Humour in trolley problems and other sacrificial dilemmas
Killing Is Not Funny at All
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7149964 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robin Carron (0000-0002-0232-9673, Epsylon EA 4556, University Paul Valéry), Nathalie Blanc (0000-0003-1327-0280, Epsylon EA 4556, University Paul Valéry, corresponding author), Emmanuelle Brigaud (0000-0002-3476-3239, Epsylon EA 4556, University Paul Valéry) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 978-992 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognition & Emotion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0269-9931 • E-ISSN: 1464-0600 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02699931.2024.2426674 |
| PMID | 39530658 |
| OpenAlex | W4404272506 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 45 |
Three studies were designed to explore a major criticism of sacrificial dilemmas, namely that their potential humorous aspects may distort moral decision-making. We collected moral responses (i.e. moral judgment and choice of action) but also asked participants to rate the funniness of moral dilemmas, in order to combine humour assessment and moral responses. In addition, the emotional responses to moral dilemmas were recorded for both men and women (including emotions related to humour), and the potential effect of individuals' need for humour was also considered. Overall, three main results were reported. Firstly, the dilemmas used in our studies were not rated as funny at all. Secondly, reading moral dilemmas increased negative emotions (i.e. sadness, disgust, guilt) and decreased positive emotions associated with humour (i.e. joy, amusement, and mirth), with gender effects since women experienced stronger negative emotions than men. Thirdly, funniness ratings of sacrificial dilemmas did not vary according to gender and need for humour. This series of studies does not report empirical evidence to support the humorous aspects of trolley-type dilemmas, but invites a more systematic examination of how sacrificial dilemmas are perceived by participants who have to produce moral responses
Amusement · Anger · Criticism · Disgust · Moral dilemma · Sadness · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Ethics in Business and Education · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology
Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem
Gender Differences in Responses to Moral Dilemmas
Revisiting External Validity
Benign Violations
The Trolley Problem
The Neural Bases of Cognitive Conflict and Control in Moral Judgment
Manipulations of Emotional Context Shape Moral Judgment
Moral dilemmas in cognitive neuroscience of moral decision-making
Moral Foundations Theory
An fMRI Investigation of Emotional Engagement in Moral Judgment
The Influence of Situational Factors in Sacrificial Dilemmas on Utilitarian Moral Judgments
Trolleys, triage and Covid-19
Deontology and Utilitarianism in Real Life
The Impact of Culture and Social Distance on Humor Appreciation, Sharing, and Production
Need for Humor Scale
Trolley Dilemmas Fail to Predict Ethical Judgment in a Hypothetical Vaccination Context
Joke cruelty and joke appreciation revisited
The prediction of preference for sick humor
Joke cruelty, emotional responsiveness, and joke appreciation
Differentiating what is humorous from what is not
Deontological and utilitarian inclinations in moral decision making
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |