ethical interview question help

[Michael_Scott]

Q: what you did or would do if you saw a friend cheating

how do you go about answering ethical questions. what if the interviewer somehow does not hold similar ethical views as you ?

...you would confront the friend and then go to the school officials if the friend does not confess ?
or would go directly to school officials ?
would the interviewer somehow think that you cannot be trusted as a friend if you tell on someone ?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[super frank]

What would you do if you saw a friend cheat? Just be yourself and give your answer. Perhaps tie it to another experience where you've had to make an ethical decision...

 

[pgex2t]

Pretty sure as long as you're confident in your answer, you'll be fine. Unless you'd say something like 'I'd join in! Hurr'.

 

[Michael_Scott]

What would you do if you saw a friend cheat? Just be yourself and give your answer. Perhaps tie it to another experience where you've had to make an ethical decision...

thanks dude..I have a solid answer! BUT my worry is, not just with this ethical question, but that the interviewer may not have similar ethical thinking as mine and my answer may not please them
maybe I am just thinking way too much into this..

 

[Meeza]

Literally got this question in a group interview and I think everyone did fine. When I mentioned one part of my answer, another applicant actually said he disagreed and would handle it slightly differently. There's no right answer, and there will be other questions, even if your opinion differs from the interviewer.

 

[dyesht]

who would actually report a friend? that question is seriously non sense

 

[nonociceptors]

who would actually report a friend? that question is seriously non sense

Most interview questions are total bull****. That's why the schools that seemed to read straight off a list rather than just hold a conversation turned me off a bit.

 

[Maybe.a.dentist]

Would it be "wrong" to say you would do nothing? Honestly, a big part of me thinks that had I witnessed cheating in undergrad I would probably do nothing about it unless it just really screwed thing up the rest of the class ie just destroyed a curve that everyone else did terrible on. Even if I didn't personally witness cheating I still heard about it in undergrad and never actually reported it or anything. The coldest thing I saw was that in my tiny school was that a girl who was notorious for cheating but never caught by a professor was basically black balled by all the other students in a group project in our majors capstone course, she had to do a class worth of students material all by herself.

 

[oralcare123]

Q: what you did or would do if you saw a friend cheating

how do you go about answering ethical questions. what if the interviewer somehow does not hold similar ethical views as you ?

...you would confront the friend and then go to the school officials if the friend does not confess ?
or would go directly to school officials ?
would the interviewer somehow think that you cannot be trusted as a friend if you tell on someone ?

I would like to know the "right" answer. Always thought, that it's "tell them to confess and if they did not - report"
Not sure what I would do

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

I would say it would be on a case-by-case basis. If it's a class that I know means nothing, then I would laugh to think they needed to cheat on something so trivial and not difficult. If it's something that is critical and would impact a life.... well.... I always say, how would you feel to put your grandparents or a small child in their hands to be cared for? If they're cheating on drug interactions and can't remember which medications to avoid giving as an anaesthetic for an implant or root canal, well then would I allow them to operate on my family members or friends? No. Therefore, I would call them out on it to confess before being reported. I've used that answer before. I've always had good feedback on it. Feel free to cheat on this question by copying my answer lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[whaleofatale]

who would actually report a friend? that question is seriously non sense

Well, if you don't, and it comes out later that you knew about the cheating and did nothing, you could face ethical sanctions as well.

 

[setdoc7]

I think you may be missing the point regarding ethics questions. Doctors are held to a very high standard in society, and IMHO, when asked a question about ethics, one should answer both the moral and societal answer. Although I understand your concern for your co student/friend, you have not caused this infraction to happen, and I assume that no outside force is causing anyone to cheat. Not getting involved has been an excuse for many of societies ills.

 

[setdoc7]

I would say it would be on a case-by-case basis. If it's a class that I know means nothing, then I would laugh to think they needed to cheat on something so trivial and not difficult. If it's something that is critical and would impact a life.... well.... I always say, how would you feel to put your grandparents or a small child in their hands to be cared for? If they're cheating on drug interactions and can't remember which medications to avoid giving as an anaesthetic for an implant or root canal, well then would I allow them to operate on my family members or friends? No. Therefore, I would call them out on it to confess before being reported. I've used that answer before. I've always had good feedback on it. Feel free to cheat on this question by copying my answer lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. How are you in a position to determine which class means nothing? And which means something?
2. I suppose you mean the ethics class.

This is what I mean when I question where advice is coming from.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

1. How are you in a position to determine which class means nothing? And which means something?
2. I suppose you mean the ethics class.

This is what I mean when I question where advice is coming from.

Do I need to be in a certain position to make my own judgement calls? The position I am in would be so-called student seeing another student. I determine what class is worth making a big deal over based on universally accepted notions of importance. I get what you're saying, but you don't have to be rude and say, "This is what I mean I question where advice is coming from." This is a forum fueled by human opinions. I think you may feel this is something different.

 

[dyesht]

Well, if you don't, and it comes out later that you knew about the cheating and did nothing, you could face ethical sanctions as well.

So do you call the police when you see your friends driving one MPH over the speed limit, or when they don't call the vending machine company about two candy bars falling simultaneously when they only paid for one? There are so many more theoretical situations in which our friends can cross that ethical line, but we wouldn't report them. This obviously wouldn't apply for every situation.

 

[LVKE]

Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to answer this question if I get it during an interview. Would I tell on them? No. Would I tell on them if they copied my work? Absolutely, because I'd never let myself be possible suspect for the academic dishonesty crap. I might say "Yes, I'd tell on them", with the reason being that our biology/chemistry classes are probably like ~60-70% some sort of pre-health (pre-med, PT, dent, etc) students. Would you trust your doctor/dentist that cheated his way through organic chemistry/biochem/pharm/anatomy courses? What if they cheated you and told you they needed to fill a cavity that didn't exist, just for the money? I feel like going down this route might be a decent way to answer it, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to be honest or tell them something they want to hear.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to answer this question if I get it during an interview. Would I tell on them? No. Would I tell on them if they copied my work? Absolutely, because I'd never let myself be possible suspect for the academic dishonesty crap. I might say "Yes, I'd tell on them", with the reason being that our biology/chemistry classes are probably like ~60-70% some sort of pre-health (pre-med, PT, dent, etc) students. Would you trust your doctor/dentist that cheated his way through organic chemistry/biochem/pharm/anatomy courses? What if they cheated you and told you they needed to fill a cavity that didn't exist, just for the money? I feel like going down this route might be a decent way to answer it, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to be honest or tell them something they want to hear.

Just tell them you didn't know the "c" stood for cheating.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

So do you call the police when you see your friends driving one MPH over the speed limit, or when they don't call the vending machine company about two candy bars falling simultaneously when they only paid for one? There are so many more theoretical situations in which our friends can cross that ethical line, but we wouldn't report them. This obviously wouldn't apply for every situation.

That's how Narcos started.

 

[whaleofatale]

So do you call the police when you see your friends driving one MPH over the speed limit, or when they don't call the vending machine company about two candy bars falling simultaneously when they only paid for one? There are so many more theoretical situations in which our friends can cross that ethical line, but we wouldn't report them. This obviously wouldn't apply for every situation.

Many dental schools require students to sign an honor/ethical code that states that the student will report any suspicious behavior or cheating. Failure to do so many be grounds for being brought before the ethics board for complicity in cheating.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

Many dental schools require students to sign an honor/ethical code that states that the student will report any suspicious behavior or cheating. Failure to do so many be grounds for being brought before the ethics board for complicity in cheating.

Yeah, just like any other contract you sign. It's a legal thing. They cannot NOT have something like that in their documents. I doubt ever in history has there been a case where someone got in trouble for not reporting another person's ill behavior. You can simply just state I wasn't sure what they were doing and did not want to spread false accusations. False accusations are damaging and also under the scrutiny of the law.

 

[setdoc7]

There have been numerous cheating scandals at D schools over the years. This is why it is a hot topic. This type of publicity is damaging to the credibility of the school, its students, and alumni.
Cautionary note: universally accepted notions of importance are just that...notions. What seems trivial or unimportant one day may very well become very important the next. From my standpoint, any opportunity to learn is a good one. Examination is the only way we have of measuring what we teach the students. When I hear students lament about the importance of a course, I just shake my head, as they usually cannot see the big picture of things to come. And to make matters worse, the students are paying to be there....they should make the most of it.

 

[doc toothache]

Most interview questions are total bull****. That's why the schools that seemed to read straight off a list rather than just hold a conversation turned me off a bit.

Just pray and hope that the interviewer's feeling was not mutual.

 

[Michael_Scott]

There have been numerous cheating scandals at D schools over the years. This is why it is a hot topic. This type of publicity is damaging to the credibility of the school, its students, and alumni.
Cautionary note: universally accepted notions of importance are just that...notions. What seems trivial or unimportant one day may very well become very important the next. From my standpoint, any opportunity to learn is a good one. Examination is the only way we have of measuring what we teach the students. When I hear students lament about the importance of a course, I just shake my head, as they usually cannot see the big picture of things to come. And to make matters worse, the students are paying to be there....they should make the most of it.

Perfectly said

 

[Proximally Challenged]

Q: what you did or would do if you saw a friend cheating

how do you go about answering ethical questions. what if the interviewer somehow does not hold similar ethical views as you ?

...you would confront the friend and then go to the school officials if the friend does not confess ?
or would go directly to school officials ?
would the interviewer somehow think that you cannot be trusted as a friend if you tell on someone ?

There is no right answer to this question, they are judging you on your ability to articulate your thought process. I think the best answer is to say I would do nothing until I had a chance to speak to my friend and see what his explanation is and then re-evaluate the situation based on his answer.

Even if someone has different ethical views than you personally friendship is universal and there is no one that would turn on a true friend without a very good reason.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

There is no right answer to this question, they are judging you on your ability to articulate your thought process. I think the best answer is to say I would do nothing until I had a chance to speak to my friend and see what his explanation is and then re-evaluate the situation based on his answer.

Even if someone has different ethical views than you personally friendship is universal and there is no one that would turn on a true friend without a very good reason.

I agree. I don't think @setdoc7 will.

 

[setdoc7]

You: Why did you steal that food?
Friend: I was hungry
You: ok
The problem is we are never all alone anymore, and this can come back to haunt you, even if you think it will not.
Ask Jean Valjean.
When is stealing an answer ok, and was there any way to prevent it or make it unnecessary?

 

[oralcare123]

Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to answer this question if I get it during an interview. Would I tell on them? No. Would I tell on them if they copied my work? Absolutely, because I'd never let myself be possible suspect for the academic dishonesty crap. I might say "Yes, I'd tell on them", with the reason being that our biology/chemistry classes are probably like ~60-70% some sort of pre-health (pre-med, PT, dent, etc) students. Would you trust your doctor/dentist that cheated his way through organic chemistry/biochem/pharm/anatomy courses? What if they cheated you and told you they needed to fill a cavity that didn't exist, just for the money? I feel like going down this route might be a decent way to answer it, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to be honest or tell them something they want to hear.

After graduating you all will be doing it because of the pressure to produce

 

[dyesht]

Many dental schools require students to sign an honor/ethical code that states that the student will report any suspicious behavior or cheating. Failure to do so many be grounds for being brought before the ethics board for complicity in cheating.

Still waiting for you to answer my previous question.

 

[nonociceptors]

Just pray and hope that the interviewer's feeling was not mutual.

no worries I'm already at my top choice

 

[toothexplore]

I was asked this question during my interview. I dono about you guys but cheating was pretty rampant at my school and the professors mostly know about it without repurcussion, but they still want to hear that you'll do the right thing