Ethical Considerations Flashcards
What are ethical guidelines?
- Rules that all psychologists should follow and operate
- Most recent Code of Ethics highlights 4 main principles
1) Respect - Psychologists should show respect for the dignity and worth for all participants
- Privacy and confidentiality and participants should be aware of their right to withdraw
2) Competence - Maintain high standards in their professional work
3) Responsibility - Responsible to protect participants from physical and psychological harm as well as debriefing at the conclusion if the study
4) Integrity - Honest and accurate when reporting their study and acknowledging any potential limitations
What is an ethical issue?
- An issue arises in Psychology when a conflict or dilemma exists between participants rights and researchers needs
What are some major ethical issues?
- Informed consent
- Deception
- Right to withdraw
- Privacy/confidentiality
- Protection from stress/harm
What is a lack of informed consent and how it is dealt with?
- Psychologists should ensure participants are helped to fully understand all aspects of the research
- The aims, procedures and what the data will be used for
- Participants should give their informed consent to participate in the study without being coerced
- Researcher should give the participants a consent form to sign and the form should include all aspects of the study
- Form should also inform the participants of their rights
- If participants are under 16 or a vulnerable adult then an adult needs to sign the form
- If a study is carried out without participants don’t know they are being studied a researcher will obtain Presumptive Consent, this is using a similar target population to see if they’d consent
What is deception and how it is dealt with?
- Withholding information concerning the study and misleading participants about the aims or procedures or what the results will be used for
- Crucial to not lie to maintain integrity of the research
What is the Right to Withdraw and how is it dealt with?
- Once a participant agrees to participate in study the researcher cannot force them do to anything they do not want to
- Nor can they use their results if the participant has not agreed or withdrawn
- In an informed consent it will be clearly outlined that a participant has the right to withdraw at any time during the test including after
- Payments or any other incentives must still be given even if they withdraw
What is Privacy/Confidentiality and how is it dealt with
- Participants have the right to patient confidentiality and should have their data protected in accordance with the Data Protection act
- If findings are published then the participants should remain anonymous by removing biographical details and replacing them with numbers
- Participants should be told at the start that their data will be private
What is Risk of Harm/Protection from stress and how is it dealt with?
- Key responsibility protect participants from stress and harm ad any harm they do face should be no greater than that of natural life
- Psychologists should always think of participants welfare and think of the experiment from their perspective
- Participants should be given assurance that they don’t need to do anything or answer anything they don’t want to
- All participants should be able to receive professional treatment or advice should they wish so during the experiment including after
What is a Consent Form?
- A way of gaining consent from participants when conducting research
- When consent can be gained, participants should be informed on the aims of the study, what they’ll be doing, why they are doing it and what the findings will be used for
- Sometimes they may need to be deceived in order for the test to be done correctly
What is an example of a consent form?
Thank you for expressing interest in participating in the study.
The main aims are… (possible deception)
If you do wish to take part in the research you will be required to do the following things…
You have the right to withdraw at any time as well as after the experiment including results
Your details will remain confidential and your biographical details will be replaced with a participant number
If you still consent please sign
Signed:
Date:
What is a Debriefing?
- All participants should be debriefed after the experiment
- thanking the participant and revealing any deceptions
- Inform the participants what they were involved in
- Remind of rights
- Give contact details if they wish to contact
What is an example of a debrief?
Thank you for partaking in the experiment, the true aims were…(inform they were deceived)
Throughout the research you were required to…The other participants did…Which enabled researchers to investigate…
You still have the right to withdraw without affecting payment or incentive
Your details will remain private
If you wish to contact the team please ring… or email…
If you still consent to your data being used
Sign:
Date:
