Ethics Flashcards
What do ethics in psychology cover?
Psychological competence and types of therapy and assessment advocating for responsible conduct research (RCR)
What do UNESCO guidelines cover?
They cover social scientists in regards to confidentiality, responsibility and care
What is different about health workers?
They have their own set of guidelines but joined the HCPC in July 2009
What does the BPS stand for?
The British Psychology Society
What is the BPS?
They are compulsory, the Code of Ethics and Conduct founders in 2009 which cover psychological research and conduct
What are the four main principles?
Respect, Competence, Integrity and Responsibility
What is Respect?
Willingness to explain any study’s ethics,
Respecting individual differences (avoiding unfair practises/prejudice and prospecting opinions),
Privacy and confidentiality(including: data not shared not naming participants),
Informed consent,
Giving the right to withdraw with it being understood by the participant
What is Competence?
Being aware of ethics/ethical issues around a subject,
Watching out for impaired performances,
Keeping up-to-date with knowledge in their field
What is Responsibility?
Doing no harm,
Avoiding participant distress,
Health awareness throughout the study, No compensation, Right to withdraw, Animals well treated, Debriefed after the study
What is Integrity?
Honesty and accuracy between dealings,
Clear personal boundaries between clients and participants,
Acting on misconduct ~ deception on researchers’ behalf may be necessary dependent on the study
Why is it hard to evaluate a study based on these 4 main principles?
Though they underpin all psychological research and practises, it’s hard to evaluate a study on accuracy, reliability and ethical conduct based on them
What are the five guidelines you should follow for evaluating studies?
Informed Consent,
Avoiding Deception,
Giving the Right to Withdraw,
Debriefing Participants,
Being Competent
Define the requirement of ‘informed consent’
You can observe in public without gaining consent unless you involve a specific individual. For children, parents give informed consent as children aren’t able to make an informed choice and the same with students. Milgram gained presumptive consent (gave those not involved a choice whether they would get involved in the study and gained other psychologist’s opinions) as getting informed consent may have negatively affected the results. This isn’t as difficult for questionnaires/surveys/ interviews as participants may guess the study and if getting consent isn’t possible, debriefing them afterwards makes it more ethical.
Define the requirement of ‘avoiding deception’
This may be necessary sometimes as it disguises the real aim, but unnecessary in questionnaires/interviews as sometimes the many questions disguise the real one. Deception needs an actual lie e but could also be when informed consent isn’t given, when participants aren’t told what results to expect or how they are used, or disguising the role of other participants.
Define the requirement of ‘giving the right to withdraw’
this should be given at any point of the experiment, but may affect the results dependent on the study (i.e. obedience). Milgram didn’t explicitly give this right. Children and vulnerable people should be reminded of this right, as they may not feel as if they can.
Define the requirement of ‘debriefing participants’
This should occur at the start and include obtaining informed consent. It should also include the study, the results (expected/obtained) but is unnecessary unless you’re looking at specific individuals.
Define the requirement of ‘being competent’
This included knowing about the study implication, ethical guidelines, advice in unconfident areas and being suitably qualified, safe practice (adherence to the Data Protection Act)in knowing how/where to store data. It is hard to assess competence without the study’s results.
What is risk management?
The decision whether to carry out a study based on intangible risk (unknown consequences)
How do we determine risk?
Take the highest threat and minus it from the lowest threat, to find the probability of the threat occuring
What is the process of risk management about?
To identify the situation and the risk, and then follow the risk throughout the study’s procedure: setting out how the risk is going to occur, ideas thought about how to manage said risk and the analysis of the risk. Further knowledge is sought before the final assessment takes place.
What are the three solutions to managing risk?
Avoiding it completely, reducing the risk as far as possible, and transferring it
What does ‘transferring risk’ as one of the solutions of managing risk mean?
using insurance against it or accepting and budgeting for it → in psychology, mitigation or avoidance are ideal solutions or else budgeting for it
How do BPS prevent risk to practising psychologists and their patients?
Getting a supervisor to oversee any therapy and referring if needed
What is an example of BPS protecting their psychologists and their patients?
Forensic psychologists, for example, are special cases dealing with offender behaviour and so are balancing a thin, threatening line of balancing the risk to the public if the individual’s behaviour becomes threatening.
Why are child participants different?
They need special consideration, as they need to be safeguarded. They need to make sure to tell them that confidentiality only goes up to a certain limit.
What are the rights of children?
Participate in a study or discussion about them but also the right to be protected
What does the Latrine Code of Human Research say?
in a study, risk of harm to a participant must be no greater than that they experience in their normal, everyday life
What is risk defined as?
Potential harm (physical or psychological) including discomfort and stress, beliefs, social status, privacy and relationships → therefore it is important to address risks and have protocols in place to do this.
What are the things that may have more than a minimal amount of risk?
Vulnerable participants → children under 18 and some adults lacking capacity or in unequal relationships),
Sensitive topics e.g. sexuality, violent experiences, gender or ethnicity),
Deception if it is significant enough,
Records → when they are accessed e.g. getting genetic or private information,
Sensitive data e.g. employee records,
Harm → more than the minimum amount of pain, causing harm or distress,
Experiences e.g. hypnosis or invasive techniques, physical education,
Labelling → anything that leads to the participant labelling themselves e.g. bad memory or am stupid,
Samples → involving the collection of biological data e.g. blood
What does the BPS Code of Human Research Ethics insist a research do?
Go to an ethics committee in order to explain the protocols for risk management and its cost-benefit analysis.
What do the ethics in regards to animals involve?
The number of animals used, caging, use of anaesthetics and the use of endangered animals. A Home Office Licence is also required as well as special rules as these ethics don’t follow human guidelines.
What are the three ways of looking at ethical issues?
As a practical psychologist: rebalancement of power so all treatment is focused on the client;
Ethics of ‘doing’ psychologists e.g. protecting and respecting psychologists;
Ethics of results Usage/ application e.g. bad or good → can link with issues and debates of social control e.g. related to sensitive social research
What are the ethical issues within social psychology? (3)
Implication of findings of prejudice/ obedience have ethics including psychology in society;
Ethic of doing research → participants in Milgram 1963;
BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2009) and the four ethical points
What are the ethical issues within biological psychology?(4)
Special animal procedure e.g. Animal Scientific Procedures 1986;
Aggression studies and findings involve moral issues (blame and punishment);
Raine et al. (1997) → non-murderers and murderers brain scans;
Participants treated ethically
What are the ethical issues within learning theories?(4)
Animals in laboratory experiments;
Watson and Rayner (1920) Little Albert Study;
In research e.g. classical conditioning experiment involving phobias;
Operant conditioning studies such as learned behaviour that can change someone/animal
What are the ethical issues within cognitive psychology? (4)
Field Experiments → ethical issues of public space usage;
Lab Experiments → participants within a strange situation and the stress experienced;
Case Studies of brain damage → confidentiality, privacy and stress of the participants;
Consequences of the findings → memory knowledge help dementia patients
What were the ethical issues for participants within Milgram’s study?
Basic study distress (one had seizures) violating responsibility principles (do not harm and participants shouldn’t experience distress);
Theory to withdraw, made harder as they’re prodded to continue;
Lack of Informed Consent → thinks real shocks, memory experiments, lots were not rigged (deception);
Ethical in his debrief (principle of competence) → prove no arm, left in reasonable frame of mind, observation through mirror and own competency assessment through colleagues;
Meeus and Radijmaker’s study was similar to Milgram’s in terms of stress, theory of right to withdraw;
Milgram (1974) had to carry out these studies for society to know about obedience (take steps against destructive obedience). It is useful to note, as well, that the Netherlands (Meeus and Raaijmaker) and the USA (Milgram) have similar obedience levels as it suggests that Westernised countries have similar obedience levels→ Ideas of resistance are also useful to note when it may be important e.g. for orders against the values of society.
