PRETTY

&SMART
TEENAGER EDITON


Does believing in
✨free will✨
really makes you a
better person?
There’s a new study that looked at a total of 921 people to find out if
those who believe in free will have higher morals! Free will is a
fundamental component of the legal system and modern principles in
the Western world. So kind of like, you are responsible for what you do,
and you must always choose to be nicer.
WHAT DID THE
SCIENTISTS EVEN DO? WHAT DID THEY FIND
The first experiment was a
survey, where participants
OUT?
were asked if they believed Well, not much. The researchers
in free will and how they felt found that there wasn’t much
about some moral behavior.

evidence suggesting that people

In the second experiment,
people were given an
opportunity to cheat (they
thought nobody knew they
cheated, how naive). Then, the
researchers tried to find a
correlation between cheating
and believing in free will.
You will never guess what they
found!
who believe in free will are nicer
or more moral. However, they
found something even more
interesting. In many cases, people
instead used the idea of free will
as an excuse for doing something
bad.
 The third experiment was kind The research showed that people
of like the second one: the who really care about being nice
researchers analyzed how
reminding participants of and doing the right thing are more
their own mortality likely to be generous. But those
(destroying their idea of free
will) would affect their
who believe in complete freedom,
cheating behavior. or so-called free will, tend to be a
little less generous, but not by
Now, the fourth
experiment was a social much.
dilemma game. The People who believe in dualism
participants were given
a chance to cheat and
(seeing things as good or bad) and
win money over the people who consider their moral
others or play it fair. values as a big part of who they
Would you do it?
are, were very unlikely to cheat. On
the other hand, those who believed
that something can’t be either only
What would you
good or only bad had only a
do?
slightly smaller chance of cheating.
Cheat! Money is money!

I would never cheat

CONCLUSION:
I’m too indisicive… Well, the idea that people who
believe in free will are always nice
The “free will” joke was
not funny btw
and moral is not true at all, in some
cases it’s quite the opposite. While
it’s nice to believe in free will, it
Credits: “Are Free Will Want to participate in doesn’t automatically make you a
Believers Nicer a similar research? better person and doesn’t mean
People? (Four Studies FOLLOW THIS LINK AND FIND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS IN

Suggest Not). Damien

YOUR AREA! YOU CAN GAIN VOLUNTEER HOURS OR GET
PAYED! you’ll make better decisions.
L. Crone and Neil L. https://www.userinterviews. Remember to always be yourself
com/studies?sort=-id
Levy and be nice to others!
How much coffee you drink
and what does it say about
you?

Pretty&Smart