1.6 Ethical Guidelines in Psychology

1.6 Ethical Guidelines in Psychology

Psychology is all about thoughts and feelings; so, how do we carry out research that is sensitive to those thoughts and feelings, as well as our sense of what's right and wrong?

ETHICS!

it's there to protect the participant!

Think back on the Milgram experiment...

"Teachers" (the participants) were asked to provide electric shocks to "students" (confederates of the experiment) if the students incorrectly answered a question. An authoritarian third party encouraged the teachers to continue even when the pain of the students became apparent. Teachers were not aware that the shocks were fake until after the experiment, and many of them administered potentially fatal levels of electricity!

What's wrong with this picture?

talk to your partner

Because of experiments like Milgram's (among others that we'll get to a bit later), psychological ethics were born!

Informed Consent

Deception

participants should know basically what they are getting into when they decide to participate in a study

information can be kept from you, but no one can outright LIE to you

• you can't know EVERYTHING (because that would skew results)

• so, being told that you're administering electric shocks to a real person, for instance, is deception...because it's a real lie!

• but you also should be aware of potential risks and has (like, you know, thinking you've killed someone)

• similarly, the fake cries of the student would be deception

Right to Withdraw

If you don't want to continue, you have every right to get out of it whenever you want!

• Being encouraged to continue when you express concern--like, you know, when you think you're electrocuting someone--could be a potential violation.

Protection from Harm

Bringing unnecessary physical or mental pain upon a subject is a big no-no!

• Obviously, some pain may be required--think medical experiments where you're given an IV drip--but it shouldn't be gratuitous

• So, thinking you've killed somebody could potentially lead to mental anguish...which means, big ol' violation!

Privacy

experimenters cannot violate the privacy of their participants, which means...

• no computer hacking
• no breaking and entering
• no going through mail

Confidentiality

...you know, the basics. Naturalistic observation is OK because it's performed in public spaces.

Experimenters are also not allowed to disclose data or participant's personal info without their permission!

• they can describe data anonymously

• but imagine the fallout if the world knew that Helen from accounting would gleefully administer electric shocks until she killed someone...

Psychological Ethics

So, how do you enforce these?

• at least five members on the board
• always one that's not tied to the research institution

How do these aspects of an IRB protect participants?

• composition of the board

• board processes

• understanding of participant's needs

• overview of research

talk with your partner

Even animals are protected (in case you were worried)!

Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee

End of Unit 1 Notes!

• psychology has many areas of interest that may prompt research

• there are many research methods available, so that researchers can choose the protocol that best fits their hypothesis or research question

• statistics are key to interpreting research and sharing it

• ethical guidelines are in place to protect both human and animal participants

• research and the scope of psychology's focus demonstrate its legitimacy as a science