Delving into cooperativeness for deconstructing moral judgments in self-sacrificial dilemmas under time constraints: preliminary results from a preregistered study

Moral dilemmas often force individuals into high-conflict situations where reaching a satisfactory resolution proves elusive. Sacrificial dilemmas, particularly, require individuals to grapple with the prospect of sacrificing one or more lives, often endorsing a utilitarian approach to prioritize the greater good. Despite contemporary challenges necessitating individuals to make utilitarian but selfsacrificial decisions (the dilemma of autonomous vehicles or AV dilemma), the permissibility of such acts remains undervalued. Additionally, the role of time availability in moral judgments is complex and sometimes controversial, with studies suggesting increased use of decision heuristics under time pressure. This study aims to elucidate moral objectives in self-sacrificial AV dilemmas, hypothesizing a direct influence of time availability on moral judgment and a moderating effect of cooperativeness. We developed a modified version of the three-person Ultimatum Game, alongside personality scales measuring cooperativeness (Cooperativeness and Competitiveness Personality Scale, CCPS, and the Social Value Orientation slider, SVO). Participants also responded to three sacrificial AV dilemmas under different time conditions (time pressure, time delay, or no constraints). We anticipate cooperativeness may moderate the impact of decisional time on utilitarian resolutions, suggesting deliberative processes could enhance utilitarian judgments, with individual tendencies toward cooperation clarifying this relationship. Data collection is ongoing, and preliminary results will be presented. The study was preregistered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/rxk6v).