Salon.com > The Scientific American http://www.salon.com Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:24:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Study: Mood often influences our most important choices http://www.salon.com/2013/03/14/study_mood_often_influences_our_most_important_choices_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/14/study_mood_often_influences_our_most_important_choices_partner/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:53:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13229275 Scientific American Imagine you’re standing on a footbridge over some trolley tracks. Below you, an out-of-control trolley is bearing down on five unaware individuals standing on the track. Standing next to you is a large man. You realize that the only way to prevent the five people from being killed by the trolley is to push the man off the bridge, into the path of the trolley. His body would stop the trolley, saving the lives of the five people further down the track.

What would you do? Would you push the man to save the others? Or would you stand by and watch five people die, knowing that you could have saved them? Regardless of which option you choose, you no doubt believe that it will reflect your deeply held personal convictions, not trifles such as your mood.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/14/study_mood_often_influences_our_most_important_choices_partner/feed/ 4