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2 "What would you do" scenarios


Ok...just for fun 2 questions a soc prof asked us in school severa moons back. There are 2 rules: 1) please answer honestly, and 2) The situations are absolute, as stated. There are no variables, no what-ifs, no maybe-someone-saw, no hidden cameras, no somebody may find out, etc. No chance of being found out or caught. Here they are:

1) You're driving home very late at night and take a short cut through a not-that-great area. The car starts bucking like hell and making awful sounds. You stop near a closed-down diner because there's a street light nearby and call AAA, who tells you it'll be a while because it's a busy night. It's completely deserted.As you're waiting, a car goes by -- the only one that does -- with several kids in it who yell something at you. Thinking you may appear as a target, you decide to slouch out of sight until AAA gets there. A little while later you hear a car -- not a truck -- pull into the parking lot, and hear the door open/close. A few minutes later, another car pulls in. You hear a trunk opening/closing, and two guys talking rapidly. It escalates into an argument, and you hear two gunshots, then one car peeling out of the lot. Then total silence. After 15 minutes or so, you get enough courage to look out and see a car, and a guy lying next to it, not moving. After another 10 minutes, you get enough courage to get out and walk over. The guy is obviously dead, and about 5 feet away are two small bags of white powder....obviously a drug deal gone bad. You decide to call the police, but then notice that, as he fell, a HUGE wad of cash fell out of the guy's pocket and is lying next to him. Huge, and the bill you see on the outside is a hundred. Do you pocket the money nobody but you will ever know was there?

2) You work for a guy who's a major, major asshole. Loves insulting/threatening people and stealing credit. Earlier that day, in fact, he took all the credit for a project you worked your butt off on, and you have little recourse. Later the same day, he belittled an employee in front of everyone so severely she burst into tears, and he laughed at her. And still later he fired an older employee for a simple mistake, again, in front of everyone. In fact, the only good thing about the day is that the asshole goes on vacation the next day for 2 weeks. Near the end of the day, you go to the bathroom and are in one of the stalls. It's empty otherwise. While in there, you hear someone else come in and take the stall one down from you. He coughs and you can tell it's the boss. Not wanting to encounter him, you wait until he's done and leaves. After you wash your hands, you see a wallet lying on the floor right near the stall he was in. You pick it up, and sure enough, it's his ...and it's loaded with vacation cash --- at least a couple grand. The bathroom is shared by at least 100 employees on two floors. Nobody but you knows you were in there. Do you take the money?
Remember...NO VARIABLES

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1. No... Stealing from the dead just feels wrong, and besides, what if one of the drug dealer's friends comes looking for the money?

2. No again. Besides, that one is impossible for me anyway, because I'm a girl and you said no variables.

It's still possible that someone saw, though, for either of them.

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Noi variables, so it's impossible for anyone to have seen. No what-ifs. As far as #2, it can be flipped to be a female boss.

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... The world doesn't work that way, I'm sorry.

Even if we do it your way, it's still no for both, because I was raised in a Catholic family that made sure I have a strong conscience. In other words, I would feel guilty about it even if no one else could ever find out it was me.

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1. Seems unlikely because how would the shooters not have taken the money and the drugs? In a drug deal, the shooters would have been either the buyer or the seller, so either way they would have grabbed either the drugs or the money.
But ok, going along with an unlikely scenario, I would probably be too afraid to take it , thinking the gang would come after me. I wouldn't even have walked to the body, I would immediately call the police from inside my car.

2. I would assume it was a trick and that he saw my feet under the door and knew I was there, So probably no, but mostly out of suspicion. in some other scenario where he couldn't have seen me and assuming there is no security cameras in the halls, then maybe.

Basically in both scenarios I would be worried about retribution.

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Oh Leia, you are right about no variables- I just mentally switched it to a female boss so she could be in the same restroom as me, and I should not have done that! Or maybe I answered it as if I was male? But you're right I altered the scenario.

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No variables apparently isn't clear. How could anyone come after you if they never knew you were there? Nobody recogniozing your feet. No variables or maybes.

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How can you know they didn't see your feet? You didn't say that you pulled your feet up to make the stall look empty.
perhaps you should write the scenarios better.

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Again, NO VARIABLES. What isn't clear about that? No what-ifs or maybes. None. Zero. Nada. That's part of the point of the question. And he took the stall one down from you, not next to you, so even if it were part of the scenario--which it isn't -- he couldn't see your feet.

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Then you should say "this isn't the real world where all actions have consequences, this is an imaginary world where people's feet are invisible and gangs do not chase after their money and nothing bad will ever happen to you".

ok so in that completely unrealistic world, then yeah I'd take all the money.
happy now?

also, in "no variables" i.e. taking the badly written story exactly literally, then neither scenario would ever apply to me because I work from home so
1. I don't need to drive home
2. I don't share a bathroom with my boss

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Thank you. I thought the scenarios seemed somewhat unrealistic, too. No offense to the OP, I see what they were getting at, but it could have been executed better...

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It could have been much simpler if he just said "you have 0 chance of getting caught by the police, the drug dealer gang, or your boss".
If he just wants to find out if people's behaviour is based in internal morality or based on fear of negative consequences, then remove all negative consequences.

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Yeah, that would make more sense. Honestly, for me, it's a little bit of both (internal and external factors).

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No variables should make that part obvious, no? But I edited it to include that

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I believe the words you're looking for are "no consequences"... Variables mean changing the situation, not thinking about how things might turn out after said situation.

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You obviously missed the point of no variables.

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No variables means you cannot change any detail to fit reality.
So, in both cases, I would never be in those situations because it does not fit my real life.
Even if I worked in an office with 100 people, I would not be using the same restroom as my male boss.

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You're trying to make your personal reality universal.

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How so? I am answering the question for myself, and it does not apply to me. I'm only answering for myself.
You are trying to make your reality and gender universal. You assumed that everyone answering would be using the man's restroom.

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1. I may take the money, but how can I be sure it's not "marked" by the feds?

2. No, too easy to get caught.

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How, if, again, here are no variables?

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OK I take the money in #1.

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Many self-righteous people will say they wouldn't take the money but I'm going to be honest and say yes for both of them, with number one there is little chance of the dealer's seeing you since it's dark and 25 minutes have passed, if you don't take it, some crooked cops will just pocket some or all of it. If you're worried about it being marked, you can take it to a lawyer for advice and you're protected by attorney-client privilege.

For scenario 2, I've had bosses who were real jerks too so I would also take the money in that situation, screw him. I would be very cautious about it of course, wait until the boss left the bathroom, stay in for a few more minutes, then check the hallway to make sure he wasn't lurking around and setting a trap but that isn't too likely with thousands of dollars. Technically, pocketing money found on the ground isn't legally considered stealing so even if he suspected you, there is little he could do.

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I haven't seen any self righteous people. So far all the people answering no is based on fear of retribution, not on "I'm such an honest person I could never".

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I wasn't accusing anyone here, just saying that I've seen similar questions before and there are always some smug, self-righteous types who say they would never take the money just so that they can look morally superior than "regular" people.

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I think there might have been, but these scenarios both have such negative potential consequences (fear of people who have already shot a man, and fear of the worlds nastiest boss), so I think those factors would influence most people's actions first, before they could ever start to consider morality.
self preservation is a stronger instinct, in other words.

If there was literally 0 chance of getting caught, then sure I'd take it in both cases.
It might have been also useful to include a scenario where the person losing the money was not a criminal or an asshole. Like if you find money that nobody will ever know you found, BUT you know the person who lost it is a widow of a soldier and she's got 3 kids and little Timmy needs an operation... something melodramatic like that.
A case where the person needs it more than I do.
And then I would not take it, well, I'd pick it up to keep anyone else from stealing it, but then I'd return it.
So I don't know if self righteous is the word or just empathy. Because my actions would change if I felt the person didn't need or didn't deserve the money.

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There is zero chance. The scenario of someone who needed it is a different story...I'd like to think most humans would indeed not touch the money or give it back. But that's not the case here.

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Earl...thanks for being honest as well as straightforward

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In first case not sure, in second case definitely not cause there aren't many possible suspects (100 people) and I don't have a good poker face, in case someone starts asking questions.

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By the time he discovers he lost his wallet, everyone has gone home, plus he has no clue where he lost it. And he thought he was alone in the bathroom

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If he mentions that it's possible that he lost his wallet somewhere around here, I'll start acting suspiciously, I know myself. So, better not. (you mentioned there are no variables. But my possible strange behavior afterwards is a variable that can't be taken into account in both of these cases. Most criminals get caught cause they talk later, not cause their crime isn't perfect)

I change my answer to the first case to "yes" cause I don't think it's a crime to steal from the criminals (as long as they can't find out I did it)

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1. No.
2. No.

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1. I'm not sure, I may pick up the money and keep it. I'd probably do something different every time if I encountered the scenario multiple times. It is a drug deal, they are dead, I don't really consider "wrong" to recover this money.

2. I'd take the wallet to the guy and say, here's your wallet, you left it in the bathroom. I wouldn't take anything. Even though I don't like him I'm not going to blatantly steal his things.

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