Week Five - Ethics Flashcards
Singer and Speciesism Theory?
- Preserve equality by raising the status of animals to human
- Preserve equality by lowering human status to animals
- Abandon equality status and have it graded based on eg cognitive ability and apply it to all species
Statistics on the Quality of animal research?
Kilkenny (2009) 271 reviews:
- 12% used RA
- 14% used blinding
- 59% provided a hypothesis
- <70% provided clear method
- most used males
The guiding principle of Code of Ethics?
To protect the public
Nuremberg defence?
“I was just working under orders”
What lead to recognition that we need clear guidelines about research behaviour?
The Nuremberg Trials and the Nuremberg defence - the concept that there were no real guidelines
APA’s ethical position on psychs in interrogation?
Adding a trained professional ensures that all interrogations are conducted in a safe, legal, ethical and effective manner
James Mitchell & Bruce Jessen case?
Operational psychologists from the US airforce.
Were taught techniques to resist interrogation if captured.
Designed enhanced interrogation techniques by reverse engineering their training.
What is Enhanced Interrogation?
Techniques for interrogation based on the principles of learned helplessness.
All designed to demoralise, distress, and traumatise:
- Waterboarding
- Checked medical records to see if there were any phobias or psychiatric conditions they could target
- Left in freezing conditions (one prisoner died)
- Locked in boxes
- Sleep deprivation/starvation
- Mock executions
The two claimed the techniques stopped other terrorist attacks - therefore was for the greater good
APA stance on Mitchell and Jessen case?
The APA repeatedly publicly reaffirmed that it held a strong stance against torture in multiple public statements.
But, despite all the public reassurances, in 2002 APA ethical guidelines
were re-written and in other words, state law overrides ethics, and the psychologists were working for the U.S. government
The Hoffman Report (2015) found?
The APA had a very close relationship with the DoD
Advisory boards etc were stacked with member who had
ties to DoD, and who supported ‘enhanced interrogation’
The report found that APA had actively colluded with the DoD to make sure ethical guidelines didn’t hinder military objectives
Who was Abu Zubaydah?
FBI treated him well, established rapport (cognitive interviewing technique) – he provided information
Mitchell requested to be allowed to use ‘enhanced techniques’ – Abu was handed over and waterboarded at least 83 times. No additional information.
Enhanced techniques criticisms?
Evidence suggests people lie more and the risk of retaliation increases
What happened after the Hoffman Report?
People spoke out and the code was changed.
Other psychology groups outside the U.S. condemned this, and made their codes stronger.
People are being held to account (but only a bit, and very slowly).
