Question

Karina, who works in a local bakery, has run up large credit card bills that she cannot pay. Although she knows it is wrong, she steals money from the cash register to help pay her debts. Karina has adopted which form of adaptation?

Answer 1

Karina has adopted the 'Appeal to a Higher Authority' adaptation, which involves justifying unethical actions by claiming they serve a greater good. This concept is similar to the behavior exhibited by characters in literature, like Nora in Ibsen's play, and contrasts with 'mental accounting,' where individuals make illogical financial choices.

Step-by-step explanation:

Karina, who works in a local bakery and has stolen money from the cash register to pay off her credit card debts, has adopted a form of adaptation known as Appeal to a Higher Authority. This technique involves justifying one's actions by claiming they serve a higher purpose or greater good, despite being ethically or legally wrong. For example, an employee caught stealing from a retail store might claim they did it to pay for a sick relative's medicine, attempting to overshadow the wrongdoing with a seemingly noble cause. Similarly, in the context of mental accounting, individuals might make financially unsound decisions, such as sustaining a high-interest credit card debt while also maintaining a savings account with a much lower interest rate, resulting in a net financial loss.

In literature, a similar scenario is portrayed in Henrik Ibsen's play, where the character Nora secretly works to pay off debts unbeknownst to her husband, illustrating the pressures leading to financial mismanagement or unethical behavior.