Ethics Flashcards
What are APA ETHICS?
The ethical principles covering psychologists’ competence and ideas of assessment and therapy, advocating RCR
What is RCR?
Responsible Conduct Research
What are UNESCO Ethics?
Ethical principles for social scientists including care, responsibility and confidentiality
What are Health care Worker’s ethics?
They have their own set of guidelines.
From July 2009, they’re governed by the HCPC.
What is the code of Ethics and Conduct?
British Psychological Society (2009) made these covering research and conduct.
You have to follow these principles.
What are the BPS’ four main principles?
Respect, Competence, Integrity and Responsibility
Define the Ethical Principle of Respect (5)
Willingness to explain any study’s ethics
Respecting individual differences (avoiding unfair practises and prejudice and respecting opinions)
Includes privacy & confidentiality (data only allowed to be shared but not naming any ppts)
Getting Informed Consent or Presumptive if this isn’t possible
Giving the right to withdraw and understood by ppts
Define the Ethical Principle of Competence (3)
Being aware of ethical issues around subjects
Watching out for impairments in performance
Keeping up-to-date with knowledge relevant to your field
Define the Ethical Principle of Integrity (3)
Honesty and Accuracy in dealings with others
Clear Personal Boundaries between clients and psychologist
Looking for misconduct and acting on it (deception on researcher’s behalf may be necessary)
Define the Ethical Principle of Responsibility (8)
Doing no harm Avoiding the distress of participants Responsible for the actions of other practitioners (ie. bad practises) Aware of ppt's health throughout study No Compensation Right to Withdraw With Animals, good treatment Debriefs after completion of study
Why should you try to get informed consent?
It gives people a choice and is useful when evaluating a study.
How do you get informed consent?
Observations in public places don’t need consent unless involving individuals
Parents can give consent on behalf of children as they aren’t fully developed enough to make this decision themselves
Not as difficult in questionnaires and interviews as a participant
Why couldn’t Milgram have got informed consent?
May have affected results - gained presumptive consent instead
May have guessed the study
How could you have made it more ethical?
Debrief after the study was completed
What is presumptive consent?
Giving a part choice and asking other psychologists their opinion on the possible consequences
When shouldn’t a study be carried out?
If the participant will leave in a different state than they arrived.
Why should you avoid deception?
Sometimes it’s unavoidable, especially if it may alter the results of a study but it makes it more ethical
In what cases, is deception likely? (5)
When informed consent isn’t given
When not told ppts when results are expected/ how they’re used/ roles of other ppts
When you disguise the real question - often done in surveys
Why should you give the right to withdraw and in which cases?
At any point in the study but it may affect results dependant on what you’re studying
Children and the vulnerable have to be reminded of this right - may not feel as if they can leave
What should debriefing participants include?
Be at the start, asking for informed consent:
Include study and an explanation as well as expectant results
Unnecessary if not looking at individuals
What are the qualities of a competent practitioner? (7)
Understanding study, implications, ethical guidelines, advice in unconfident areas of work, suitably qualified, adherence to Data Protection Act, knowledge of where/ how to study data
Why is it hard to assess competence?
When you don’t have any results, it’s hard to assess competence.
What is risk management in a study?
The decision to carry out a study, based on intangible risk (unknown consequences)
How is risk management carried out?
Take the highest threat and subtract it from the lowest threat to figure out the probability of the risk happening within the study
What is the process of risk management? (4)
Identify the situation and the risk
Follow the risk throughout the study’s procedure (how it may occur, how to manage if it did occur, and analyse the risk)
Seek further knowledge
Final assessment
What are the possible solutions for managing risks? (3)
Complete avoidance
Reduction as far as possible
Acceptance and budgeting for it
What are the ideal solutions for managing risks in psychology?
Mitigation or avoidance or if not possible, budgeting
How do the BPS deal with risk with practising psychologists and their participants?
Obtain a supervisor to oversee any therapy necessary and referral if needed.
What is a special case in risk between participants and psychologist?
Forensic scientists, as they deal with offender behaviour and balance a thin line towards risk to the public if individual behaviour becomes threatening.
Why does child participation require special consideration?
In order to safeguard the child, therefore it must also be explained to the child that confidentiality only goes up to a certain extent.
What are a child’s rights within psychological practises? (3)
The right to participate in a study
Right to discussion about themselves
Right to be protected
What does the Latrine Code of Human Research state about risks within a study?
Risk of harm to a participant must be no greater than the risk they are exposed to in their normal, everyday life
What are risks defined in the Latrine Code of Human Research?
Potential harm (physical or emotional) whilst a study is performed including discomfort or stress, beliefs, values, social status, privacy and relationships
What may have more than the minimal amount of risk? (8)
Vulnerable Participants (Children under 18 as well as some adults lacking capacity or in an unequal relationship)
Sensitive topics (ie. sexuality, violent experiences, gender or ethnicity)
Deception (significant amount)
Records (when they’re accessed in order to gain information about genetic or private information)
Harm (More than the minimal amount of pain, causing harm or distress)
Experiences (hypnosis, or invasive techniques, physical education)
Labelling (anything that leads to the participants labelling themselves ie. bad memory)
Samples (collection of biological data ie. blood or saliva)
Why does a psychologist have to go to a committee board?
In order to explain the protocols for risk management and its cost-benefit analysis
What do the ethics regarding animals depend on? (6)
Number of animals within the study Caging Use of anaesthetics Use of endangered species Requirement of a Home Office Licence Special Rules as they don't follow human ethical guidelines
What are the ways of looking at ethical issues? (3)
As a practising psychologist : re-balancing all power in favour of the client
In favour of the ethics of ‘doing’ psychology ie. protecting and respecting other psychologists
Ethics of Results Usage or Application: good or bad as this can link into debates and issues of social control which can be related to sensitive social research
What are the ethical issues within Social Psychology? (3)
Implications of findings in prejudice/obedience including psychology in society
Ethics of doing research: participants in Milgram’s 1963 study
BPS code of Ethics and Conduct (2009) and the four main ethical principles
What are the ethical issues within Cognitive Psychology? (4)
Field experiments: ethical issues concerning public space usage
Lab Experiments: Participants are within a strange, artificial setting and may experience stress etc.
Case Studies of brain damage: confidentiality, privacy and stress of the participant
Consequences of findings: memory knowledge helps dementia patients
What are the ethical issues within Biological Psychology? (4)
Special animal procedures ie. Animal Scientific Procedures Act 1986
Aggression studies and findings involve moral issues (blame and punishment)
Raine et al (1977): non-murders and murderers brain scans
Ethical Treatment of Participants
What are the ethical issues of Learning Psychology? (4)
Animals in lab experiments
Watson and Rayner’s 1920 Little Albert Study
Research ie. classical conditioning involving phobias etc.
Operant conditioning studies such as learned behaviour that can change someone or an animal
