An employee complies with a supervisor's request to engage in behavior that the employee knows is unethical. Does this scenario illustrate obedience?

Question

An employee complies with a supervisor's request to engage in behavior that the employee knows is unethical.  Does this scenario illustrate obedience?

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11ecba2d_0d92_c59c_a3bf_d7272ede7b55_MD0008_00 Obedience is a type of conformity in which an individual carries out orders given by an authority figure. Research on obedience suggests that people tend to obey even when doing so results in immoral or unethical behavior. Conducted in the 1960s, Stanley Milgram's landmark obedience study demonstrated that most people will deliver dangerously high electric shocks to a confederate posing as a research participant if commanded to do so by the researcher (an authority figure). An employee complying with a supervisor's request to engage in behavior that the employee knows is unethical would be an example of obedience because the employee (lower status than the supervisor) is carrying out the orders of the supervisor (authority figure). (Choice A) Peer pressure occurs when individuals experience social influences that persuade them to conform to group norms in order to be accepted. Even though it is possible that this employee feels peer pressure, the experience of peer pressure does not make this an example of obedience. (Choice C) Social roles include the behaviors, beliefs, and norms that accompany a socially defined position. Even though complying with requests from a supervisor is part of the employee's social role, engaging in behavior that is unethical based on the command of an authority figure still illustrates obedience. (Choice D) Even though the employee could blame the supervisor for the unethical behavior, this scenario still illustrates obedience to authority. In fact, the ability to defer blame to an authority figure increases the likelihood that an individual will obey. Educational objective: Obedience to authority is a type of conformity in which an individual carries out the orders of an authority figure, even when doing so results in immoral or unethical behavior.

An Employee Complies with a Supervisor's Request to Engage in Behavior