Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research

Ethical Standards

•      APA Ethics Code

–  All psychologists (including students) must follow the APA guides for ethical behavior.

–  The five general values or principles for ethical conduct are

•   Beneficence and Non-Malfeasance

•   Fidelity and Responsibility

•   Integrity

•   Justice

•   Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity

Ethical Issues to Consider Before Beginning Research

•      Prior to conducting any study, the proposed research must be reviewed to determine if it meets ethical standards.

–  Institutional Review Board (IRB):

•   At least 5 members with varying backgrounds and expertise.

•   Scientists and nonscientists, at least 1 person not affiliated with the institution.

•   Reviews proposals to protect rights and welfare of human participants.

Risk/Benefit Ratio

•      The risk/benefit ratio is a subjective evaluation of the costs and benefits of a research project to:

–   participants

–   society

–   the researcher and institution

•      Is the research worth it? Are the benefits greater than the risks? Will the study produce valid and interpretable results?

•      There are no mathematical answers; IRB members strive for consensus of opinion.

•      Committee members can require changes to research procedures before approving a project.

Risks in Research

•      Different types of risk: physical injury,  psychological injury (mental or emotional stress), social injury (embarrassment)

•      Researchers are ethically obligated to protect participants from all risk.

•      In many psychology studies, emotional or mental stress may be great — including stress that might arise from participants’ misconceptions about the task.

Minimal Risk

•      Minimal risk means that the harm or discomfort participants may experience is not greater than what they might experience in their daily lives or during routine physical or psychological tests.

•      If risks are considered more than minimal, individuals are considered to be “at risk.”

•      When individuals are at risk, researchers are ethically obligated to protect participants’ welfare.

•      Research that places participants at risk should not be carried out if there are alternative methods available that have lower risk.

Confidentiality

•      One way to protect participants from social risk is to keep their responses confidential.

–   remove any identifying information

–   report results in terms of statistical averages

–   “confidential” is not the same as “anonymous”

— responses are anonymous when individuals do not    provide any identifying information.

•      Confidentiality is a special problem in Internet research, even though participants perceive their responses to be anonymous.

Informed Consent

•      Researchers and participants enter into a social contract, often using an informed consent procedure.

–  Researchers are ethically obligated to make clear to participants the nature of the research (what they will do in the experiment) and any possible risks.

–  Written informed consent is essential when participants are exposed to more than minimal risk.

Informed Consent (continued)

–  Informed consent is not necessary when researchers observe public behavior.

–  Potential participants must be informed of all aspects of the research that might influence their decision to participate.

–  Research participants must be allowed to withdraw their consent at any time without penalties.

–  Individuals must not be pressured to participate in research.

Informed Consent (continued)

–  Informed consent must be obtained from legal guardians when individuals are not able to provide consent (e.g., children, mentally impaired individuals).

–  Individuals unable to provide legal consent must provide their assent to participation.

–  Obtaining informed consent is a special problem in Internet research.

Privacy

•      Privacy is the right of individuals to decide how information about them is communicated to others.

•      The researcher should explain to participants the ways in which their information will be protected and kept confidential.

•      Informed consent is not required when researchers observe people’s behavior in public settings.

Privacy (continued)

•      Three major dimensions should be considered when trying to decide whether people’s behavior is public or private:

–  the sensitivity of the information

— more sensitive information is typically regarded as more private (e.g., sexual practices, religious beliefs) 

–  the setting of the information

— in public settings, people give up a certain degree of privacy (e.g., sporting events, concerts)

–  Method of dissemination of the information

— sensitive information should be reported in ways so that specific individuals cannot be identified (e.g., group averages)

Deception

•      Deception occurs when information is withheld from participants or when participants are intentionally misinformed about an aspect of the research.

•      Deceiving people for the purpose of getting them to participate in a research project is always unethical.

Pros and Cons of Deception

•      Pros: Why do we deceive?

–  Deception allows researchers to study individuals’ natural behavior.

–  Deception allows opportunities to investigate behaviors and mental processes not easily studied using nondeceptive methods.

Pros and Cons of Deception (continued)

•      Cons: Why should we not deceive?

–  Deception contradicts the principle of informed consent.

–  The relationship between researcher and participant is not open and honest.

–  Frequent use of deception may make individuals suspicious about research and psychology.

Deception (continued)

•     Deception is justified only

–  when the study is very important,

–  no other methods for conducting research are available, and

–  deception would not influence individuals’ decision to participate in the research.

Deception (continued)

•      When deception is used, the researcher must

–  Inform participants after the experiment the reasons for the deception,

–  discuss any misconceptions they may have, and

–  remove any harmful effects of the deception.

•      This is called debriefing.

Reporting Psychological Research

•      Publication credit:

–  acknowledge fairly those who have contributed to a research project.

–  authorship should be based on the scholarly importance of individuals’ contributions.

Reporting Psychological Research (continued)

•     Plagiarism

Don’t present substantial portions or elements of another’s work as your own.

–  Ignorance and sloppiness are not legitimate excuses.

–  Cite the sources of your ideas when you use the exact words (with quotation marks and page number) and when you paraphrase.

Thinking Critically about Ethical Issues in Psychology

•      How do we decide whether a proposed research study is ethical?

•      What if people disagree? (and they will)

•      Is there a right answer? (often, no)

•      The best we can do is follow steps for making ethical decisions.

Steps for Ethical Decision Making

¬Find out all the facts of the situation (procedure, who will participate, etc.)

­Identify the ethical issues that are relevant (e.g., risk, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, deception, debriefing).

®Decide what is at stake for all parties involved (e.g., participants, researchers, institutions, society).

Steps for Ethical Decision Making (continued)

¯Identify alternative methods or procedures, and discuss the practical constraints, consequences, and ethical implications of each alternative.

°Decide on the action to be taken. Judge the “correctness” of the decision in terms of the process that was followed, not whether the decision makes the researcher happy.