Ethical implications of research studies and theories Flashcards
What are ethical guidlines?
Established to help protect those involved in research.
What are ethical implications?
Consider the impact or consequences that psychological research has on the rights of other people in a wider context not just the participants in the research.
What is socially sensitive research?
Resesearch which has implications for certain groups in society and can affect the way that they are treated and perceived.
Example of socially sensitive research?
Bowlbys attachment research may lead mothers to feel guilty about going back to work.
What should researchers be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research?
-Implications
-Uses/public policy.
-Validity of the research
Strength of socially sensitive research.
A strength is that there are benefits of socially sensitive research. Despite the ethical implications associated with research into controversial topics, Scarr argues that studies of underrepresented groups and issues may promote a greater sensitivity and understanding of these. This can help reduce prejudice and enourage acceptance. Similarly, socially sensitive research has benefitted society e.g research into the unreliability of eyewitness testimony has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice. This suggests that socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society.
Limitation of ethical implications of research studies.- cost and benefits.
Costs and benefits may be difficult to predict. An ethical committee weighs up the cost and benefits of the research however this is difficult to do with some vulnerable groups without making the research public. Assessments of the worth of the research are subjective and the real impact of the research can only really be made clear when it has been made public.
Limitation of socially sensitive research. - Social control.
A limitation is that social sensitive research may be used for social control. For example, from the 1920s and 1930s, a latge number of US states enacted legislation that led to the compulsory sterilisation of many citizens on the grounds that they were ‘feeble-minded’ and a drain on society. This included people of low intelligence, drug or alcohol addicts and the mentally ill. The rationale was that the feeble minded were unfit to breed. The fact that socially sensitive research has been used to prop up discriminatory practices in the past is an argument against its widespread adoption.
