Research methods - Ethics Flashcards
what are the four ethical principles of the BPS
respect, competence, responsibility and integrity
outline the principle of respect
psychologists should respect individual, cultural and role differences and should avoid practices that are unfair or prejudiced
outline the principle of competence
psychologists value the continuing development and maintenance of high standards and competence in their professional work
outline the principle of responsibility
psychologists value their responsibilities to the general public, including the avoidance of harm
outline the principle of integrity
psychologists value honesty, accuracy clarity and fairness
what are the main ethical issues
informed consent, right to withdraw, confidentiality, protection of participants, debrief, deception
define informed consent
participants can enter research freely and with full information about what it means for them to take part
which BPS principle does informed consent fall into
respect
define right to withdraw
a participant can drop out of a study as any time without penalty
which BPS principle does right to withdraw fall into
respect
define confidentiality
participant’s information will be treated confidentially and, if published, will not be identifiable as theirs
which BPS principle does confidentiality fall into
respect
define protection from harm
participants should not experience any physical or mental distress that is more than what they could experience in day to day life
which BPS principle does protection from harm fall into
responsibility
define debrief
after the research, the participant should be able to discuss the aims, research and findings with the psychologist, with access to psychological support
which BPS principle does debrief fall into
responsibility
define deception
the researcher should avoid deceiving (purposely misleading) participants about the nature of their research unless there is no alternative
which BPS principle does deception fall into
integrity
what is the cost benefit analysis
psychologists must “weigh up” the benefits to society that may be gained from their research and the costs to the participants within the research that may result from a lack of ethics
why might psychologists sometimes break ethical guidelines
don’t know what participant will find distressing, the research may be ground-breaking so confidentiality breached, giving informed consent could impact results of study
what are the three ways of dealing with ethical issues
debrief, ethics committee, presumptive consent
what is an ethics committee
a group of people within a research institution that approve a study before it begins, it consists of both professional and lay people
what is presumptive consent
a method of dealing with lack of informed consent. ask a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study
