Issues and debates: topic 6 ‘ethical implications’

Question 1

what are ethical implications?

Answer 1

• refers to the impact that psychological research may have in terms of the rights of participants, the way the findings are communicated to the public, and how the findings are used
• this includes the influence research may have on public policy as well as the way certain groups of people in society are seen

Question 2

what is socially sensitive research?

Answer 2

• refers to any research that might have direct social consequences for the participants in the research, all the grouping society that they represent
• for example, research investigating topics such as whether there is a genetic basis for criminal attract a lot of attention from psychologists, the media, and the public at large
• this can potentially lead to a change in or justification for, the way these groups are treated or perceived

Question 3

what are the 4 aspects in the research process and in socially sensitive research with ethical implications for society?

Answer 3

1. the research question itself may be damaging to particular groups in society (eg Milgram’s German’s are different hypothesis or is SZ genetic which blames parents for passing on a genetic predisposition to their children which may lead to labelling and discrimination against these families), this is because it may be seen to add scientific credibility to discrimination against those groups
2. public policy: the ways in which the research might be used on the consequences if it was used for the wrong purpose (eg twin study research found that intelligence was largely genetic, and although it was later found for much of this data to be made up, it was influential in establishing the 11+ examination which decided which type of school children went to)
3. the institutional context of the research is also an issue as research funded by private institutions may then misuse or misunderstand the data produced (eg drug companies may not publish data that could be harmful to their sales)
4. deception: deception is also an issue beyond the research setting as research findings may lead people to form untrue beliefs

Question 4

strengths of ethical implications?

Answer 4

P - socially sensitive research can be beneficial
E - it is argued that studies of underrepresentative groups or of sensitive topics can actually help reduce prejudice and benefit society
E - eg research into the reliability of witness testimony was controversial but helped to reduce the risk of the wrongful convictions in the legal system
L - this suggests socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society

Question 5

limitations of ethical implications?

Answer 5

P - socially sensitive research has been used to support extreme forms of social control
E - IQ research and testing by psychologists was used in America to ‘prop up’ discriminatory practices such as compulsory sterilisation of the feeble minded
E - this included people deemed to be low of intelligence on the mentally ill
L - this suggests socially sensitive research can have a extremely damaging effect on society