Answer:
Tiffany tried to use the trolley problem to explain certain biases. Basically, the trolley problem is a scenario where a trolley is moving to hit five helpless people and only one person has seen it and can alter its direction to sacrifice one person to save the other helpless four people. Which person would be sacrificed so the other four will be safe? That's the trolley problem.
Tiffany believes there is no correct answer or way to measure who will be sacrificed to keep the remaining four safe.
She believes the trolley problem is a good way to study biases as it is something we try to hide or may not even be fully aware how they influence our decisions.
Tiffany went one step further and surveyed about 300 people by asking them what they would do in the trolley problem.
Tiffany varied identities of the woman waiting on the track. The woman was rich sometimes, wearing a suit or carrying a briefcase, some other times she wore a waitress uniform, or just very attractive, other times she was just ordinary looking, in another scenario, the woman was on a wheelchair.
From her poll results, if the woman appeared wealthy, only about 24% of her participants would sacrifice her, if she was dressed as a waitress, 59% of the people offered to sacrifice her to save the others, if she was attractive, 44% of the people would sacrifice her, 68% of the people offered to sacrifice the ordinary looking lady, 54% of the people would sacrifice the woman standing and the number rose to 74% if the woman was on a wheelchair.
Tiffany observed that society tended to value some lives as less than others and it doesn't make the society look very nice.
