ethics Flashcards
research methods
Why is this important?
Psychologists need enough people to take part in their research and participation is completely voluntary. So it’s important that participants are treated with respect and not damaged in any way
What are ethical issues?
The arise in psychology when there is a conflict between the needs of the research/researcher and the ethical rights/dignity of the participants
What is the issue-lack of informed consent?
Informed consent is when participants make an informed decision to participate in the study. To make this decision, they need to know the real aims and the purposes of all procedures which is hard when deception is involved, or field experiments are used where people don’t know they’re taking part
How can lack of informed consent be dealt with?
Consent form- include all, most or some of the details of the study (where possible) :
-purpose
-what happens to them and their results
-length of time it takes
-they have the right to withdraw
-they’re entitled to medical supervision and protection of harm
What is the issue-debrief?
At the end of the study, participants should be told the truth about the study. the purpose of the debrief is to restore participants to the state they were in when they started the study. this may involve making them feel as though their responses were within the norm.
How can debrief be dealt with?
It can be harder if the participant disappears once their data has been collected. The following should be covered:
-the real aims of the study and hypothesis
-what past research has found
-why each task was included
-how the participant performed
-offers of counselling
-opportunity to ask questions
What is the issue-privacy?
Participants should only be studied if they are in a place in which they would expect to have other people see them
How can privacy be dealt with?
- choose location carefully- only observe participants where they would reasonably expected to be seen by others
- debrief- once the data has been collected, approach the participant to explain the purpose of the study and give them the option to withdraw their data
What is the issue- protection from harm?
Participants should not be put in a situation that could cause them to be more at risk of physical or psychological harm than in their day to day lives. Psychological harm can include developing feelings of anxiety, embarrassment or extreme frustration
How can protection from harm be dealt with?
- don’t do anything that could lead to harm- if any procedures are likely to increase the participant’s risk of harm, don’t do it
- stop the study- sometimes a researcher might genuinely not predict a procedure will lead to distress, if any distress does happen, stop the study immediately
What is the issue- deception?
General issue referring to any instance in which the participants have been lied to or misled. For instance, Milgram told his participants that Mr Wallace had a heart condition
How can deception be dealt with?
- cost-benefit analysis- cost to the participants versus the benefits to the research could be weighed up
- debrief- if the researcher goes ahead and deceives the participant then this should be thoroughly addressed in the debrief. Any untruths should be highlighted with reasons given for why they were necessary
What is the issue- confidentiality?
Results must not be traceable back to the participants. This is especially relevant when considering sensitive topics
How can confidentiality be dealt with?
- don’t record names- most of the time there is no need to have participants write information that could identify them on their responses
- use pseudonyms or initials- in case studies one individual is followed up and their initials are often used (e.g. K.F) or they are given a pseudonym (e.g. Freud’s ‘Little Hans’)
What is the issue- right to withdraw?
Participation is voluntary and so right to withdraw becomes an issue if participants haven’t been told that they can leave at any point
How can right to withdraw be dealt with?
- make right to withdraw clear- at the start of the study make it clear that participation is voluntary
- allow data to be withdraw once it has been collected- participants have the right to have their data removed
What are ethical guidelines?
Regulatory bodies in place to provide guidance on how to conduct research in an ethically acceptable manner- in the UK this body is the BPS- British Psychology Society- its code of ethics provides guidance on how to plan and conduct research in an ethically acceptable way
What are the four main themes looked at by the BPS?
- respect
- integrity
- social responsibility
- maximise benefit and minimise harm
What do they say about respect?
Psychologists should show respect for their participants, making sure their dignity is maintained. To demonstrate this respect, psychologists should get participant’s informed consent, keep information confidential, respect their participants privacy and ensure they know they have the right to withdraw their data.
What do they say about integrity?
Psychologists should demonstrate scientific integrity. This means that their research should be high quality. This is because the conclusions of research can be potentially damaging to whole groups of people. When research has potentially damaging consequences for large groups of people it is known as socially sensitive research. An example of this is research carried out by Hernstein and Murray who claimed to find racial differences in intelligence.
What do they say about social responsibility?
Psychologists should keep in mind that their main aim is to improve understanding of human nature with a mind to improve policies and the way things are approached as a society. If the aims of research don’t have potentially beneficial outcomes this could be indicative that the research is unethical.
What do they say about maximise benefit and minimise harm?
Psychologists should aim to ensure that any potential harm through participation in the study is not greater than that faced in real life. The study should be stopped if distress is shown by the participants. If the research does indicate that a participant is in need of professional help they should be put in touch with a relevant practitioner.
