methods: ethical guidelines Flashcards
1
Q
what is psychological research in the UK regulated by?
A
- British Psychological Society (BPS)
2
Q
what is psychological research in America regulated by?
A
- American Psychological Association
- has its own ethical code
3
Q
what is psychological research in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Greece regulated by?
A
- European Federation of Psychologists’ Association
- uses Carta Ethica
4
Q
what is the purpose of ethical guidelines?
A
- ensure safety and well-being of ppts within psychological investigations
- however, they’re also used to ensure that standards, professionalism and reputation of the subject are upheld
5
Q
what principles are in the BPS ethical code?
A
- respect
- competence
- responsibility
- integrity
6
Q
what is respect?
A
- expects psychologists to have general respect for dignity of all individuals in terms of their cultural and role differences (eg ethnicity, age, religion, race, sex, etc), and experience they bring to research
- should maintain right of privacy and confidentiality of safety of individuals concerned
- maintains that psychologists should seek to gain informed consent by disclosing full nature of research and avoid deception where possible
- ppts of research should be offered right to withdraw at any point and without consequence
7
Q
what is competence?
A
- concerns level of professionalism help by psychologist conducting research
- maintains that a researcher should be fully aware of ethical code and if uncertain whether their research proposal meets these principles, they are to seek help from experts or supervisors
- psychologists should monitor own knowledge of area and recognise own limits and limits of research
8
Q
what is responsibility?
A
- psychologists not only have responsibility to their ppts, but also to general public, professional and to science
- must ensure that research doesn’t harm others, or result in misuse
- should consider views of ppts and inform them of any potential for harm and how this harm will be safeguarded
- this principle reiterates the ppts’ right to withdraw and maintains that participation shouldn’t be incentivised
- debrief should always be given at the conclusion of research
9
Q
what is integrity?
A
- psychologists should be honest and fair in all work and avoid situations where they may be seen to exploit others and hold interests which may conflict with interests of ppts or how the research is likely to be received by public
10
Q
what is a downside to ethical principles?
A
- it can’t address every possible situation that researcher might face
- such judgement are made by researched, and consultation with other professionals in field is encouraged
11
Q
what guidelines are there in the BPD ethical code?
A
- informed consent
- deception
- right to withdraw
- debriefing
- competence
- protection from harm
- confidentiality
12
Q
what is informed consent?
A
- ppts must give consent to take part and consent must be ’informed’
- this means info must be made available on which to base a decision to participate or not
- ppts should be told what they’re letting themselves in for. only then are they in position to give informed consent
- to study ppts without consent would be ethically acceptable so long as what happens to ppts could just as likely happen to them in everyday life eg observation in naturalistic setting
- in the case of young people under 16, consent should be obtained from parents
- major problem with informed consent is the possibility that researcher will ‘give the game away’ and this influence ppts’ behaviour
- as a result, a case can be made for withholding info
13
Q
what is deception?
A
- info is withheld from ppts, they are misled about purpose of study and what will happen during it
- ‘intentional deception of the ppts should be avoided whenever possible’ - BPS guidelines
- deception is unacceptable if it leads to ‘discomfort anger or objections from the ppts’ when the deception is revealed after research has been complete’
-
however, BPS accepts that sometimes deception is unavoidable. in such cases researcher must:
1. make sure that alternative procedures that avoid deception are not available
2. consult with colleagues about how ppts might be affected by deception
3. reveal deception to ppts immediately after research has been completed
14
Q
what is right to withdraw?
A
- ppts should have right to withdraw from any investigation at any time
- this is true even if they’re being paid to take part
- ppts should be told this at the start of research
- no attempt should be made to encourage or persuade them to remain
15
Q
what is debriefing?
A
- involves telling it all after the investigation is complete
- researchers should discuss aims of research with ppts, making sure they understand how they’ve contributed to meeting those aims
- any deception is disclosed, explained and justified
- attempts are made to undo any negative effects of research
- codes of conduct for research state that all ppts have a right to a debriefing session after investigation has been completed
- but ppts may be reluctant to express negative feelings during debriefing due to embarrassment or not wanting to upset researcher
16
Q
what is competence?
A
- psychologists must not attempt to carry out research unless qualified to do so
- if they’re unsure they should seek advice of qualified individual
- includes: knowing ethical guidelines, adhering to safe practice, knowing where and how to store data, being suitably qualifies and understanding implications of study
17
Q
what is protection from harm?
A
- ‘investigators have a primary responsibility to protect ppts from physical and mental harm during investigation’ - BPS ethical guidelines
- but, no investigation is risk free; guiding principle is that risks should be no greater than the risks ppts are exposed to in their normal lifestyles
- ppts should be encouraged to contact the investigator after research if they’re unsure have any worries or concerns
- the investigator has a responsibility to detect and **remove any consequences*/ of research
18
Q
what is confidentiality?
A
- protection from harm involves confidentiality
- ppts may be asked personal questions
- they must be told that there’s no need to answer these questions and, if they’re unsure do that their answers will be treated in confidence
- they should remain anonymous - assign ppts a pseudonym (privacy means not making someone’s identity known)
- invasion of privacy can result in unease or distress
- BPS states that unless people have given their consent, they should only be observed in situations where they would expect to be observed by strangers
19
Q
strengths of using ethical guidelines
A
- need to maintain societies moral standards
- need to keep people safe
- vulnerable ppts need protection
20
Q
weaknesses of using ethical guidelines
A
- limits research
- unable to do covert observations
- unable to fully study aggression
- may not be able to report fully (confidentiality)
21
Q
can informed consent always be adhered to?
A
- yes: ppts should be aware of what they are getting themselves into eg questionnaires and interviews
- no: some could change their behaviour after being told what they are doing beforehand (eg questionnaire). some researchers do observation exps which include people in public doing things they do in everyday life
22
Q
can deception always be adhered to?
A
- yes: should be avoided at all costs
- no: some ppts feel uncomfortable being misled as they have already participated and weren’t aware until the end
23
Q
can right to withdraw always be adhered to?
A
- yes: one could feel uncomfortable and this gives them a right to withdraw and disclose any info they had given already. keep reminding them throughout. tell them at the start
- no: some adolescents or vulnerable ppts could still partake even if they don’t like it as they might have no choice for questionnaires. they’ll have hard time as no person is there to support them
24
Q
can debrief always be adhered to?
A
- yes: should be able to happen at the end
- no: observations - naturalistic
25
can competence always be adhered to?
- **yes**: adhering to safe practice and has knowledge on what to do and what to carry out on ppt (level of professionalism)
- **no**: some researchers could get anticipated so that’s when they would need further assistance on what to do
