Issues And Debates: Ethical Implications Flashcards
What are ethics and what are they used for?
A system of moral principles used to protect participants from psychological and physical harm or loss of self-esteem. We consider “do the ends justify the means?”, by following advice set out by the British psychological society (BPS) to help psychologists carry out their research properly (ethically)
What are the British psychological guidelines?
Consent, deception, confidentiality, debrief, withdrawal, protection
CD2 WP
What are ethical implications?
Where research has an impact on the lives of those studied and other similar groups, on wider society, and the broader field of psychology
What are the ethical implications in Bowlby’s attachment theory (example)?
His theory of attachment can have an impact on how mothers choose their work choices
How do Sieber and Stanley (988) define social sensitivity?
Studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participants involved in the research or for the class of individuals represented by the research
What are the three concerns Sieber and Stanley (1988) identified that researchers should keep in mind?
Implications: the wider effects of the research should be carefully considered, as some studies may give scientific credence to prejudice and discrimination
Uses / public policy: the researcher needs to consider the research and what purpose it could be used for, how it could be used for political ends to shape policy
Validity of the research: although research is supposed to be objective and value free, this is not always the case, the researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research
What did Cyril Burt do and how did his research create implications?
He used studies of identical twins to support his view that intelligence is largely genetic, his views greatly influenced the Hadow Report (1926), which lead to the creation of the 11+ exam, which was used from 1944-1976, meaning that generations of children were affected by it. It was later transpired that his data was falsified
What was the 11+ exam?
It was a selective entrance examination for grammar schools in England, primarily used to determine a child’s eligibility for a place in a grammar school
What are the benefits of considering socially sensitive research?
The considerations outlined by Sieber and Stanley provide a mechanism to safeguard individuals who are indirectly affected by psychological research, because of the problems with socially sensitive research, it’s not sufficient to simply safeguard only participants taking part in the research, for example, the current ethical guidelines do not require researchers to consider how their findings may be used by other people or institutions to form and / or shape public social policy
Scarr (1988) argues that studies of under-represented groups and issues may promote greater understanding to help reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance.
Socially sensitive research can benefit society as a whole, e.g. research into the unreliability of EWT has reduced the risk of miscarriages within the legal justice system, suggesting that socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society
Sieber and Stanley (1988) warn that how research questions are phrased and investigated may influence the ways findings are interpreted, promoting awareness for researchers to consider their choices in publication as they can can misrepresent minority groups
What is reflexivity?
Where researchers acknowledge their own bias in research
Negatives of socially sensitive research
Packard (1957) explored how advertisers and politicians used psychological techniques to manipulate consumers and voters (companies gain social control)
Socially sensitive research has been used to ‘prop up’ discriminatory practices, use or examining race differences in IQ has been used to justify social control, e.g. between 1907-1963 >64,000 individuals forcefully sterilized under eugenic US legislation. In 1972, 2000 involuntary black woman were sterilized
Consequences involving vulnerable groups difficult to anticipate, assessments of worth are subjective, real impact never known until research is public, once research is out there it’s also hard to control
