Everyone is a different person, so naturally everybody has a different set of principles that they abide by.

You’ve probably seen someone do something before that made you say, “Why would you ever do that?” or “That’s so messed up.” However, to that person, they most likely didn’t see it as messed up, and it might have just been another Tuesday to them.

Everyone’s morals are different, and that includes students at LHS.

Students at LHS were asked 11 questions that forced them to face moral dilemmas. All answers were anonymous, so the statistics most likely reflect honest responses from students.

Question 1:

Someone gives you a million dollars and says half of it is for your best friend. However, if you keep all of the money to yourself, nobody will ever know. Do you keep all of the money or give half to your best friend?

Option 1: Keep it all

Option 2: Give half to your best friend

By a slim margin, the majority of students chose to keep all of the money to themselves, with 52.6% selecting that option. The remaining 47.4% chose to give half of the money to their best friend.

However, some students were answering the question while sitting next to their best friend or other friends. I noticed that when they were next to them, they almost always chose to split the money. When they were alone, they tended to choose keeping all of the money.

Question 2:

The second question is a classic moral dilemma that almost everyone has been asked at some point in their life.

The Trolley Problem

A train’s brakes are broken and cannot stop. It is currently heading toward five workers on the track. You can flip a switch to redirect the train, but if you do, it will head toward one person and kill them instead. Do you flip the switch?

Option 1: Leave it alone

Option 2: Flip the switch

The vast majority of students chose to flip the switch, with a whopping 84.2% choosing to save five people while killing one in the process. Only 15.8% chose not to flip the switch.

The choice may seem obvious—after all, you’re saving five people. However, the issue is that by flipping the switch, you actively cause the death of someone who wasn’t originally going to die. If you don’t flip the switch, you technically take no responsibility, but if you do, you are responsible for that one person’s death.

Question 3:

There are two people hanging off a cliff, and you can only save one. One is an eight-year-old boy, and the other is a rich old man. The rich old man offers you a million dollars if you save him, but the child offers you nothing. Who do you save?

Option 1: Rich old man

Option 2: Eight-year-old boy

Most people unsurprisingly chose to save the eight-year-old boy. 89.5% chose to save the child, while 10.5% chose to save the rich old man for the money.

Some people said that the old man is going to die soon anyway, and if he thinks his life is more important than a child’s, then he deserves to die.

Question 4:

Your friend has been trapped in an abusive relationship for the past few years. One day, they show up at your doorstep asking if they can sleep at your place for the night. However, they also confess to killing their partner and ask you not to call the police, saying they’ll be gone by tomorrow. What do you do?

Option 1: Let them sleep over

Option 2: Tell them they can’t stay with you

Option 3: Call the police

While the most popular choice was letting them sleep over at 47.4%, the two options where you do not help them actually add up to more than that.

The second most popular option was telling your friend they can’t stay with you, at 31.6%. The least popular option was calling the police, at 21.1%.

This means that 47.4% of students chose to help their friend escape the crime, while 52.6% chose not to help once they found out their friend was a murderer.

When speaking with people, some even said they would be willing to be an accomplice and help their friend get away with it because the partner was abusive.

Question 5:

The world has turned into a zombie apocalypse, and your best friend gets bitten. They’re scared and ask you to kill them before they turn into a zombie. Do you do it?

Option 1: Kill them

Option 2: Refuse

Option 3: Tell them to do it themself

By a large majority, students chose option 1, killing their friend, with 73.7% of the votes. The second most popular choice was telling their friend to do it themself, with 26.3%. This means nobody outright refused to kill their friend.

Some people who chose option 1 were baffled by option 3, saying they would “never tell a friend to kill themself.”

Question 6:

While walking down the street, a dog comes out of nowhere and bites your leg badly enough that you clearly need hospital treatment. The dog’s owner comes out, apologizes, and offers to pay your hospital bill, but only if you agree not to report the attack. The owner explains that this has happened before, and if it happens again, the dog will be put down. What do you do?

Option 1: Accept the offer

Option 2: Report the dog

73.7% chose to accept the offer and save the dog, while 26.3% chose to report the dog, making them partially responsible for the dog’s death.

Those who chose option 2 said that since the dog has been aggressive before, it would be safer for it to be put down in case it attacks a child or seriously injures someone in the future.

Question 7:

Which should you listen to first?

Option 1: The brain

Option 2: The heart

This was a very simple question, yet the results were extremely unbalanced.

72.2% chose logic and listened to the brain, while only 27.8% chose emotions and followed their heart.

Question 8:

Do you sometimes only help people because it will benefit you in some way?

Option 1: Yes

Option 2: No

These answers were extremely split, similar to Question 1.

52.6% admitted that they sometimes help people only because it benefits them, while 47.4% said they never help people solely for personal gain.

Question 9:

You’ve been dating someone for five years and have known them since high school. While at a bar with friends, someone who is exactly your type and shares all the same views on relationships approaches you. They put their contact information into your phone and tell you to call them later. Your current relationship has been rocky, and you and your partner share very few similar views on how a relationship should work. What do you do?

Option 1: Break up with your current partner and pursue the new person

Option 2: Don’t contact the person from the bar and stay with your current partner

Option 3: Stay with your current partner and contact the person you met

68.4% chose option 1 and ended their relationship to pursue a new one. The runner-up, at 21.1%, chose option 2 and stayed loyal despite being unhappy. 10.5% chose option 3, which many considered cheating.

Many people were shocked that anyone would choose option 3, but some who did said they would only use it to get to know the person better before deciding whether to leave their partner.

Question 10:

Your best friend of many years has been in a relationship for a few years. One day, they confess to you that they cheated on their partner and plan on continuing to do so. What do you do?

Option 1: Keep it a secret

Option 2: Tell your best friend’s partner

Surprisingly, 73.7% chose option 2 and told their best friend’s partner. Only 26.3% chose to keep it a secret.

Some people said they would have kept it a secret if their friend showed remorse or if it was a drunken mistake. However, the plan to continue cheating pushed them to tell the partner. Some even said that they wouldn’t remain friends with someone who cheated.

These results were somewhat shocking, considering many more people were willing to help their friend when they committed murder. It seems that cheating is viewed as more unforgivable—or perhaps it’s because the friend who killed their partner showed remorse, while the cheating friend did not.

Question 11:

Your parent is in the hospital and is about to die. While rushing there, you notice a man who has been stabbed and left in an alleyway. He’s still alive, but without help, he’ll die soon. Even if you call 911, he won’t survive in time. The only way to save him is to stay and help, but doing so means missing your chance to say goodbye to your parent. What do you do?

Option 1: Ignore the man

Option 2: Help the man

This question seemed to stump students the most. Despite that, 63.2% chose to ignore the man and see their parent one last time, while 37.8% chose to help the man, sacrificing their final goodbye.

Responses from those who chose option 1 varied greatly. Some said they would feel guilty for the rest of their lives, while others showed no remorse. A few even said that if he was stabbed and left in an alleyway, he was probably a bad person and deserved to die.

A student’s morals seem to vary depending on the situation. However, students seem to prioritize friendship and bonds over materialistic things like cash. Overall, it seems students at LHS have a decent moral compass.