Ethical Issues Flashcards
what is an ethical issue?
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a conflict between what the researcher needs to do in order to conduct useful research AND the rights of the participants
involve questions about right and wrong and what is considered acceptable in psychological research
BPS: ethical guidelines
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the British Psychological Society (BPS) has put safeguards in place to protect participants in studies, their are ethical guidelines that need to be stuck to:
- informed consent
- privacy
- deception
- protection from harm
- right to withdrawal
informed consent
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participants maths be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it, so they can make an informed decision about whether to participate
a basic human right established during the Nuremberg war trials
participants must truly understand what they’re signing up for — Epstein et al found that only 1/3 or participants volunteering for an experiment really understand what they had agreed to take part in
researchers must point out the likely risks and benefits of participating so that a participant can decide whether they wish to take part
problems with consent
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revealing such details may cause participants to guess the aims of the study which can lead to demand characteristics and change the way the participants behave
researchers may therefore not want to reveal the true aims of the study straight away or even give full details about the procedures — if this is the case, they may gain retrospective consent
researchers cannot always accurately predict the risks or benefits of taking part in a study so are not able to give participants all the information needed
4 types of consent
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4 types of consent:
- informed consent = must obtain informed consent before research is conducted, parental consent is needed for participants under 16 years old
- presumptive consent = consent from someone else with a similar background or someone who knows the participant
- retrospective consent = consent obtained afterwards, only if an alternative procedure is not possible, usually used in conjunction with presumptive consent
- prior general consent = consent obtained before participation without detailed knowledge of the whole procedure, participants only know the basics
privacy
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keeping participants information private, people have the right to control the flow of information about themselves
anonymity = using code numbers instead of names, no names or addresses are given, no connection can be made between data and specific participants
confidentiality = Data Protection Act makes confidentiality a legal right, no personal information is shared with anyone else, this information must be protected
also involves the idea of not invading a participants privacy and personal space
deception
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should be avoided as far as possible
it may be necessary to deceive participants about the true aims of the study if the researcher will obtain more robust results (for example, avoiding demand characteristics). in this case investigators may gain retrospective, presumptive or prior general consent
but deliberately providing false information is less acceptable than withholding some details about research aims to avoid demand characteristics
may prevent participants from being able to give fully informed consent as they are not being told the true aims of the study and what the study will involve
deception may be harmless in studies that are unlikely to cause harm or distress, such as memory studies. but deception is highly unethical in studies that may pose a risk to the participant
Baumrind argues that deception is morally wrong because… participants have the right of informed consent, researchers are obliged to protect the participants from harm and have a responsibility to be trustworthy
problems with privacy
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can be difficult to protect confidentiality because the researcher wishes to publish their findings
even if anonymity is used, sometimes it’s quite obvious as to who has taken part in a study (for example, knowing a study has been conducted on children in an Isle of Wight hospital could permit some to narrow down the sample)
protection from harm
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protection from both physical and psychological harm
participants are supposed to leave the study in a similar or better state, they must not experience negative physical or psychological effects such as physical injury, lowered self esteem or embarrassment
if in doubt, the experimenter is responsible for checking that it’s safe to continue the experiment
study must be stopped if harm occurs, especially harm that would not otherwise be experienced in ordinary life
problems with protection from harm
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it’s not always possible to guarantee protection from harm, especially since some of the more important questions in psychology involves some degree of distress being caused to participants, it’s also hard to predict the outcome of certain procedures
right to withdraw
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should always let participants know that they can withdraw at any time
participants have a right to withdraw personally or withdraw their data from the study at any time if they feel uncomfortable in any way or simply wish to stop participating, even after the study has ended
experimenter is responsible for stopping data collection if participants show signs of distress
participants have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use any data they produced
problems with right to withdraw
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if participants leave during the study, this will bias the results because the remaining participants are likely to be more obedient or more motivated — leading to a biased sample
in some situations, participants may feel less able to withdraw and feel pressured to stay, possibly if they’re being paid to participate or if they’re being given some other kind of reward (e.g. students are often given university credits)
briefing/debriefing
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used to address ethical issues
briefing itself is only an ethical issue if it does not occur or fails to gain informed consent, etc
involved briefing participants before a study by proving relevant information of the procedure
debriefing provides support after the research if necessary, such as counselling — important especially if deception occurred or participants did not give fully informed consent, debriefing about the true nature of the experiment is essential
BPS code of ethics and conduct
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psychologists in the UK are advised by the British Psychological Society
they publish codes of ethics and conduct, the most recent of which was published in 2009 and identified 4 key principles:
- respect — for the dignity and worth of all persons, includes privacy and informed consent, deception is only acceptable if it’s strictly necessary to protect the integrity of research and if the deception is disclosed to the participants at the earliest opportunity
- competence — psychologists should maintain high standards in their professional work
- responsibility — psychologists have a responsibility to their clients, to the general public and to the science of psychology. includes protection from harm
- integrity — psychologists should be honest and accurate, includes reporting their findings accurately while acknowledging potential limitations, also involves bringing instances of misconduct by other psychologists to the attention of the BPS
