We're more likely to make rational decisions on our smartphones, than on PCs

Have you ever though that you'd make different decisions depending on the device you're using? Let's take that video game you bought, instead of adding the money to your summer vacation savings. Would you have done it if you were browsing Steam through your smartphone, and not your PC?

While it might seem unrealistic to assume that the device we're currently using affects our choices in any way, a study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior suggests otherwise. According to its results, people are more likely to make a rational decision when presented with a moral dilemma on their smartphone, while PC users are more likely to rely on intuition and emotions.

The researchers worked with 1,010 volunteers, and judged their reactions depending on the device they were using – either a smartphone, or a PC. Participants were presented with a number moral dilemmas, such as the classic trolley problem, involving a runaway trolley, going down its tracks. However, there are five people tied on its path, unable to move away. The participants had two choices – either do nothing and let the trolley run over the innocent people, or push a man off the bridge which would stop the trolley and save the group. What is considered to be the rational, utilitarian decision is to kill one person, saving five, and this is the choice 33.5% of smartphone users made, as opposed to 22.3% of PC users.