Controversies (ethical costs of research)

Question 1

What are ethical issues when it comes to psychology?

Answer 1

• ethical issues are issues because there is a conflict between the needs of researchers to produce research that benefits society and the needs of individual participants who have rights to be treated fairly.
• So we begin this spread on ethical issues with these two sides of the conflict: society versus individual participants.

Question 2

What are the benefits of conducting research to society and the economy?

Answer 2

• psychological research offers many benefits to society. for example psychoactive is very important in the treatment of mental health (including addiction and other behaviours).
• The McCrone report (mccrone et al 2008) estimated the direct costs of mental health in England at around 22.5 billion pounds a year.
• the report commented on the use of drugs versus psychotherapies, saying that ‘the number of people receiving medication provides a much greater economic gain than psychological therapies, which may produce similar benefits compared to medication but are far more expensive’
• evidence based research on effective drug therapies is important in reducing costs and helping people return to work.
• Another example of wider benefits to society can be seen in John Bowlby’s research. Bowlby’s research on seperation and attachment opened the eyes of the world to the importance of emotional care in early cild development.

Question 3

Individual participants

Answer 3

• All research depends on individuals who are willing to take part- for example, people willing to be tested for drugs or families willing to be part of case studies related to separation.
• The welfare of these individuals is worthy of equal consideration to the potential benefits of society.
• Watson and Rayner’s study consider the study by J.B Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) in which they demonstrated conditioned emotional responses in Little Albert.
• This demonstration was of major significance in showing that emotions could be learned, suggesting it was possible to shape feelings through psychotherapy.
• However the study had quite a high cost to the participant, Little Albert, who was deliberately subjected to psychological harm which may have lasted a lifetime.
• In fact there is some evidence that it did - Little Albert’s mother moved away before Albert could be ‘debriefed’; the real Albert may have had a lifelong aversion to animals, according to Russ Powell et al (2014).

Question 4

Potential Negative consequences for society

Answer 4

• There could be some instances whereby not carrying out research could result in negative outcoms for society. Joan Sieber and Ever Stanley (1988) drew special attention to ‘studies in which there are potential social consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in research or the class of individuals represented by the research’
• simply by askng a research question (such as ‘are there racial differences in IQ?’ or ‘Is homosexuality inherited?’) may be damaging to members of a particular racial group or sexual orientation because it appears to add scientific credibility to prevailing prejudice just by asking the question.
• There are always some social consequences to participation in research but with socially sensitive research there is also the increased potential for a more indirect impact on the participants family, their co-workers, or maybe even the group that the participant represents (e.g addicts, women, the elderly and so on).

Question 5

What is the solution to the potential negative consequences for society?

Answer 5

• It might be tempting to think that the solution is to avoid socially sensitive research. e.g. to avoid research on homosexuality, race, gender, addiction etc. because the findings may have negative consequences for the participants or for the section of society they represent or indeed for the whole of society.
• However, this would probably leave psychologists with nothing to examine but unimportant issues.
• Sieber and Stanley’s view is that to ignore sensitive research is not a responsible approach to science. They suggest that avoiding controversial topics, simply because they are controversial, is also an avoidance of responsibility.
• Therefore psychologists have a duty to conduct such research.
• In order to reduce the likelihood of misuse of data, psychologists should be energetic in taking responsibility for what happens to their findings.

Question 6

Risk management techniques used by psychologists

Answer 6

• psychologists manage ethical risks in research through the development of professional guidelines for the conduct of their studies.
• It is the hallmark of any professional group of people (lawyers,doctors,etc), that they monitor standards of behaviour for their group.
• In britain, psychologists are bound by the guidelines of the british psychological society (BPS). This identifies four core principles; respect, competence, responsibility and integrity. The BPS also advises on specific situations, giving instructions about what is appropriate (e.g. valid consent should be sought from a parent or guardian when working with vulnerable individuals).