When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS Nexus. Woo-Young Ahn and colleagues have designed an experimental dilemma that pits a utilitarian approach—which seeks to minimize total harm—against an approach promoted by philosopher John Rawls, which emphasizes improving the situation of the person in the toughest situation.