Final answer:
A researcher analyzing how people respond to commands from an authority figure studies obedience to authority, often within the scope of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, alongside ethical considerations and the influence of social norms.
Step-by-step explanation:
A researcher investigating how people respond to commands from an authority figure is studying a phenomenon known as obedience to authority. This area of research is well-exemplified by Stanley Milgram's obedience studies, conducted in the early 1960s, which sought to understand the extent to which individuals would comply with orders that conflicted with their personal conscience. The results of such studies indicated that a significant majority of participants were willing to inflict what they believed were painful, and even potentially lethal, electric shocks to others, solely based on the commands of an experimenter perceived as an authority figure.
Further replications of Milgram's work, such as those by Burger (2009) and Doliński et al. (2017), have shown consistent results, reaffirming the power authority figures have in compelling individuals to act against their moral judgments. This research falls under the domain of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, specifically in its examination of authority dynamics in professional settings.
In examining such dynamics, researchers also explore the potential psychological trauma that participants may suffer as a consequence of their actions. Milgram's work and subsequent studies spotlight the critical need for ethical considerations in such experiments and the powerful influence that social norms and authority have on behavior.