10 - Ethical Issues Flashcards
What is the BPS and what do they do?
The British Psychological Society
Publishes a code of ethics, which includes several rules that all investigators should follow.
What is informed consent?
Investigators should inform participants of the objectives of investigations and gain their informed consent to take part whenever possible.
For children under 16, parental consent is required.
Consent should be obtained from children old enough to understand a research study.
Why is informed consent sometimes not obtained? How is this rectified?
Because it would cause participants to alter their behaviour
Rectified via :
Presumptive consent
Prior general consent
Retrospective consent
Define presumptive consent
Consent gained from people of a similar background to participants in a study.
If they would have been willing to participate in the study despite deception, then it is assumed that the actual participants will also be willing.
Define prior general consent
Participants agree to be deceived without knowing when or how this will occur.
However, this can affect their behaviour.
Define retrospective consent
Participants asked for consent after they have participated.
However, they may not consent and yet have already taken part.
Expand and elaborate on ‘protection from harm’
Investigators have a responsibility to protect participants from physical and psychological harm.
Risk of harm should be no greater than in ordinary life.
Psychologists must stop any study immediately if they suspect a participant may be harmed.
They should leave in the same condition they entered in.
Expand and elaborate on right to withdraw
At the start the must be made aware they can leave at any time, regardless of wether payment or inducement has been offered.
This is difficult to implement during covert observations.
They should be reminded of this if they seem distressed.
They should also be aware they can withdraw their data at any point.
Expand and elaborate on confidentiality
Their data is confidential and should not be disclosed to anyone unless it has been agreed in advance.
Numbers or letters should be used instead of names if the research is published.
Confidentiality : data can be traced back to a name
Anonymity : data can’t be traced back as the participant never provided their name
Expand and elaborate on deception
Withholding information and misleading participants is unacceptable if they are likely to object or show unease once they know.
Intentional deception over the purpose and general nature of the investigation should be avoided whenever possible.
They shouldn’t be deliberately misled without scientific or medical justification.
Why is deception sometimes unavoidable?
If they knew the true nature they would change their behaviour ( demand characteristics )
What does an ethics committee do?
They must approve all research before it begins
What is conducted to determine if research should be carried out?
Cost-benefit analysis
Potential harm of doing research is weighed against the potential gains
What is debriefing and why is it necessary?
If deception is used then the real purpose of the study and what happened in the other conditions needs to be explained to participants after the study.
They also need to be told why debriefing was necessary.
During this conversation, they also need to be reminded of their right to withdraw and right to confidentiality as well as the need to show respect to other participants ( maintain their confidentiality ).
However this does not provide justification for unethical aspects of research.
List the ethical guidelines
Informed consent Right to withdraw Confidentially Protection from harm Deception (-> debriefing )
