Question

Assume that a supervisor tells an employee to falsify information for tax purposes. The employee would prefer not to do anything dishonest but is hesitant to disobey. Milgram's studies suggest the employee will be most likely to disobey if the

a. supervisor is not a person of particularly high status.
b. supervisor gives the order in person.
c. employee knows that another employee has refused.
d. supervisor is only the employee's immediate superior.

Answer 1

The correct option is a. supervisor is not a person of particularly high status.

Milgram's studies on obedience suggest that an employee is most likely to disobey if the supervisor is not a person of particularly high status.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Milgram's studies on obedience, he found that participants were overwhelmingly willing to perform acts that conflicted with their personal beliefs and ethics when directed by an authority figure. Milgram's research suggests that the employee in this scenario is most likely to disobey if the supervisor is not a person of particularly high status.

Milgram's findings have been replicated in other studies as well. For example, in a study by Martin and Bull (2008), junior midwives were obedient to authority and went against their own beliefs when a more senior midwife and supervisor asked them to do something they were opposed to.

Additionally, Burger (2009) and Doliński et al. (2017) conducted replication studies that also found results consistent with Milgram's original work.