8 Ethics Flashcards
Question: What is the practical task of arriving at moral standards that regulate right/wrong conduct called?
Answer: Normative ethics.
Question: What are some infamous studies that raised ethical concerns in psychology?
Answer: Examples include the Milgram obedience study, Little Albert’s conditioning experiment, and Harlow’s research on attachment in monkeys.
Question: What are the two distinct approaches in ethics mentioned in the provided text?
Answer: Consequentialism and deontology.
Question: What does consequentialism emphasize?
Answer: Consequentialism emphasizes that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends on its consequences.
Question: What is utilitarianism and what does it emphasize?
Answer: Utilitarianism emphasizes the role of pleasure or happiness as a consequence of our actions.
Question: According to deontology, are certain acts right or wrong in themselves?
Answer: Yes, according to deontology, certain acts are right or wrong in themselves, not in terms of their consequences.
`
Question: What is the categorical imperative, and what does it advocate?
Answer: The categorical imperative advocates treating people as an end in themselves, never merely as a means to an end.
Question: Describe the case study on stuttering as a learned behavior.
Answer: The study conducted by Johnson and Tudor in 1939 demonstrated that stuttering could be induced by persistently drawing attention to minor imperfections in a child’s speech. They observed 22 orphans, with half given positive speech therapy and the others having attention drawn to slight imperfections. Eight out of eleven who had attention drawn to imperfections developed a stutter.
Question: Which ethical approach does the British Psychological Society (BPS) take?
Answer: The BPS takes a deontological approach to ethics.
Question: What is psychological egoism, and who proposed it?
Answer: Psychological egoism, proposed by Thomas Hobbes, is the belief that humans only act for themselves, suggesting that self-oriented interests ultimately motivate all human actions.
Question: What is the purpose of the WHO’s guide for conducting medical research with human subjects?
Answer: The WHO’s guide provides guidelines for conducting medical research with human subjects.
Question: What are the two documents provided by the British Psychological Society (BPS) concerning human research ethics?
Answer: The BPS provides the “Code of Ethics and Conduct” and the “Code of Human Research Ethics.”
Question: What are the four ethical principles outlined in the BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct?
Answer: The four ethical principles are respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity.
Question: Describe the principle of respect as outlined in the BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct.
Answer: The principle of respect involves valuing the dignity and worth of all individuals, being sensitive to dynamics of perceived authority or influence over people, and particularly regarding people’s rights. It includes considerations such as privacy, confidentiality, consent, self-determination, and the importance of compassionate care.
Question: According to the BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, what does the principle of competence entail?
Answer: The principle of competence involves valuing continuing development and maintaining high standards of competence in professional work. It emphasizes working within recognized limits of knowledge, skill, training, education, and experience, and being cautious in making knowledge claims.
Question: What factors should researchers consider regarding competence according to the BPS’s guidelines?
Answer: Researchers should consider factors such as possession of appropriate skills, the need to maintain technical and practical skills, limits of competence, advances in the evidence base, and the potential need to refer to another professional in certain situations.
Question: Describe the principle of responsibility as outlined in the BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct.
Answer: The principle of responsibility involves valuing one’s responsibilities to individuals, the general public, the profession of psychology, and the scientific community. It includes avoiding harm and preventing the misuse or abuse of one’s contributions to society. Researchers should consider factors such as professional accountability, responsible use of knowledge and skills, respect for the welfare of all living beings, and potentially competing duties.
Question: According to the BPS’s guidelines, what factors should researchers consider regarding responsibility?
Answer: Researchers should consider factors such as professional accountability, responsible use of knowledge and skills, respect for the welfare of humans and non-human beings, and the prevention of misuse or abuse of their contributions to society. They should also recognize potentially competing duties in fulfilling their responsibilities.
Question: What does the principle of integrity entail according to the BPS’s Code of Ethics and Conduct?
Answer: The principle of integrity involves valuing honesty, probity, accuracy, clarity, and fairness in interactions with all individuals. Researchers should seek to promote integrity in all facets of their scientific and professional endeavors. This includes being honest, open, and candid, providing accurate and unbiased representations, avoiding exploitation and conflicts of interest, maintaining personal and professional boundaries, and addressing misconduct when necessary.
Question: What are some considerations related to integrity that researchers should keep in mind?
Answer: Researchers should consider factors such as honesty, openness, and candor in their interactions, providing accurate and unbiased representations of their work, ensuring fairness, avoiding exploitation and conflicts of interest, maintaining personal and professional boundaries, and addressing misconduct promptly and appropriately.
Question: What are the four ethical principles outlined in the codes of human research ethics?
Answer: The four ethical principles are respect for autonomy and dignity of people, scientific value, social responsibility, and maximizing benefit and minimizing harm.
Question: Describe the principle of respect for autonomy and dignity of people as outlined in the codes of human research ethics.
Answer: The principle of respect for autonomy and dignity of people involves valuing the dignity and worth of all individuals equally, with sensitivity to dynamics of perceived authority or influence over others, and particular regard to people’s rights including those of privacy and self-determination. Ethical standards include informing individuals of the nature of the research, avoiding discriminatory practices, ensuring self-determination, and ensuring privacy.
Question: What does the principle of scientific value entail according to the codes of human research ethics?
Answer: The principle of scientific value states that research should be designed, reviewed, and conducted in a way that ensures its quality, integrity, and contribution to the development of knowledge and understanding. Ethical standards include accountability for research quality.
Question: According to the codes of human research ethics, what is meant by social responsibility?
Answer: Social responsibility refers to the shared collective duty for the welfare of human and non-human beings, both within the society where researchers live and work and beyond. Ethical standards include assessing and identifying risks, as well as putting in place measures to minimize and manage risks.