Criminal Psychology

Another night arrived.

Each day was never quite the same as the previous one.

At this point, even a born sociopath like Shen Lian could sense an unusual atmosphere, but her physical defect prevented her from understanding the emotions held by the voters and the meaning behind these emotions.

Therefore, she could only stare at the statistical data being constantly read out on the television with a murderous gaze. The closer it got to the final time limit, the faster the “No” option rose.

The current online voting “ratio” of Yes or No stood at——14,225,264:14,210,754.

Shen Lian stared at the screen for a long time.

This evenly matched result was something she had never thought of before. She was incredibly shocked but still held onto the last hope.

She could still win; she would definitely win. This made her current state much like a drowning person clutching at straws—otherwise, she would really not survive.

Lin Chen looked at the woman across the square table and answered her previous question. “You know, because I bet four lives on it, I believe the result must be that more people choose ‘No’. And you need to expose the inherent selfishness under the guise of kindness in many people, so you need an answer of ‘Yes’.”

“But I won’t lose, Shen Lian. At least in this matter, I won’t lose.”

The chandelier on the ceiling sheds warm yellow light, giving everything an uncertain hue.

The woman across the square table had disheveled hair. The background behind Shen Lian was the vast night. She was no longer the calm and confident figure she was, but she still felt the scales of victory would surely tilt in her favor. “Consultant Lin, I notice you’ve been avoiding a direct answer. Does this mean you actually dare not even admit your inner thoughts?”

Lin Chen glanced at the night outside the window. Time was almost up, so he no longer needed to hide anything.

“Some years ago, psychologists and human behaviorists like Marc Hauser brought the classic trolley problem onto the internet.” He looked at Shen Lian and spoke calmly.

“200,000 respondents from around the world took the survey. That was the famous trolley track problem, which is almost identical to the question that millions of residents in three provinces have been asked today. In the fields of philosophy and psychology, we define such problems as moral dilemmas.”

He seemed as if he were speaking to himself and signaled to Shen Lian with his eyes to stay calm.

“In the survey, the question was asked in two different ways,” he said.

“The first is the original rail dilemma. The question goes like this—

The trolley on the track is out of control and will hit five people ahead. If the trolley continues to move forward, these five people will definitely die. The only solution is for the railman to switch the trolley to another track where there is only one person on the other track. The question is: Should the railman kill this one person to save five?”

He suddenly leaned forward and asked Shen Lian, “What do you think?”

Shen Lian instinctively leaned back into her chair. “You don’t answer me directly, but you expect me to answer you directly?”

“Alright, I’ll tell you the result directly.” Lin Chen said, “The survey result is as follows—regardless of race, age, and group, among 200,000 respondents worldwide, 89% of people believe that the railman should pull the switch.”

On the TV news, the female anchor was reciting the survey results from some place. Her solemn voice sounded just right.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian had some incredulous emotions on her face, then she slowly started to laugh, very pleased, as if she finally got the expected result.

Lin Chen took in Shen Lian’s triumphant expression. This time, he didn’t give Shen Lian the chance to speak and said, “According to your view, the conclusion of this online survey can actually prove that human nature is selfish; most people would sacrifice a minority for a greater benefit.”

“Consultant Lin, I find your view on human nature is indeed more insightful than mine!” Shen Lian interjected, praising him.

Lin Chen looked at the woman’s face, exuding an air as if she had won, then he looked up at the moon outside the iron window before calmly replying, “Yes, if it weren’t for the existence of a second way of asking and another survey result, your view might be unassailable.”

He suddenly sat up straight, quickly and seriously said, “The second question is as follows—

The situation is the same as the first one. There is still a runaway trolley about to hit five people. You, as the railman, are standing on a footbridge. Next to you is a sturdy stranger. If you push this stranger off the bridge to get him stuck on the track, then the trolley will stop, and although the stranger will die, you can save five people. The question is: Should the railman push the stranger off the bridge to save five people?”

Lin Chen thought his attitude had already been serious enough.

But at this moment, it was still Shen Lian who looked up at him, her face filled with inexplicable emotions, “What’s the difference, Consultant Lin?”

Lin Chen looked at the woman’s ignorant and bewildered gaze illuminated by the moonlight and never felt such a huge gap at this time.

Shen Lian simply can’t perceive it, he told himself.

But the story had to continue. “In fact, this time, 89% of people chose—they shouldn’t.”

Sure enough, after this number appeared, Shen Lian’s eyebrows furrowed, and even her body muscles were obviously tense. Someone as smart as her obviously realized that there was a serious problem here and that the huge voting happening right now was a psychological trap through and through.

She really was going to lose, but she didn’t know where she lost.

“And why is that so?” Lin Chen looked at Shen Lian and explained in a very calm tone, as if speaking to a different kind of person in this world. “Because psychology is science. On the one hand, many of its conclusions come from the results of large-scale experiments and statistical data; on the other hand, behind every psychological phenomenon, you can mostly find corresponding neuropsychological mechanisms.”

Shen Lian looked at him suspiciously.

Lin Chen said, “The two different outcomes of similar problems made neuropsychologists curious. Scientists then scanned the brain activities of the subjects under these two different problems.”

“You work with brain-related drugs, so you should understand this result better.” He gazed at Shen Lian and continued, “In the first situation of whether to pull the track lever, the brain area responsible for reasoning and problem-solving showed increased activity, while in the second situation of whether to kill a stranger to save five people, the brain areas related to emotion and social cognition showed increased activity.”

Shen Lian fell silent for a moment, and then the sound of chains shaking crazily echoed in the interrogation room. The woman was thinking frantically and tried to put her hand in her mouth, a psychological compensation state under extreme anxiety.

“Neuropsychologists have different types of explanations for this phenomenon. One argument is that pulling the track has nothing to do with the individual, so people use the reasoning-related brain area to make judgments; while pushing a stranger is a situation related to a specific individual, where the emotional and social cognitive parts precede; another explanation is…” Lin Chen’s voice overpowered the clanging noises in the room and the voice of the female anchor reporting results behind him. “A common view exists among normal humans—that people think it is acceptable to sacrifice a small part to achieve a greater benefit, but in reality, you cannot force others to sacrifice deliberately.”

Lin Chen’s words were incredibly plain. When he got to this point, Shen Lian suddenly said, “What does this count as, Consultant Lin?”

She burst into laughter. Given that she didn’t have a knife in her hand to stab Lin Chen or force Lin Chen to shut up, she could only rummage through her mind, trying to find all the offensive words to refute Lin Chen. “Hypocrisy! Yes, it’s hypocrisy. Your conclusion makes people look good, but in fact, they can’t hide your cowardly and ugly nature. We are the same!” She shouted.

However, in front of her, the frail Mr. Consultant had no intention of backing down.

“This is morality, Shen Lian.” Lin Chen’s gaze was peaceful and deep, without any boasting. He was just stating facts. “This proves that there is a moral brake commonly present in the human brain, proves that the moral brake will timely start to prevent people from doing certain things, proves that morality is a neural mechanism that definitely exists in the brain and not a mirage, and proves that morality is nothing special but still remarkable, because…” Lin Chen pointed at his head and said, “it’s here.”

After saying that, he pointed to his chest and softly said, “And also here.”

Kinky Thoughts:

Not sure if referencing Mark Hauser adds to your argument, considering he was found guilty of scientific misconduct…

What Lin Chen is referring to in the second question is The Fat Man. In the original question, usually up to 90% of those surveyed would pull the lever to save the majority. However, when rephrased by saying: If you were to push a fat man in front of the trolley, stopping it, the majority of people who approve of pulling the lever actually disapprove of pushing the fat man.

This has led to researchers attempting to find a moral distinction between the two cases. Some speculate that while one action wasn’t intended to harm (pulling the lever) and the person being harmed was just a side effect of one’s action, the second case put your action as an integral part of saving the lives on the track (you have to push the fat man in front of the trolley). This makes your action deliberate, so it’s wrong, and that’s why people struggle to make the decision.