Will notebook

Created 20 Aug 2024 • Last modified 19 Jan 2025

Basic idea

I'd like to examine how free-will or just-world beliefs are related to people's opinions of whether an alcohol-intoxicated person who had sex was raped. If e.g. you believe that people have a sort of transcendental free will, does that make you less likely to see such sex as rape? You could see agreement as an expression of free will and hence be unconcerned whether that agreement occurs in an inebriated context, or you could feel that intoxication suppresses the spark of free will, making agreement empty of what's supposed to be behind it. As for just-world beliefs, it seems clearer that greater belief in a just world should reduce the likelihood of identifying this sex as rape, because people who drink heavily should get what they deserve (and, more to the point, deserve what they get).

Some concrete hypotheses:

  • Belief in a just world for oneself should have little or no relationship with scenario judgments.
  • Belief in a just world for others should positively relate to attributions of Alice's guilt.
  • (No hypothesis for free will: I could see it going either way just as easily.)
  • Belief in moral responsibility should positively relate to attributions of Alice's guilt, but also positively relate to punishment of Bob.
  • Women, compared to men, should be more sympathetic to Alice and less to Bob.

Research background

  • Elicit - https://elicit.com
  • Free will in general
    • Feldman (2017): A review of free-will belief as a psychological construct.
  • Free will (and belief in a just world) and blame
    • Genschow and Vehlow (2021): Greater free-will belief, controlling for just-world belief, was related to more victim-blaming. Three studies were conducted in which subjects made judgments about vignettes in which a victim was "knocked out by a burglar, involved in a car accident, caught HIV" or "had a skiing accident". Study 1 involved trying to experimentally manipulate free-will beliefs.
    • Clark et al. (2014): Studies that argue that free-will belief is motivated by the desire to punish.
    • Carey and Paulhus (2013): Free-will believers are generally more religious and conservative. They want more punishment for rape.
    • Hammond, Berry, and Rodriguez (2011): A failure to find a significant effect of just-world beliefs on the responsibility of rapist and victim in a date-rape scenario.
  • Rape with a drunk victim
    • Gunby, Carline, and Beynon (2012): People in some focus groups said that drunken sex isn't quite rape.
    • Lynch, Wasarhaley, Golding, and Simcic (2013): When the victim was intoxicated, mock jurors were less likely to judge the perp as guilty of rape, especially if the victim bought the drinks
    • Stormo, Lang, and Stritzke (1997): When reading a hypothetical scenario, in some cases, subjects judged drunker raper victims as more blameworthy and responsible.
    • Henry, Perillo, Reitz-Krueger, and Perillo (2021): More intoxicated victims were perceived as less blameworthy (and the event as more definitely rape) in a hypothetical scenario.
    • Schuller and Wall (1998): When the victim was intoxicated, the event was perceived as less definitively rape in a mock-jury scenario
    • Osman and Davis (1999): Messy results that I think generally found that intoxication wasn't directly related to perceptions of rape.
    • Wertheimer (2003): Philosophy on consent to sex. Wertheimer generally accepts that sex with a heavily intoxicated but responsive person is moral, provided that the intoxication was voluntary and knowing.
    • Vaguely, my impression is that in American law, the decision of whether a voluntarily intoxicated person was too intoxicated to consent to sex won't hang on the letter of the law. Instead, juries have to make a holistic judgment
  • Rape-judgment studies in which the subject was possibly drunk
  • Measuring free-will beliefs
    • Genschow and Vehlow (2021): "Free Will Inventory (FWI; [a mistaken citation that should probably be to Nadelhoffer, Shepard, Nahmias, Sripada, & Ross, 2014]) as part of the manipulation check of the free will manipulation. The FWI consists of three subscales (i.e., free will, determinism, and dualism) each measured with five items. On 7-point rating scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) participants indicated their agreement to five statements for each subscale." - Genschow and Vehlow (2021) only uses Part I. You're supposed to use Part I's three subscale scores separately.
    • Carey and Paulhus (2013): Uses the FAD-Plus measure of free-will beliefs, introduced in Paulhus and Carey (2011).
    • Paulhus and Carey (2011): a 27-item measure with 4 subscales: Free Will, Scientific Determinism, Fatalistic Determinism, and Unpredictability
    • Stinnett , Rodriguez , Littlefield , and Alquist (2024): Uses a subset of items from FAD-Plus to create a 2-subscale FWS-II (3 items each): free-will beliefs and moral-responsibility beliefs.
      • I think I'll go with this one. I like the focus on construct specificity, and brevity is a virtue.
  • Measuring just-world beliefs
    • Genschow and Vehlow (2021): "we measured belief in a just world with the General and Personal Belief in a Just World Scale (Dalbert, 1999). While a general belief in a just world refers to the belief that the world in general is a just place, personal belief in a just world refers to the belief that one's own personal fate is just. Participants indicated their agreement to 13 statements on 6-point rating scales (1 = strongly disagree; 6 = strongly agree). Seven of these statements measured personal belief in a just world and 6 items measured general belief in a just world." - table I of Dalbert (1999)
    • Hammond et al. (2011) say they used 20 items rated on 6-point agreement scales. For the scale, they cite
      • Lerner (1980) - a 20-item scale described as "the most recent form of their [Rubin and Peplau's] 'Just World Scale'", rated on 6-point agreement scales
      • Rubin and Peplau (1973) shows 16 items (p. 79, out of 19 administered items), which were rated on 6-point agreement scales
      • Rubin & Peplau, 1975
    • Bègue and Bastounis (2003): Belief in a just world for oneself (BJW-S) had a 6-month retest correlation of .50, and belief in a just world for others (BJW-S) had .57. "Participants filled in a questionnaire that included the BJW-S and BJW-O scales (Lipkus et al., 1996) during an introductory course in psychology. The scale is a 6-point Likert-type instrument composed of 2 sets of 8 items rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree)."
      • Lipkus, Dalbert, and Siegler (1996) agrees with this: see Table 1, p. 669 for items
      • Let's go with this because it's the only one that has any evidence of retest reliability, and the self-others distinction is a little clearer than the self-general or self-world distinction used by other tests.

Test items

Nadelhoffer et al.'s Free Will Inventory

Nadelhoffer et al. (2014)

Part 1: Measuring Strength of Belief

Please read the following sentences carefully and then indicate your level of agreement:

  1. People always have the ability to do otherwise.
  2. Everything that has ever happened had to happen precisely as it did, given what happened before.
  3. The fact that we have souls that are distinct from our material bodies is what makes humans unique.
  4. People always have free will.
  5. Every event that has ever occurred, including human decisions and actions, was completely determined by prior events.
  6. Human action can only be understood in terms of our souls and minds and not just in terms of our brains.
  7. How people's lives unfold is completely up to them. 
  8. People's choices and actions must happen precisely the way they do because of the laws of nature and the way things were in the distant past.
  9. Each person has a non-physical essence that makes that person unique.
  10. People ultimately have complete control over their decisions and their actions.
  11. A supercomputer that could know everything about the way the universe is now could know everything about the way the universe will be in the future.
  12. The human mind cannot simply be reduced to the brain.
  13. People have free will even when their choices are completely limited by external circumstances.
  14. Given the way things were at the Big Bang, there is only one way for everything to happen in the universe after that.
  15. The human mind is more than just a complicated biological machine.

Free Will (FW) Subscale: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 Determinism (DE) Subscale: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 Dualism (DU) and Non-Reductionism Subscale: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

None of the items of Part 1 are reverse scored. Each subscale is to be cumulatively scored such that the highest score per subscale is 35 and the lowest score is 5. The higher the cumulative score on each subscale, FW, DE, and DU, the stronger the participant's belief in the construct measured by that subscale.

Stinnett's free will subscale II (FWS-II)

Stinnett et al. (2024), table 1, p. 2286

  1. People have complete control over the decisions they make.
  2. People must take full responsibility for any bad choices they make.
  3. People can overcome any obstacles if they truly want to.
  4. Criminals are totally responsible for the bad things they do.
  5. People have complete free will.
  6. People are always at fault for their bad behavior.
  7. Strength of mind can always overcome the body's desires.

Items are rated from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 7 ("strongly agree"). Note that this differs from Paulhus and Carey (2011), which uses 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). Neither paper indicates labels for any of the other response options.

Subscales:

  • 1, 3, 5, and 7 - free will beliefs (but item 7 is excluded from analysis)
  • 2, 4, and 6 - moral responsibility beliefs

Dalbert's Belief in a Just World

Dalbert (1999) - belief in a just world (with two subscales) - suggests they should be in random order

  1. I think basically the world is a just place.
  2. I believe that, by and large, people get what they deserve.
  3. I am confident that justice always prevails over injustice.
  4. I am convinced that in the long run people will be compensated for injustices.
  5. I firmly believe that injustices in all areas of life (e.g., professional, family, politics) are the exception rather than the rule.
  6. I think people try to be fairly when making important decisions.
  7. I believe that, by and large, I deserve what happens to me.
  8. I am usually treated fairly.
  9. 1 believe that I usually get what I deserve.
  10. Overall, events in my life are just.
  11. In my life injustice is the exception rather than the rule.
  12. I believe that most of the things that happen in my life are fair.
  13. I think that important decisions that are made concerning me are usually just.

Results

A brief overview of how the TVs differ:

  1. First version
  2. The reward was increased (along with the estimated time)
  3. Small wording changes
  4. Wording changes to the response options for the scenario, to encourage variation
  5. The scenario was changed to make Alice less drunk

Subjects

(setv o (.copy (get subjects
  ["tv" "total_mins" "gender" "age" "country" "edu"])))
(setv ($ o total_mins) (.round ($ o total_mins)))
o
subject tv total_mins gender age country edu
2 1 7 M 32 us 20
4 2 4 F 36 gb 18
5 2 7 M 53 ie 19
6 3 6 M 28 us 12
7 3 4 F 46 us 13
8 3 6 M 32 gb 16
9 4 5 F 59 us 15
10 4 3 F 29 us 29
11 4 4 F 42 us 19
12 4 11 F 35 gb 16
13 4 5 F 65 us 12
14 5 6 F 45 gb 20
15 5 6 M 55 gb 12
16 5 6 M 25 gb 14
17 5 7 F 30 us 21
18 5 21 M 26 us 24
19 5 4 M 37 us 16
20 5 10 M 66 us 16
21 5 6 F 36 za 14
22 5 3 F 73 gb 14
23 5 6 M 35 gb 15
24 5 6 F 24 gb 19
25 5 5 F 23 gb 13
26 5 3 M 43 ca 20
27 5 6 F 54 us 14
28 5 7 M 52 gb 13
29 5 11 M 32 gb 18
30 5 7 M 41 us 16
31 5 8 F 28 gb 16
32 5 13 M 42 gb 17
33 5 9 M 20 us 15
34 5 6 F 50 gb 17
35 5 3 M 25 gb 19
36 5 4 M 30 us 16
37 5 3 M 38 gb 16
38 5 3 F 18 gb 13
39 5 12 F 24 us 4
40 5 9 F 36 us 12
41 5 6 F 43 gb 13
42 5 8 M 45 us 16
43 5 9 F 34 us 4
44 5 9 F 29 gb 19
45 5 5 F 25 gb 18
46 5 9 F 30 us 15
47 5 5 F 46 gb 20
48 5 6 M 45 za 15
49 5 12 M 45 gr 16
50 5 4 F 31 gb 15
51 5 7 F 37 gb 12
52 5 4 M 38 as 6
53 5 5 F 22 us 12
54 5 4 F 30 us 18
55 5 4 F 40 us 12
56 5 8 M 38 us 14
57 5 5 M 23 gb 17
58 5 6 F 50 gb 20
59 5 5 M 57 us 20
60 5 5 M 40 gb 18
61 5 6 M 55 ca 4
62 5 8 M 38 gb 12
63 5 5 F 30 gb 20
64 5 10 F 25 de 10
65 5 6 M 29 gb 19
66 5 6 M 27 gb 12
67 5 5 M 32 gb 10
68 5 8 M 49 us 16
69 5 5 F 66 us 15
70 5 8 M 33 us 18
71 5 8 M 28 gb 12
72 5 4 M 34 us 16
73 5 10 F 19 us 16
74 5 9 M 53 gb 14
75 5 12 F 22 gb 18
76 5 8 F 39 gb 16
77 5 8 F 27 gb 6
78 5 6 F 31 us 13
79 5 10 M 30 us 16
80 5 12 M 86 us 18
81 5 12 F 33 gb 17
82 5 7 F 33 us 2
83 5 8 M 25 gb 25
84 5 10 M 34 gb 15
85 5 10 M 60 ca 14
86 5 14 M 46 us 13
88 5 17 F 20 us 14
89 5 17 M 34 us 21
91 5 7 F 38 us 20
92 5 24 F 24 us 12
94 5 10 M 36 us 26
96 5 4 M 37 us 12
97 5 7 M 24 gb 18
98 5 3 M 18 us 12
99 5 4 F 36 us 4
101 5 6 M 32 gb 19
102 5 6 M 60 gb 15
103 5 8 M 29 us 14
104 5 6 F 52 us 19
105 5 13 M 63 us 19
106 5 5 F 54 gb 10
107 5 6 M 38 us 17
108 5 11 M 24 gb 15
109 5 10 F 67 us 16
110 5 18 M 18 us 12
111 5 8 M 22 pl 15
112 5 9 M 33 us 23
113 5 15 M 25 gh 16
114 5 8 M 20 gb 16
115 5 10 F 28 za 16
116 5 9 M 59 gb 11
117 5 10 M 29 us 12

Predictor interrelations

(.sort-values :by "cor" :key abs :ascending F (pd.concat (gfor
  [x y] (hy.I.itertools.combinations ["female" #* personality] 2)
  (pd.DataFrame :index [0] (dict
    :v1 x
    :v2 y
    :cor (round :ndigits 2
      (.corr :method "kendall" (get responses x) (get responses y))))))))
I v1 v2 cor
0 justworld_self justworld_others 0.61
0 justworld_others freewill 0.34
0 freewill moralresp 0.32
0 justworld_others moralresp 0.30
0 justworld_self freewill 0.29
0 justworld_self moralresp 0.23
0 female moralresp 0.19
0 female justworld_self -0.12
0 female justworld_others -0.09
0 female freewill 0.01

This analysis might best be restricted to only the analytic sample.

Consider whether some variables should be merged.

Scenario etc.

(rape-info)
blank 
(.
  (.apply
    (.astype :dtype int (getl
      (.rename responses :columns (fn [x] (.removeprefix x "scenario_")))
      (ssi subjects (>= $tv 5))
      scenario-items))
    pd.Series.value-counts)
  T)
k 0 1 2 3 4
attention_no 66 24 8 1  
attention_yes   1 3 3 92
alice_chose 7 22 20 28 22
alice_responsible 14 17 28 25 15
accept 20 28 19 21 11
rape 27 41 16 9 6
punish 35 22 25 12 5

OLS

(ols-table (getl responses (ssi subjects (>= $tv 5))))
I (Intercept) female justworld_self justworld_others freewill moralresp
alice_chose            
    hi 3.2 -0.1 3.5 0.9 1.7 2.9
    p 1.9 -0.7 1.0 -1.7 0.2 1.4
    lo 0.8 -1.2 -1.7 -4.1 -1.2 -0.1
alice_responsible            
    hi 3.4 -0.3 2.9 3.0 0.9 2.5
    p 2.1 -0.8 0.3 -0.1 -0.6 0.7
    lo 1.0 -1.3 -2.5 -2.8 -2.1 -0.9
accept            
    hi 3.7 0.0 2.5 3.0 1.5 1.9
    p 2.2 -0.5 -0.5 0.1 -0.2 0.2
    lo 0.8 -1.0 -3.0 -3.1 -1.8 -1.5
rape            
    hi 1.9 1.2 1.6 2.2 1.4 1.6
    p 1.0 0.7 -0.9 0.1 0.3 0.4
    lo -0.2 0.2 -3.3 -2.1 -0.8 -0.8
punish            
    hi 1.8 1.3 3.5 3.1 2.1 0.4
    p 0.5 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.7 -1.0
    lo -0.7 0.4 -2.1 -2.2 -0.6 -2.6

Free-text items

(setv text-cols ["scenario_why" "scenario_other_details" "comments"])
(.sort-index
  (ss
    (.map
      (getl task-data #((slice None) text-cols) "v")
      (fn [x] (if (isinstance x str) (re.sub " *\r+\n+ *" "␤" x) x)))
    (bnot (.isin (.str.lower $) ["" "n/a" "no" "none"])))
  :key (fn [v] (.map v (fn [e] (if (in e text-cols) (.index text-cols e) e)))))
subject k v
2 scenario_why I am not entirely convinced that he raped her and as such wouldn't think that he should be jailed.
4 scenario_why I believe Bob did the wrong thing, Alice was intoxicated and could not make a proper decision on wether or not she wanted to have sex with him wether she said no or not.
4 scenario_other_details Whether they had previous sexual relations. Had Alice initiated the sexual part of their evening?
5 scenario_why It's hard to be certain about any of this because details given are a he said, she said situation.
5 scenario_other_details I'd like to know exactly how much was in the shots.
6 scenario_why They exchanged numbers after intercourse if she felt raped i dont think she would have done that. regret and rape are 2 different things in my eyes
6 scenario_other_details how much does alice weigh cause that could determine how drunk she was did she eat?
7 scenario_why I don’t think bob felt he did anything wrong especially since they exchanged numbers after sex.
8 scenario_why It’s hard to make judgements without all the facts so I tried to give both the benefit of the doubt
8 scenario_other_details Other people’s opinions on what they saw
9 scenario_why She was at a party and drinking heavily withoutsomeone to watch over her. She knew something could happen when she became overly intoxicated.
10 scenario_why Because consent with severe intoxication is not consent. He should have known better that someone cannot give consent if intoxicated.
11 scenario_why It was clear that she had too much to drink to be able to consent to sex and he was totally sober.
12 scenario_why Knowing the rules and laws surrounding unconsented sex he shouldn't have lured her to the bedroom
12 comments Very educative
13 scenario_why Bob should have known that he was taking advantage of her considering she was intoxicated and he wasn't.
13 scenario_other_details Men should be more responsible in situations like that. Although she was intoxicated, he had not been drinking and should have been the mature one to make the decision not to take advantage of her.
14 scenario_why I don’t have enough information about how drunk Alice was, about whether Bob had asked for specific consent to have sex, what Alice can remember etc. If it went to court I don’t think there is enough evidence against Bob to find him guilty of rape.
14 scenario_other_details Had Alice drunk more than the 3 shots of vodka? Did Bob explicitly ask for consent to have sex?
15 scenario_why I think they both consented despite the drinks.
15 scenario_other_details Was Alice drunk?
16 scenario_why I think Bob was likely unaware of how drunk Alice was and didn't think she was incapable of saying no. I also don't think he should be labled a rapist for something that he could very well have had no real idea about
16 scenario_other_details Did Bob intentionally get her drunk in order to coerce her into sex
17 scenario_why Alice was drank. Bob should have known better.
18 scenario_why These situations are difficult primarily because they would all be avoided via abstinence. Yet, since this is not the norm, it is difficult to know whether or not each party is being completely truthful in regard to the events that transpired. I lean more towards the fact that it was probably rape because of the letter of the law. In my opinion, if Bob was a real man he would have waited until Alice was completely sober before having sex with her. (Although my real opinion being that they should both wait till marriage).
18 scenario_other_details Obviously it would be helpful to know if Alice had fully consented to the encounter. And if she was sober enough to make that judgement. Maybe this could be determined via blood alcohol content but I don't know how useful this would be. Additionally, was Alice mad that Bob left early that morning and is accusing him of rape because of that, because that obviously wouldn't be very nice.
18 comments The last rounds of questions need a section to justify the answers. When asked a question like, "Do people get what they deserve?" This is a very biased question, because people have large differing opinions on what it is that people deserve. So adding a justification section would be helpful. Also I think I may have double clicked on an answer at the beginning of the study so having the selection set up so that you choose your answer then hit next would also be helpful.
19 scenario_why Bob was an idiot that couldn't understand when and when not to keep his stuff in his pants. Sex has a lot of grey areas and only true teaching and understanding can get men to the point where things are handled correctly. I have seen this situation in college plenty of times and I have never let my judgement sway me or put me in any kind of bad situation like this.
19 scenario_other_details None. Good enough.
19 comments Cool
20 scenario_why Alice voluntarily had sex with Bob. At no time did she say stop or was unconscious while they were having sex. She was sober enough to exchange phone numbers with Bob afterwards.
20 scenario_other_details Yes. Whether this had ever happened before to Alice or whether Bob had ever been accused of rape before.
20 comments I found the scenario very interesting.
21 scenario_why Alice was not too drunk when she had sex with Bob so ln my own opinion she consented to tye sex
21 scenario_other_details No the information provided was enough for me to make the judgement
21 comments No comments. Thank you
22 scenario_why Bob asked alice to go to the bedroom and tey both undressed eachother
23 scenario_why It is the responsibility of both males and females to control themselves and make responsible decisions.
24 scenario_why She was taken advantage of, Not being able to verbally give consent whilst in the state at which she was is rape. I do however see how them both supposedly consenting would argue that it is not but Bob would have definitely realised that this person is not sober.
24 scenario_other_details How much bob had drank too and if they were both under the influence.
25 scenario_why It is hard to be certain without being there or knowing all of the facts. I made my decision on the fact that it was explained to look consensual and that Alice possibly was angry that he left without saying bye so wanted to get back at him. However like i said previously you cannot know properly without all the facts.
26 scenario_why It was clearly consensual and Alice was not extremely drunk to the point of the definition. Only 3 shots vodka
26 scenario_other_details All the facts presented.
26 comments Excellent study.␤Thank you.
27 scenario_why Alice contributed to the encounter through her actions just as much as Bob did. If she was sober enough to have a conversation, agree to go to a bedroom, kiss and undress, she had enough wits about her to leave the room as well.
27 scenario_other_details If she was held against her will, or any violence was directed toward her or threatened.
28 scenario_why Three vodka shots isn't enough to intoxicate a person to the point of complete abandonment. She was more than capable of not having sex. She chose to have sex. If anyone should be punished it should be her for claiming rape and attempting to ruin some innocent lads life and career.
28 scenario_other_details Was there anyone else around, did they hear any complaints from her? Was she more than capable of conversing before hand, did she consume drugs. Has she got a history of these complaints?
29 scenario_why While Alice was intoxicated, there is no clear evidence provided that she was incapacitated to the point where she could not give consent. Intoxication alone does not automatically equal incapacitation; incapacitation requires an inability to make informed decisions or communicate consent.
30 scenario_why Alcohol was involved
31 scenario_why I think Bob took advantage of Alice condition. Bob ought to understand the condition of Alice and look for a way to calm her down instead of having sex with her since she was not not in her self.
31 scenario_other_details Bob should be punish but should be minimal
32 scenario_why As Alice only had three shots of vodka (an amount of alcohol that would leave most people in control of their actions) I wouldn’t consider her “blind drunk”. Another important factor was that there were no reported witnesses who would notice this kind of situation in a public space. Also, Bob and Alice exchanged phone numbers after the sexual event suggests that a) Alice wasn’t so drunk that she was out of control, and b) that there is some form of consent suggested.
32 scenario_other_details What fellow students witnessed or felt before and after the encounter.
33 scenario_why Because of the accuse was too high
34 scenario_why The scenario did not say that Alice had said "no" or had specifically not consented. She had kissed Bob back and removed clothes together. I didn't get the impression that she was so drunk she was incapacitated. I would need a lot more information and to hear from both parties before making a full decision, but based on the information given, I feel like there was mutual consent and it was not rape.
34 scenario_other_details I would like to hear from both parties. Why does Alice believe it is rape.Were there any witnesses to give insight into her state and as to whether she was intoxictated. If Alice states that she said "no" or cannot remember anything about the incident then I may change my view on it.
35 scenario_why Because 3 shots of vodka is not enough alcohol to impair most people's judgement.
36 scenario_why Gotta be careful when making moves on drunk people and whether or not they can consent.
37 scenario_why You wouldn’t exchange phone numbers with someone who had just raped you or spend the remainder of the night with them
38 scenario_why It's hard to know from the description how drunk she was
39 scenario_why Bob and Alice, although having prior experience being drunk and/or having sex with and around other individuals, should've considered that if one person is clearly intoxicated to the point of being tipsy or drunk, and the other person is completely sober, unless they are in a serious, long term, committed relationship and have talked about boundaries like having sex while drinking or not engaging in sexual activity while drinking due to power imbalances (although it's best to just take care of your partner and not put them in a vulnerable position to begin with, especially if you know the power dynamics can negatively impact the relationship and trust you guys have), it's clearly non-consensual because Alice was intoxicated, and therefore more vulnerable and incapable of processing what was going on around someone new. Bob may not have known, or he might've and just have had sex with Alice anyways while knowing. If he did have sex with her while knowing he was sober and she was drunk, he should face serious consequences. And I doubt he didn't know she was drinking, because they were making out, so he would've either smelled or tasted the alcohol that Alice had earlier that night.
40 scenario_why Bob knew that Alice was drunk and should not have asked her to go to the bedroom. Alice shouldn't have gotten drunk, but Bob knew she was drunk and basically took advantage of her being drunk.
40 comments Thanks for the opportunity
41 scenario_why It is very difficult to guage in todays society consent. Body language might have suggested Alice was consenting, but Bob should have maybe stuck around the next morning, as Alice may feel more used than raped.
41 scenario_other_details Was there anyone else around that could have pulled both Alice and Bob to one side to check they were both potentially accepting of having sex that evening.
42 scenario_why The sex seemed consensual at the time of the occurrence. It sounds as for Alice regrated her decision and chose to claim she was raped. There was no force used in the sexual encounter and she even gave him her phone number.
42 scenario_other_details Did Bob have any complaints of a similar nature against him in the past.
42 comments no comments, thank you
43 scenario_why ob shoulda sked Alice if she wanted even though she was drunk she woulda said no or yes, 3 shots is not enought to be drunk and no able to understand what is going on. I think that she she should not drink at all
43 scenario_other_details was anybody else saw them go in the room?␤Does Bob always act like this as well?␤Does Alice act like this as well?
44 scenario_why There seemed to be mutual agreement on both sides and to an extent it's really hard to know whether three shots of vodka can incapacitate someone to the point of them not knowing what they are agreeing to or what they are doing and with whom. We'd have to know the exact conversation to understand the level of understanding and potential lack of consent.
44 scenario_other_details Yes as mentioned before, what was the conversation that was had, did Alice just have 3 shots of vodka, does she have an illness which means a couple of drinks makes her incapable of making her own decisions. I'd also like to know if the guy would be able to say that he didn't consent to sex if he had been drinking too.
44 comments It was a very tricky decision to make morally because you don't want to victim blame but you also have to consider more than just one side. Especially considering your scenario was short and we didn't get lots of information which would have made the decisions easier to an extent. But I understand that was purposeful. Good study overall.
45 scenario_why because i feel like she was taken advantage if
46 scenario_why until the law explain the incapacitation then the sex was mutual
46 scenario_other_details yes␤the law should defined the incapacitation because ia too vague
47 scenario_why Because Alice had multiple opportunities to change the situation, and she was not blind drunk, so still capable of making decisions, even if they were regrettable the next day in hindsight. Bob should have been more gentlemanly though and just taken her home.
47 scenario_other_details Bob's past history - had he been accused before? Did he do drugs etc?
48 scenario_why It seems that Alice was lucid considering the amount of alcohol and exchanging numbers
48 scenario_other_details What is her usual level of Alcohol tolerance
49 scenario_why I don't believe that Bob realised that Alice was drunk.They had sex and after that they talked casually and traded phones and they fell asleep.That is not a typical behavior by a woman who was raped.I believe Alice had a boyfriend and was afraid that her boyfriend would find out about her having sex with Bob so she prefered to accuse him of rape that deal with the consequences of her actions.
49 scenario_other_details yes.I would have liked to know for certain if Alice had a boyfriend or not.
49 comments It was a very interesting study.Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.
50 scenario_why As Bob was completely sober and kneww Alice was not, he should have known it was wrong to have sex with her. You cannot consent whilst intoxicated
51 scenario_why They were both under the influence of alcohol and that influenced their decision.
51 scenario_other_details Was it Alice's first time?
51 comments Enjoyed participating.
52 scenario_why Although Alice was drunk, but she still agreed to follow Bob to the room, kissed him and they both had sex
53 scenario_why alice not only drank not too much, she also agreed to head to the room with him, he was transparent about where he wanted to go, in which she agreed. i think that it was a case of consensual sex and alice simply regretted it the next day.
53 scenario_other_details i dont think so i could see all the details that i needed here
54 scenario_why If Alice was drunk, they she could not consent. Thus, it was rape.
55 scenario_why I'm sorry, if she was not just flopped over or asleep on the bed, and was actively participating in the sexual encounter then Bob just took it as she was interested in him.
55 scenario_other_details Was Alice enjoying herself?
56 scenario_why Alice chose to drink and had ended up having sex. Even if Alice was blacked out she put her self in that situation. Unfortunately it cannot be proven that Bob was even aware of the situation worse case scenario. It is rare for a person to commit to not engage in intercourse with someone who has not had a single drop of alcohol in their system.
56 scenario_other_details I think that is enough information to go off of.
57 scenario_why She had experience with alcohol and knew her limits - three vodka shots is not enough. She was not incapacitated as she clearly could agree, whether verbally or physically to sexual intercourse and she actively engaged in kissing/undressing etc.
58 scenario_why Alice was not capable of consent and Bob should have respected this and left her to recover alone
59 scenario_why It seems unlikely she was intoxicated enough not to have made a conscious decision
60 scenario_why Because Alice agreed to go to the bedroom with Bob. Also she had three shots of vodka which gernerallt does not make you unable to consent. They also chatted beforehand which makes me think Alice could not have been that drunk
61 scenario_why they were both consenting adults and she was not overly drunk
62 scenario_why The context of the story although clear lacks any intention of taking advantage, it is possible that bob couldn't truly evaluate how drunk alice was, alice also seemingly could also be suggested as vengful as bob left before she woke in the morning and could have taken that has hurtful and therefore acted in a way she may have not otherwise. more depth and information to the statement would have made it easier to make a decision as answering with only a brief can be difficult given the subject matter.
62 scenario_other_details A lot more context to their emotions and suggested interests, was bobs intention to take advantage because she WAS drunk or was bob innocently interested in a women and didn't take everything into account before acting.
63 scenario_why Getting drunk was the fault of Alice, s consenting to going to the bedroom was her choice. She could have said no while taking clothes off even when drunk. She is 50% responsible. Bob is also 50% responsible.
64 scenario_why Although 3 SHots of Vodka isn't much,it depends how much Alice's body can handle, everyone reacts different. They did exchange numbers, but then Alice clearly wasn't happy. Bob shouldn't have had sex with her, but was Alice just tipsy or fully drunk? They just met, so it's dodgy too. Not enough information and no one except those two were there. Let's just not have sex with drunk people, even more so drunk strangers. But I think Alice still had some influence of her choices, if it's been 3 shots only?
64 scenario_other_details How drunk Alice looked beofre her and Bob left the place, more Explanations from both of these people on the Night it happend.
65 scenario_why It's tough to discern if Alice consented. Bob was sober, which is troubling, but could have received what he thought was consent from Alice. The use of a condom also makes the situation more complicated as it seems that, perhaps, this was discussed.
65 scenario_other_details How 'drunk' Alice was, who she was with and their testimony of what happened that night.
66 scenario_why Because Alice consented to have sex with Bob. If she was so drunk that it would count as 'incapacitated' somebody would've intervened because that is rape. For her to go to the bedroom with him and actively consent in sexual activity of her own volition is just a drunken decision. If the shoe was on the other foot and Bob said he was raped- he'd be laughed at and told to man up.
67 scenario_why While Alice was under the influence, she was drunk from 3 shots of Vodka, which isn't much. There is nothing to suggest to was in a state that would mean she cannot consent. It seems to be a situation in which she has regretted her actions the next day, which many people do but it should not be counted as rape.
68 scenario_why She did not say No. She got undressed herself, had fun, then woke up the next morning and disagreed with HERSLEF. It was consensual. I believe rapists should get raped themselves, literally. Then after that they should be publicly executed, literally killed. Maybe rape would stop if they started killing the rapists. I believe in extreme punishment for rape. This was not rape though. There both 21 years of age, decided to have sex and did, the end
68 scenario_other_details Dont need anymore details. She was drunk, had sex, the end.
68 comments thank you for the study
69 scenario_why Bob knew she was drunk and should have never taken advantage of that. He raped up. men should not look for drunk women for sex.
69 scenario_other_details No. Not necessary.
70 scenario_why Considering the time it takes for someone to sober up, I would say that when they traded numbers, talked and slept, she should have sobered to an extent to determine she did not want any more of what was happening.
70 scenario_other_details Not really. I think the information was sufficient.
71 scenario_why They were both consenting adults - this is how it seemed to me. Ok she had drunk 3 shots of vodka but I don't believe that would be enough to class someone as being 'incapacitated'
72 scenario_why Not enough data to know. Might need eye witness accounts of how "intoxicated" she was
72 scenario_other_details Yeah any and all
73 scenario_why Alice willingly accepted to have sex with Bob hence no force nor intoxination was applied applied during the act.
74 scenario_why It's such a difficult situation to make judgements on. She agreed to go to a bedroom alone with him. This might or might not suggest consent to end up in a sexual situation. I have no idea how much alcohol she would usually drink, so am unable to make a decision on if she was drunk and therefore unable to give consent.
74 scenario_other_details More information on her tolerance to alcohol might help give a clearer position on her ability to give consent.
75 scenario_why This is because alice made her decisions under the influence of alcohol which Bob took advantage of her predicament
76 scenario_why The fact they exchanged numbers shows a level of participation that would not happen if intoxicated to the point on non consent. I can't be totally resolute in my conclusions without more detail.
76 scenario_other_details I don't think you should have to sign an agreement to avoid being prosecuted. Humans are still animals and make decisions. We can't use regret to reinform the facts. I would like to know how long they spoke for after and what about to be more resolute in my opinions.
77 scenario_why In my opinion, I feel like what bob did was wrong since Alice was drunk, However, I also feel like Alice agreed to it and Bob should not be punished because they were both drunk
77 comments The study was educative
78 scenario_why It sounds like Alice was coherent enough to make adult choices and complained after feeling slighted by his absence upon waking.
78 scenario_other_details Yes: if she was truly intoxicated beyond the ability to make a choice, how could she so clearly be certain it was a rape and who did it, for that matter.
78 comments Thank you for the chance to participate.
79 scenario_why Despite her intoxication, Alice agreed to go to the bedroom with Bob and engaged in sexual activity. While alcohol impairs judgment, it does not entirely absolve an individual of responsibility for their choices unless they are proven to be incapacitated. In this case, there is no clear evidence Alice was incapable of making decisions or expressing non-consent at the time. Bob, as the sober party, held a greater responsibility to ensure the encounter was consensual. His decision to initiate sexual activity with someone who had been drinking shows a failure to account for potential incapacitation, which college policies and laws identify as a critical factor in consent.
79 scenario_other_details Bob’s Perception of Alice’s State␤Alice’s Level of Intoxication.␤Alice’s Understanding of the Event
79 comments The study was good and no technical issues encountered
80 scenario_why We don't know if Alice was or was not incapacitated
80 scenario_other_details More specific, e.g., there is a huge difference between expulsion and jail time
80 comments I expect there are interesting correlations based on sex and age
81 scenario_why Because I feel Bob raped her
82 scenario_why ALice is 21 years old and should be held responsible for her OWN actions. No one should have to pay for her not being able to control her liquor and sleeping around. She'll never learn consequences of her own actions if that's the case.
82 scenario_other_details I think I made my point pretty clear
83 scenario_why The sober one (Bob) has a responsibility to think for the tipsy one (Alice) for the best outcome of events.
83 comments great study
84 scenario_why Alice had 3 shots of Vodka, which would not have intoxicated her to the point that she would not be capable of making sensible decisions
84 scenario_other_details Whether her drink could have been spiked
85 scenario_why The state of intoxication of Alice was not far enough that she wasn't able to function fairly responsibly during the whole encounter. Her "incapacitation" did not seem far enough to feel like it was a lack of consent. But it is not a cut and dry case. There is a grey area which requires a proper investigation and 3rd party witnesses leading up to the moment Alice and Bob let to be alone and the sexual encounter.
85 scenario_other_details I would have liked to have 3rd party accounts of the actions of both Alice and Bob befroe they leave together for the bedroom.
86 scenario_why If you were to define rap in accordance to the school policy, then rape occured. Morally, sex should not take place if one party is intoxicated and the other has full control of the situation. In my opinion "Rape" is consensual sex using force. Should the event have taken place. No. But this was two consenting adults, who had the right frame of mind to use protection, woke up the next morning, realized a mistake was made. You can't cry rape.
86 scenario_other_details This was a study that I have always had a strong opinion about. I hope to be considered for more studies in the future.
88 scenario_why you should never be sober and have sex with a person who is too intoxicated to give consent.
89 scenario_why In this case, while Bob did not act with malicious intent, his actions demonstrated negligence in ensuring Alice’s ability to give valid consent. Given that Alice was intoxicated and college policy and local law state that a person incapacitated by alcohol cannot consent to sex, Bob should have exercised greater caution. A reasonable person in his position would recognize the risk of impaired judgment and the potential violation of consent. However, the ambiguity surrounding the definition of "incapacitation" complicates the matter, and there is no evidence to suggest that Bob acted maliciously or intended harm. While his actions were negligent, they do not rise to the level of criminal culpability warranting imprisonment. Instead, this case highlights the need for better education about consent and the responsibility individuals have in such situations, as well as the importance of clear guidelines for assessing intoxication and incapacitation.␤␤␤␤␤␤␤␤In this case, while Bob did not act with malicious intent, his actions demonstrated negligence in ensuring Alice’s ability to give valid consent. Given that Alice was intoxicated and college policy and local law state that a person incapacitated by alcohol cannot consent to sex, Bob should have exercised greater caution. A reasonable person in his position would recognize the risk of impaired judgment and the potential violation of consent. However, the ambiguity surrounding the definition of "incapacitation" complicates the matter, and there is no evidence to suggest that Bob acted maliciously or intended harm. While his actions were negligent, they do not rise to the level of criminal culpability warranting imprisonment. Instead, this case highlights the need for better education about consent and the responsibility individuals have in such situations, as well as the importance of clear guidelines for assessing intoxication and incapacitation.␤␤␤␤␤␤␤␤bob did not act with malicious intent, his actions demonstrated negligence.
91 scenario_why I made the judgements I did because Bob should have not engaged in intercourse wit her since she was intoxicated and was in no state of mind to make sound decisions.
92 scenario_why Although Bob did have sex with Alice when she was intoxicated, I dont think he purposefully raped her. He may not have thought she was inebriated because they talked, exchanged numbers and slept together. So, he easily could be under the impression that he was sober enough and aware. Of course when Alice feels like she wasnt fully aware, that means it wasnt consensual. I feel like Bob should apologize, and understand that he shouldn't have sex with someone that has been drinking, and understand that the situation can change.
94 scenario_why Alice gave consent despite being under the influence of alcohol.
94 comments No comment
96 scenario_why one person was drunk one wasn't and had unconsentual sex due to the drinking
97 scenario_why because he was sober and drunk
97 comments nice study
98 scenario_why 3 shots of vodka is NOT incapacitation. She was in enough mental state to make the decision and consent
99 scenario_why I feel that although Alice consented, Ben took advantae of her/the situation, and should be punished accordingly. Perhaps , pay a fine. I don't agree with jail time.
101 scenario_why Both agreed to the act. No one was forced or coerced. Both were drinking so why should the male be held accountable purely because he is a man?
101 scenario_other_details the conversation details leading up to them having sex
102 scenario_why Because she gave consent & walked to the bedroom herself, also why trade phone numbers with your rapist.
103 scenario_why By choice, Alice was out drinking alcohol in public. She was sober when making the decision that she wanted to be in an environment where she could be approached by anyone; which suggests that she wasn’t against interacting with others. Thus, after consuming alcohol in this environment, she’s an adult who holds the responsibility to know her limit with alcohol consumption, agree or disagree on having sexual intercourse with another individual, and the consequences that come with her actions. There was no forceful actions taken against Alice throughout the entire interaction between the two.
103 scenario_other_details Potentially each persons criminal records and whether Alice has ever been involved in a situation where there was sexual abuse.
104 scenario_why it is not stated that Bob knew she'd had three shots of vodka or did not receive verbal consent to have sex. The state of mind of both parties must be determined with the aid of more evidence and an impartial judge.
104 scenario_other_details Yes a lot of information. You can use these results in any way based on the vagueness of the story.
105 scenario_why Bob did not attack and overpower Alice. They kissed first, then undressed each other, and he wore a condom. He did not leave after they had intercourse, he stayed and slept with her. Although Alice might not have decided to have sex with Bob if she had not been drinking, she did along with it, and did not try to resist. The sex was consensual.
105 scenario_other_details Did any other women ever accuse Bob of rape?␤Did Alice ever accuse any other men she had sex with of rape?
106 scenario_why Alice wasnt in the right frame of mind she was taken advantage off
107 scenario_why Under the letter of the law, sex without consent is rape. Morally, this is true as well. Bob took advantage of Alice's intoxicated state, which means he raped her.
107 scenario_other_details No, the facts seemed fairly clear-cut
108 scenario_why since she was under the influence of alcohol he should her left her alone
109 scenario_why Three drinks don't usually incapacitate a woman.
109 scenario_other_details What was her blood alcohol level?
110 scenario_why I made the judgment because Bob shouldn't have taken advantage of Alice when she was drunk and not thinking clearly and Bob should know better that Alice is not her self at that instance.
110 scenario_other_details The details were clear enough for me to make a decision.
111 scenario_why Alice was aware of her actions. Her judgement might have been affected by alcohol but she was still communicative
112 scenario_why Alice had sex with bob with impaired judgement. Bob took advantage of her drunkerdness
113 scenario_why I think they can be both blamed for this situation so putting it all on Bobb is not fair. there is not enough evidence to back the fact that Alice was raped
114 scenario_why Because it's weird that he would do that whilst she is drunk and he is still sober so I really don't like that part about it at all. But I dont think she was incapacitated if she verbally consented and even exchanged phone numbers, she just regrets doing it.
115 scenario_why Even though Alice agreed to be intimate, Bob should have prevented it from happening because he was aware that Alice was intoxicated with alcohol was not in a clear state of at that time.
115 scenario_other_details Yes I would have liked to know what made Alice to open a case against Bob because she's the one who consented to have sex with Bob.
115 comments Nice
116 scenario_why I made the judgments based on my understanding of the questions and my own experiences.
117 scenario_why It seems like the girl was too intoxicated to consent

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