The followupIs LB ever actually going to give us results on this?
Now that people have submitted answers, here's the followup. A few people didn't follow directions very well, several people didn't explain their reasons and there were a couple joke submissions. So it's difficult to give numbers, but here's "more or less" how people responded.
Almost everyone......Said the person they'd least want to be is Fernando, and not Edward. And yet almost everyone agreed that Edward was the "worst" person. True, we don't know much about Fernando's circumstances. But pretty much everyone agreed either that he's done nothing wrong, or that at the very worst what he does is understandable and forgivable given his circumstances. And that what Edward does is the worst thing anyone does and simply not acceptable. Some describe him as a "violent criminal." And yet people would rather be Edward than the guy who's gone a couple days without eating. Is it better to be a bad person, or to be in a bad situation? Apparently, most people would rather be a bad person.
Almost everyone......assumed that Betty is dating Adam, and not Edward. How does your view of the story change if Edward is her boyfriend, and she's either cheating on him with Adam...or Adam is merely an aquaintence? After all, Adam might be turning Carrie down just because "random girl he doesn't know offers sex" is potentially an awkward or dangerous situation, and not because of any commitment to Betty.
Most people......ranked Gary as the "best," and described his action as a "good deed." And yet, he doesn't actually do anything to help Fernando. All he does is
not do anything to hinder him. There's some division here, as a couple people viewed his actions as failing to fulfill the obligations of his employment. Curiously, while there's disagreement over whether Fernando's actions were or were not stealing, even the people who say that Fernando was stealing still generally agree that Gary was virtuous for allowing him to do so.
Almost everyone......would rather be Dan than Gary, even if they describe Gary as the better person. If I were to do this test again, I think I'd have Dan also see Fernando and also choose to do nothing. That would give us the comparison of both the two of them taking no action, and I suspect that many people would see Dan's lack of action as a bad thing, but Gary's lack of action as a good deed.
About half of everyone......assumed that Carrie and Dan are dating, and therefore assumed that Dan is a "chill, cool guy" because he watched his date sexually proposition Adam, and took it and stride. There isn't much reason to assume they're dating. Dan drove away in a chauffeured limo, but Carrie left in her own car. What if they're business aquaintences? Why assume that he's unfazed because he's awesome, and not that he's unfazed because he has no claim on Carrie?
About half of everyone......agreed that Fernando "did nothing wrong," and yet they ranked him as "worse" than Adam, who most people generally agree either "did nothing wrong" or was at worst tactless, even though most people agree that Betty's reaction was completely unreasonable.
People are fairly divided on......whether Adam's "honest answer" was neutral or bad. Some people see it as "just being honest." Whereas others see it as either tactless or stupid. Nobody valued his honesty in the face of apparent danger.
People are somewhat divided on......whether Fernando's actions qualify as stealing. While the general consensus leans heavily to the side that his actions were ok given the circumstances, some people describe it as "ok, period" while others describe them as "not ok...but forgivable."
Most people......assumed that Adam "somehow knew" about Betty's involvement with Edward, and that it was reasonable for him to approach Carrie for sex because it safe to say his relationship was over. What's especially interesting about this is that
nobody explicitly states that it's the fact of Betty sleeping with Edward that makes it ok for him to assume that the relationship is over, while several people
do state that being beaten up by Edward
is enough reason for him to assume the relationship is over. The implication is that several people appear to be blaming Edward's actions on Betty.
How did Adam know about any of this? Does your view of the story change if Adam had no knowledge of Betty's involvement with Edward, and had no idea who Edward even was?
Absolutely nobody......fell for the trap of assuming that Dan was a bad guy because he was rich.
Except for Tack. But I assume that was tongue in cheek humor. Personally I find the lack of result here interesting, because "rich people are bad" is a remarkably common view.
Absolutely nobody......wondered why Fernando took from Adam and Betty's table rather than Dan and Carrie's.
There is a general trend that......people assume that financial circumstances are enduring, but other circumstances are not. Almost everyone wanted to be Dan, but nobody considered that he might only have the limo for the night then go back to his ordinary life. He is, after all, eating at the same place as everyone else, and his presumed date is walking out on him. Almost everyone agreed that they didn't want to be Fernando, but nobody considered that he might just be temporarily down on his luck and will get back on his feet soon. People would apparently rather be Adam, the guy who most assumed his girlfriend was cheating on him and had just been hospitalized for being beaten up. I suspect that if anyone here were to given the choice of "not eating for a couple days and taking food from a table" or "having your girlfriend cheat on you and then be hospitalized" most people would probably choose to not eat for a couple days. The implication is that people are assuming that Adam's situation is a one time event and not a recurring problem in his life, that Dan isn't such a hopeless loser that despite having money he's stuck with dates walking out on him anyway...whereas Fernando's situation is one that won't easily go away.
Curiously also, people would rather be Betty than Fernando. Betty, who most agree is emotionally unstable, some described her as a "cheating bitch" and she's apparently having sex with the person everyone agrees is the worst person of the bunch...and yet they'd rather be her than the guy who hasn't eaten in a couple days. As described above, apparently most people would rather be a bad person than have bad circumstances.
Finally, almost everyone......viewed the entire event from within a values framework that relationships imply exclusivity. People ranked Carrie down because she responded to someone who said she was attractive, because it was "bad" to do that because Adam was assumed to be in a committed relationship. People ranked Betty down for "cheating" on Adam, because Adam was assumed to be in a committed relationship. People ranked Dan up because they assumed that he was at least on a date with Carrie, and "must be cool" to not react to her propositioning Adam.
Thank you for your participation.
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Topic: Psych test: Rank these 7 people from "best" to "worst" (Read 6920 times)