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The Journal of Psychology
Interdisciplinary and Applied
Volume 157, 2023 - Issue 5
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Articles

Moral Decision-Making in Trolley Problems and Variants: How Do Participants’ Perspectives, Borderline Personality Traits, and Empathy Predict Choices?

Pages 318-338 | Received 01 Apr 2022, Accepted 18 Apr 2023, Published online: 19 May 2023

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