you push the man? |
| D1 (type 2 questionnaire) | Impersonal sacrificial dilemma (other-benefit dilemma) [16] | Trolley problem: Bystander. In the path of a runaway train car are five railway workers who will surely be killed unless you, a bystander, do something. If you flip a switch, the train will be diverted onto another track, where it will kill a single railway worker. In this situation, would you flip the switch? |
| D2 | Personal self-benefitdilemma [17] | Preventing Ebola. You are a Peace Corps health-worker who is volunteering in a rural African village. A prominent man from a nearby village has contracted the Ebola virus that is extremely contagious, incurable, and almost always fatal within a week. Miraculously, this man has survived for a month, and so he must be a rare carrier who is immune to the virus’ deadly effects. However, this man wrongly believes that your health center can cure his disease. You see him approaching and you know that if he enters the village he will spread the virus to hundreds of innocent people who, unlike him, will die. There is a loaded gun in the health center. You realize that the only way you can prevent him from entering the village and spreading the virus to you and the rest of the village is to shoot and kill him as heapproaches. Should you kill the man in order to save yourself and the rest of the village? |
| D3 | Greater good dilemma [12] | Firefighter. Albert is a firefighter who is trying to rescue people from a burning building. The building is about to collapse and, in the time left, Albert will only be able to rescue one more person. In the room he has entered, Albert finds two trapped people that he immediately recognizes. One is a famous peacenegotiator well known for his work resolving armed conflicts around the world and who is likely to continue doing this important work if he survives. The other is a poor, uneducated housekeeper. The housekeeper is Albert’s mother. Albert has to decide which of these to save, and the one he does not save will die. Should Alberto save the peace negotiator rather than his mother? |
| D4 | Greater good dilemma [12] | One vs. many donation. Mark is a U.S. businessman who would like to give $1000 to charity, and is deciding between two charities. The first focuses on preventing disease in the U.S., and Mark’s donation would save the life of one child. The second focuses on preventing disease in a distant foreign country Mark has never been to, and his donation would save the lives of several children. Mark has already made up his mind to donate to one of the two charities, and just needs to decide to which one. Should Mark donate to the charity in the foreign country? |
| D5 | Greater good dilemma [12] | Benjamin’s car or donation. Benjamin is a college student who has always wanted to have his own car. He works after school jobs, saves all of his money, and rarely goes out, until finally he has $7,000. On his way to the used car dealership, he reads about a tsunami in Southeast Asia that has left thousands dead, wounded, and homeless. A number is given where donations can be processed to help these victims. Benjamin knows that if he were to donate a significant amount to this charity, his donation would make a real difference to the lives of several of the victims of the tsunami. Should Benjamin donate any of the money rather than buy the car? |