Week 4 Lecture Ethical Principles

Question 1

All psychologists must:

Answer 1

1. Protect and promote the welfare of participants. Avoid doing harm to participants.
2. Not carry out any studies unless the probable benefit is proportionately greater than the risk.
3. Provide informed consent.

• Oral or written consent is usually required
• Withdrawal without penalty
• Reasonable steps made to ensure consent is not coerced

4. Ensure privacy (right of participant to keep information private) and confidentiality (duty of experimenter not to disclose information given in confidence).

Question 2

Ethical issues in milgrim study

Answer 2

1. Psychological Harm
   • Extremely stressful situation
2. No Right to withdrawal from study
   • Experimenter insists participant continue
3. Deception
   • Told the study was about the influence of punishment on learning

• Thought they were shocking another participant

Question 3

How are ethical standards ensured to be followed?

Answer 3

• Tri-council government policy for ethical conduct for research involving humans
• University Ethics Review Board

Question 4

What are responsibilites of using animals in studies?

Answer 4

• to ensure that good science is done
• to meet ethical responsibilities for ensuring that every animal is treated humanely and not subjected to unnecessary pain or distress, and
• to work within the accepted standards for experimental animal care and use

Question 5

ethical standards

Answer 5

Designed to protect the welfare humans and animal subjects in psychological research

Question 6

incomplete disclosure or deception

Answer 6

occurs when participants are misled about nature of research

• Controversial - violates informed consent
• Permitted only if no alternative is available
• Must be debriefed about true nature of research

Question 7

What are some of the most commonly used animals in studies?

Answer 7

• worms
• fruit flies
• mice
• rats
• monkeys

Question 8

How could milgrims study be replicated today with ethical standards?

Answer 8

• Reduce Psychological Harm
  
  • Exclude participants who might have a negative reaction
  • Presence of clinical psychologist to end study if signs of distress
  • Reduce maximum level of fake ”shock” from 450 to 150 volts
    
    • Milgrim found that 79% of people who made it to 150 volts continued to the highest level
• Allow Right to withdrawal from study
  
  • Participants told three times they can withdraw from the study for any reason and will not be penalized
• Deception
  
  • Full debriefing: participant informed immediately after last shock that the learner had actually received no shock