You know me, Laura, I turn to science for answers! There is some called the Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. With this announcement, the Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,340 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904. Studies based on Interviews with those who have won this award "provided evidence that when extreme altruists explain why they decided to help, the cognitive processes they describe are overwhelming intuitive, automatic and fast." And they are overwhelmingly male. Scientists think this goes back to the evolutionary process of males attracting mates when performing acts of bravery. Here are the citations:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109687
https://www.carnegiehero.org/heroes/latest-award-announcements/
From what I gather, seems these decisions happen in the moment, and not due to some sort of deliberative thought process. All very interesting.
