Chapter 3 Flashcards
What was milgram studying?
obedience to an authority figure.
How did milgram recruit participants and what did he say he was studying?
he placed an add in the local newspaper offering to pay $4.50 to men participate in a scientific study of memory and learning.
What was Mr. Wallace in the the milgram experiment?
a confederate
What is a confederate?
A person posing as a participant in an experiment who is actually a collaborator of the experimenter.
What was the explanation provided to participants in the Milgram study? How were Participants assigned?
scientists explained that the study would examine the effects of punishment on learning. One person would be a “teacher” who would administer the punishment, and the other would be a the “learner”. Mr. Wallace and the volunteer participant then drew slips of paper to determine who would be the teacher and who would be the learner. The drawing was rigged, Mr Wallace was always the learner and the volunteer was also the teacher.
What did the scientists do to Mr. Wallace? How did the scientist set up the teacher? What was the set up of the shock machine?
attached electrodes to him and placed the teacher in front of an impressive-looking shock machine. The shock machine had a series of levers and the individual was told that when these levers were pressed, they would deliver shocks to Mr. Wallace. The first lever was labeled 15 volts, the second 30 volts, the third 45 volts and so on up to 450 volts. These levers were labelled “slight shock”, moderate shock” and so on up to “Danger: severe shock” followed by red Xs above 400 volts.
What was Mr. Wallace instructed to learn in the Milgram experiment? What happened in the experiment?
a series of word pairs. Then he was given a test to see if he could identify which words went together. Every time Mr. Wallace made a mistake, the volunteer was to deliver a larger shock as punishment. the first mistake was supposed to be punished by a 15 volt shock, the second by 30 volt, and so on. Mr wallace made mistake after mistake.
Did Mr. Wallace aver actually recieve any shocks in the milgram experiment?
no. but the participants didn’t know that.
What were Mr. Wallace’s reactions at different levels of shock?
When the volunteer shocked him with about 120 volts, Mr. Wallace began screaming in pain and yelled that he wanted out. If the volunteer wanted to quit, and this definitley happened with participants becoming visibly upset with Mr. Wallace’s pain. the experiemnt told the participant that he could quit but urged him to continue. These encouragments followed a set series of verbal prods that stressed the importance of continuing this experiment.
Althoug the experiment was purportedly about memory and learning, what was milgram actually interested in?
Milgram was actually interested in whether participants would continue to obey the experimenter administering ever higher levels of shock to the learner.
What were the results of Milgram’s study? What happened after this study was completed?
approximately 65% of the participants continued to deliver shocks all the way to the maximum possible 450 volts. This study (and milgram’s many extended replications) recieved a lot of publicity and the results challenged many of our beleifs about our ability to resist authority/
What do the milgram study results have implications for? What have recent replications shown?
understanding obediencei n real-life situations, such as the holocaust in Nazi germany and the Jonestown mass suicide. Recent replications of these studies suggest that many people in contemporary society continue to be vulnerable to a dangerous obedience to authorities.
What did Milgram’s work shape in terms of ethics?
common practices we use in psychology to protect our participants.
At what point did researchers debate whether Milgram’s studies were ethical?
immediately after they were published.
What do researchers and institutions adhere to fo ethics?
Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
What does the Tri-council refer to in the Tri-council policy statement?
refers. to three federally funded research grant agencies: The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Natural Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the natural sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
When was the tri council policy first published?
1998
what is the tri-council policy responsible for?
became the first standard canadian ethics code to guide all research involving humans; this replaced all prior guidelines.
When was the tri-council policy statement’s first major revision?
TCPS2 in 2010
What must all institutions who receive funding from the tri-council must have? Why?
a research ethics board that reviews each study to ensure it adheres to the TCPS2 ethical guidelines.
What did the nuremberg code emphasize?
the concept of informed consent.
What does the TCPS2 remind people to do?
consult and follow the laws and jursidicions in which the research is conducted.
In addition to the TCPS2 what do Canadian researchers have comply to?
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, canadian privacy of information laws, and relevant provincial laws,
What is the aim of research ethics codes around the world?
to ensure that research si conducted in a way that respects the dignity and inherent worth of all human beings.
What are the 3 ethical principles that express the value of ensuring human dignity and are specified in the TCPS2? What are their definitions?
(1) respect for persons
to show respect for persons, researchers must respect the autonomy of research participants and protect those who have “developing, impaired, or diminished autonomy”. Respecting autonomy means enabling people to choose participation freely and without interference.
(2) Concern for Welfare
to show concern for welfare, researchers must attempt to minimize risks associated with participating in research, while maximizing the benefits of that research to individual participants and to society. When coupled with respect for persons, participants must be free to choose whether the balance of risk and benefits is acceptable is acceptable to them.
(3) Justice
to show justice, researchers must treat people fairly and equitably by ditributing the benfits and burden of pariticpating in research. Demonstrating justice includes recruitment methods that offer participation to people from a diverse range of social groups, and excluding groups only when scientifically justifiable.
Is interpretation an issue with research ethics?
yes
What does the principle of concern for welfare refer to? What does this relate to?
The ethical principle that research should maximize benefits and minimize harm. In order to do this we need to calculate potential risks and benefits that are likely to result. This is called risk-benefit analysis.
What is risk-benefit analysis?
An evaluation of the potential hazards of conducting a study, weighed against the potential benefits to participants and to society.
What are some expample of some benefits that participants may experience from research?
education about scientific process, acquisition of a new skills, treatment for a psychological or medical problem, money, a gift, the possibility of winning a prize, points towards a course grade.
Less tangible benefits may include satisfaction from contributing in scientific investigation that could yield benefits for society, the knowledge gained through the research may also improve future educational practices, psychotherapy, or social policy.
Is it important to think about the cost of not not conducting the study? When is this especially true? Exmaple?
yes.
if the proposed research is the only way to collect potentially valuable data.
Ex: studying people’s experiences of traumatic events may upset some participants, yet failure to study this topic can lead to misguided treatments and care.
What do we need to think about more so than the risk-benefit analysis?
Importantly, although benefits and costs to society at large have a place in risk-benefit analysis, they are typically considered secondary to considering the ethical treatment of participants.
What is the most obvious or salient risk to participants that we need to consider? What are examples of types of research that pose these risks? When do we go ahead with them?
the potential for physical harm to participants.
Asking participants to consume alcohol or depriving participants of sleep. For us to do this, there needs to be clear benefits of the research that outweigh potential risks.
What is an important risk to consider aside form physical harm? How does milgram’s experiement fit into this?
psychological distress.
In Milgram’s experiment, participants were shown protesting, sweating and nervously laughing.
In what principle do we consider the risks of psychological distress? What do we ask?
concern for welfare.
We ask whether subjecting participants to stressful experiments is justified, and whether the experience might have long-term consequences for the participants.
Could the use of deception cause distress for participants?
yes.
What are the risks involved with research? (3 main areas)
- physical harm
- psychological distress
- risk of losing privacy or confidentiality
What must researchers take care to do in regards to privacy?
protect the privacy of individuals, which includes “the right to control information about oneself.
Why are definitions of privacy and confidentiality changing?
because of the digital age
At a minimum, what should researchers do to protect privacy?
keep all paper data locked in a secure place and encrypting all electronic data.
In the digital age, what about privacy should we keep in mind?
We should be aware that using data for purposes other than what was agreed to during informed consent process may breach participants privacy and confidentiality, adding risk to the participants in the form of loss of trust in researchers and the institutions they represent.
When does confidentiality become particularly important?
when studying sensitive topics such as sexual behaviour, divorce, family violence, or drug abuse.
What is the definition of confidential?
The ethical principle that information is kept private, with disclosure limited to the minimum number of people necessary.
What is the definition of anonymous?
Protecting the identity of participants by making them unidentifiable based on the data collected; with anonymous data, it is impossible to identify which participant provided what data.
When can data be anonymous? not anonymous?
when questionnaires are adminsitered to groups of people, and no information is asked that could be used to identify an individual.
when is it virtually impossible to guarantee complete anonymity?
personal interviews or in online studies for which participants enter an email adress. The researchers must carefully design ways of coding data, storing data, and explaining procedures to participants, to protect confidentiality of responses and to ensure anonymity, when possible.
Is there ever a need to be able to identify individual participants?
yes.
When people are studies on multiple occasions over time, or when specific personal feedback, such as an accurate test score, must be given to individual participants. In such cases, a researcher should create a code to identify the individuals, but should separate this code from the actual data. Thus, if the questionnaires or data files were seen by anyone, the data could not be linked to specific people.. In these cases, anonymity cannot be guaranteed, and researchers must take extra precautions to safeguard confidentiality of all data.
How can privacy laws in the US affect research conducted using internet in Canada? What do REB boards say about this? When is there a similar issue?
the Patriot Act in the US allows the government to access records of internet service providers. Therefore, online studies that are hosted by servers located in the US risk privacy and confidentiality of Canadian participants. For this reason, the REBs may require that online studies are conducted using companies whose servers are located in Canada or outside of the US
A similar issue is when research is conducted over text messages or e-mail with servers hosted in the US.
What must researchers who conduct studies online do?
must develop or seek services that provide safeguards such as encryption to protect participants’ data from interception by unauthorized parties.
What is the privacy issue concern for concealed observation of behaviour?
in some studies, researchers make observation of behaviours in public places. Observing people in malls, or sidewalks etc. This does not seem to presnet any major ethical problems, as there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in these public spaces. However, what if a researcher wishes to observe a behaviour online, in a more private setting, or in ways that may violate individual’s privacy like rummaging through their trash?
What must researchers seek to do if they wish to uphold the principle of concern for welfare?
seek to minimize risk and maximize benefits to participants.
What is the flow chart for decisions regarding analysis of risks and beenfits?
- assess potential benefits to participants, science, and society
- assess potential risks to participants
- assess whether the potential benefits outweigh the risks
(a) If YES, carry out
research
(b) If NO, study must
be modified
What is the principle of respect for persons? What does it state? When is this most often applied?
The ethical principle stating that all individuals should have the free and informed choice whether to participate in research.
It states that participants are treated as autonomous, capable of making deliberate decisions about whether they wish to participate in research.
This is most often applied in the form of informed consent.
What is informed consent?
The ethical principle that potential participants be informed in advance of all aspects of the research that might influence their decision to participate.
What should research participants be informed about?
the purpose of the study, the risks, the benefits of participation, and their rights to refuse or terminate participation in the study at any time without penalty.
What will the content of an informed consent form usually cover? (7 things)
(1) the purpose of research
(2) the procedures that will be used, including time involved
(3) the risks and benefits to the participant and society in general
(4) any compensation
(5) how confidentiality will be protected
(6) the assurance of voluntary participation and permission to withdraw without penalty
(7) contact information for those who have questions about the research and its ethics.
How should consent forms be written in general? Are there specific cases in which you need to take additional measures to obtain informed consent?
should be written in simple and straightforward language that avoids jargon and technical terminology. Typically a grade 6 to 8 reading level.
To make the form easier to understand, it shouldn’t be written in first person. Instead the information should be provided as if the researcher were just having a conversation with the participant.
If English is not the first language of a participant, there should be a translated version of the form.
Are there procedures in which informed consent is not necessary or not possible?
yes. Example, if you are just observing people in a public space because you are not manipulating the people you are observing in any way and everyone in the space understands that they are being observed.
If informed consent is not possible, the researchers responsibiliies to protect the participants are increased.
What populations require special precautions for informed consent?
minors, patients in psychiatric hospitals, adults with cognitive impairment, and other vulnerable populations.
What is usually required for informed consent for minors?
a written consent form signed by a parent or guardian is generally required in addition to agreement by the minor.
What is agreement from a minor formally called?
assent.
What is coercion a threat to? What procedures are considered coercive?
autonomy
any procedure that limits an individuals freedom to consent is potentially coercive.
Can compensation be coercive?
yes. ex: a prisoner may believe that increased privileges or even a favourable parole may result from participating. Or a person with extremely low income could be offered a large sum of money to participate in a study.
What is secondary use of data?
Analyzing data collected for other purposes, separate from the current research aim.
What can secondary use of data from smartphones, fitness trackers etc threaten?
could threaten people’s ability to decide whether to participate in research.
When is it acceptable to with-hold information so as not to let participants onto the study.
if the info does not seem likely to affect a person’s decision to participate and when information will be provided later, usually later during a debriefing.
What is deception?
Any time a researcher misleads participants into believing something about a study that is not true.
What are the 2 types of deception in Milgram’s experiment?
(1) misleading participants about the study goals
(2) staging a situation.
What is it called when researchers create a false purpose for a study that they tell the participants?
a cover story .
Why do researchers use deception?
sometimes they are concerned thati f participants now the true purpose of the study, they will not behave in a realistic fashion and this will affect the outcome of the study.
What are the four potential reasons for why there has been such a decrease in elaborate deception?
(1) researchers have become more and more interested in cognitive variables ans os use the method found in memory search and cogntiive psych
(2) the generla level of awareness of the ethical issues has led researchers to come up with alternatives to using deception
(3) ethics committees ar univiersities and colleges now review proposed research more carefully, so elaborate deception is likely to be approved only when the research is important and there are no other alternatives.
(4) such elaborate set ups are very difficult to achieve successfully, sometimes because participants are suspicious of the possibility of deception after learning about it in their courses.
What is a debreifing?
An explanation of the purpose of the research, given to participants following their participation.
What is debriefing an opportunity for?
for the researcher to deal with the issues of deception, withoding information, and potential harmful effects of participation, what kind of results are expected and any forseeable practical implications. It is also a chance for the researcher to further educate partiicpants about the nature and purpose of the research.
When is debriefing required?
when using deception or when they only partially disclose the purpose of the study.
What must a researcher include in the debrief if deception was used?
explain why it was necessary
Whart are the 2 functions of debriefing?
ethical and educational
Were participants debriefed in the milgram study?
yes. Participants were otld that their behaviour was normal given the circumstances and they were assured that no shock was delivered. Milgram sent his results to all participants along with a survey of their experiences. Most of the participants noted that they were glad they had participated.
If deception is deemed to not be necessary what can researchers consider?
role-playing, simulation studies, and “honest” experiments.
What is the most serious defect of role playing? Why?
no matter what results are obtained, critics can always claim the results would have been different if the participants had ben in a real situation. This is based on research that showing that people arent always able to predict their own behaviour.
What are real world simulations?
real-world simulations which can be used to examine conflict between individuals in a competition, driving behaviour using driving simulators, or jusry deliberations.
What is a special situation that can present unique research opportunities?
naturally occuring events. Ex: effects of nuclear power plant disasters.
What is the principle of justice?
The ethical principle that all individuals and groups should have fair and equal access to the benefits of research participation, and bear its potential risks equally.
What does the principle of justice address?
issues of fairness in recieving benefits of research as well as bearing burdens of research risks.
What must be justified in relation to the principle of justice?
any decision to include or exclude certain people from a researhc study must be justified on scientific grounfs.
If age, ethnicity, or gender is used to select participants what must be included?
a scientific rationale?
When is it unethical for a researcher to study a particular group of people to advance sicence? What are some ways for a group to benefit from research?
if that group of people will not benefit from that research.
training and hiring members of a researched community are just some of the tangible and immediate ways research can benefit partiicpants and an entire community.
How do researchers get funding?
a researcher will typically apply to one of the three Tri-Council agencies, with this choice depending on the type of research being proposed. Once the researcher is awarded the grant, the agency transfers the funds to the university, which in turn administers these funds to the researcher to use for that project.
Who is ultimately responsible for complying with research ethics?
the individual researcher.
What is a research ethics board?
An ethics review committee established to review research proposals within a university. The REB is composed of scientists, non-scientists, and legal experts.
How does the TCPS2 categorize research?
according to the amount of risk involved.
What type of research is typically exempt from REB review? Who decides this?
research in which there is absolutely no risk to participants.
The researcher themself cannot decide this, the institutional REB may create a procedure to allow researchers to apply for this status.
When does exempt research not require REB review? Examples?
(1) when it only uses publicly available information that is legally accessible
(2) when it only involves observing people in public paces without any intervention or interaction by the researcher, and no individuals can be identified when presenting results
(3) uses data that have already been collected and are completely anonymous.
Ex: archival research that uses anonymous data from stats canada public use files. or published parlimentary archives. Or naturalistic observation in publlic places.
What is exempt research?
Research in which there is absolutely no risk to participants, and is thus exempt from REB review.
What is minimal risk research? How is this determined?
Research that involves no greater risks to participants than they would typically encounter in their daily lives.
TCPS2 asks researchers to err towards a conservative interpretation of what constitutes “daily life” in the interest of protecting participants.
What is less emphasized in minimal risk research?
it still adheres to the core principles, but elaborate safeguards are not of great concern, and approval by the REB can often be delegated to a single member rather than considered by the whole committee.
What type of research may be deemed minimal risk?
research using questionnaires or interviews with competent adults and non-sensitive topics.
What research is subject to thorough review by the REB commitee?
greater than minimal risk research.
What is need in greater than minimal risk research?
in addition to informed consent, other safeguards may be required before approval is granted. Using questionnaires or interviews would be classified as greater than minimal risk if the topic was of a sensitive nature, or if the intended participants were from a vulnerable population.
What is researhc typically categorized as if its risk level is ambiguous?
greater than minimal risk
Does the REB only review projects once?
no. Once a project is approved there is often an ongoing review, with long-term projects reviewed at least once each year.
What do the laws for animal research stipulate? What is the most common category of invasiveness?
the need for proper housing. feeding, cleanliness, and health care. It must also avoid cruelty.
common category is research that involves little or no discomfort or stress to the animals.
What is the Canadian Council on Animal care? What is its purpose?
an organization sponsered primarily by NSERC and CIHR.
it oversees the ethical use of animals in science in Canada.
What must institutions in which researhc on animals is carried out have?
an animal care committee (ACC) composed of at least one scientist, and or teacher with experience in animal use, one institutional member, and others.
What are the widely accepted three R’s of good animal practice in science?
In animal research, the principles of:
- replacement (avoid using animals if possible)
- reduction (minimize the number of animals used),
- refinement (modify procedures to minimize distress).
What are ethics codes?
Guidelines for ethical conduct developed by professional societies.
What other than the traditional principles of ethics are psychologists committed to?
increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behaviour and people’s understanding of themselves and others through the use of such knowledge to improve the consition of individuals organizations and society.
What is the primary responsibility of psychologists?
towards te most vulnerable members of society as opposed to government or coporation.
Why must we be able to believe the reported results of research (through ethical decision making in data analysis etc)?
otherwise the entire foundation of the scientific method as a means of knowledge is threatened.
What is scientific misconduct?
when researchers behave unethically to produce false evidence for a phenomenon
How is scientific misconduct possible?
there are many points in the publication process where scientists have a great deal of freedom in how data is collected, analyzed and reported. This felxibility allows researchers ot make decisions that falsely show evidene.
What are 2 ways in which fraud is committed in science?
(1) fabricating data
(2) collecting real data but altering the numbers to fit the hypothesis.
What is fraud?
The intentional misrepresentation of any aspect of research, including the presentation of results that are misleading or based on faulty data.
How is fraud in science detected?
it is possible that they might be detected hwen other scientists fail to replicate the results of the study, or thorough peer review process. However, data show that fraud is often detected by colleagues or students working with the researcher. In addition, people have started to detect fraud by statistically analyzing the published results.
Another metod being developed to detect whether there is good evidence for a phenomenon is that when a real effect exists, p values just below .05 are rather unlikely.
Why do some researchers committ fraud?
scientists occaisionally find themselves seeking or holding academic positions with extreme pressure to produce impressive results.
Researchers may also feel a need to produce fraudulent data if they have an exaggerated fear of failure, plus a great need for success and admiration.
What does the potential that fraud can be committed emphasize to researchers?
the importance of keeping careful records and documentation of all procedures, analyses, and results to be able to prove that fraud did not take place.
do mistakes like rounding errors sometimes occur in published repors of analyses?
yes.
What is one thing the concern regarding scientific fraud has led to?
improving transpareny and allowing others to see exactly what was done at each stage of the project.
What are 3 concrete practices individual researchers can adopt if they want to help build honest and more acurate sicence?
(1) disclosure
(2) preregistration of studies
(3) open data and materials
What does pregistration involve?
posting a public statement of what your methods will be as well as your data analysis plan, all before data are collected.
What does disclosing information entail?
keeping records of exactly how the research was conducted, facilitating replication attempts and allowing better evaluation of the study.
What is plagiarism?
The intentional or unintentional use of another person’s work (words or ideas) without adequately indicating the source.
