Ethics in Psychological Research

1
Ethics in Psychological Research

• Chapter 3

2
Approaches to Ethical Decisions

• Deontology
• Ethical Skepticism
• Utilitarian

3
Unethical Research Practices Past Present

• Early 20th Century
• Nazis (e.g., sterilization)
• Tuskegee Institute (syphilis)
• MIT Harvard Medical School (radioactive foods)
• 60s 70s
• Pharmaceutical Companies
• Milgrim (1963)
• Zimbardo (1973)

4
The Difficulty of Conducting Ethical Research

• A fundamental conflict exists between 2 competing
  values
• A belief in free scientific inquiry.
• vs.
• A belief in human dignity and a persons right to
  privacy and protection from harm.

5
Applied ExampleZimbardos Stanford Prisoner
Study

• http//www.edge.org/video/dsl/zimbardo.html
• http//www.prisonexp.org/links.htm
• Description of the Prison Study Given to
  Applicants
• http//www.prisonexp.org/pdf/geninfo.pdf
• Human Subjects Research Application
• http//www.prisonexp.org/pdf/humansubjects.pdf
• Consent Form Signed By Participants
• http//www.prisonexp.org/pdf/consent.pdf
• Prisoner Rules Provided
• http//www.prisonexp.org/pdf/rules.pdf

6
The Belmont Report (1979)

• Current ethical guidelines have their origins in
  the Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the
  Protection of Human Subjects of Research
• Identified 3 Basic Principles
• Beneficence
• Respect for persons (autonomy)
• Justice

7
APA Ethics Code

• APA The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and
  Code of Conduct
• Known as the Ethics Code
• Original Code of Ethics published in 1973
  revised in 1982
• Revised again in 2002

8
APA Ethics Code

• Comprised of 4 Sections
• Introduction and Applicability
• Preamble
• General Principles
• Ethical Standards

9
General Principles

• Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
• Fidelity and Responsibility
• Integrity
• Justice
• Respect for Peoples Rights and Dignity (i.e.,
  Autonomy)

10
Ethical Principles Assessment of Risks and
Benefits

• The ethical principle of beneficence
• Refers to the need for research to maximize
  benefits and minimize any possible harmful
  effects of participation.
• Risk-benefit analysis

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Ethical Principles Assessment of Risks and
Benefits (cont)

• Potential Risks
• Physical harm
• Psychological stress
• Loss of confidentiality and privacy
• Confidentiality vs. Anonymity

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Ethical Principles Assessment of Risks and
Benefits (cont)

• Potential Benefits
• Direct benefits, such as educational benefit,
  new skill, or treatment for a psychological or
  medical problem
• Material benefits
• Personal satisfaction
• Educational Benefit

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Ethical Principles Autonomy

• Ethical principle of autonomy
• States that participants are treated as
  autonomous
• - Some psychologists believe the problem is
  exaggerated.
• Capable of making deliberate decisions about
  whether to participate in research
• - Application is informed consent

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Ethical Principles Autonomy and Use of Informed
Consent (cont)

• Potential participants should be provided with
  all the information that might influence their
  decision to participate
• Purposes of the study
• Risks and benefits of participation
• Their rights to refuse or terminate
  participation- voluntary withdrawal

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Ethical Principles Autonomy and Use of Informed
Consent (cont)

• Autonomy issues in Vulnerable Populations
• What happens when the participants may lack the
  ability to make a free and informed decision to
  voluntarily participate?
• - Minors (requires assent)
• - Patients in psychiatric hospitals
• - Adults with cognitive impairments

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Ethical Principles Autonomy and Use of Informed
Consent (cont)

• Coercion
• Any procedure that limits an individuals
  freedom to consent is potentially coercive.
• Excessive Inducements

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Informed Consent (cont)

• Use of deception
• Informed consent might affect the outcome of the
  study
• - Altered or unnatural behavior
• - Bias participants responses
• - Bias the sample

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The Importance of Debriefing

• Debriefing occurs after the completion of the
  study.
• Researchers must
• - Explain why the deception was necessary
• - Make sure that the participant has calmed
  down if participants physical or psychological
  state was altered (e.g. return to baseline)
• - Provide additional resources if necessary
• - Make sure the participant leaves the
  experiment without any ill feelings toward the
  field of psychology

20
Alternatives to Deception

• Role-playing
• Asks participants how they would respond or to
  predict how real participants would respond
• Problems
• Situation may not involve participants very
  deeply
• Demand characteristics
• Accuracy of responses

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Alternatives to Deception (cont)

• Simulation studies (e.g., Zimbardo- Stanford
  Prison Study)
• A variation on role-playing that involves
  simulation of a real-world situation
• Honesty Experiments
• Participants are made fully aware of the purposes
  of the study

22
Justice and the Selection of Participants

• Ethical principle of justice
• Issues of fairness in receiving the benefits of
  research as well as baring the burdens of
  accepting risks
• - Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• - Issues of equity

23
Federal Regulations and the IRB

• Every institution that receives federal funds
  must have an Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• The IRB has five individuals, one member must be
  from outside the institution
• All research conducted by faculty, students, and
  staff associated with the institution is reviewed
  in some way by the IRB.
• Federal regulations for the IRB

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Federal Regulations and the IRB (cont)

• Exempt research
• Research in which there is no risk
• - Anonymous questionnaires, surveys, educational
  tests, naturalistic observations in public
  places, etc.
• Minimal risk research
• Research when the risk of harm is no greater than
  risk encountered in daily life or in routine
  physical or psychological tests.

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Federal Regulations and the IRB (cont)

• Greater than minimal risk research
• Subject to thorough review by the IRB
• Complete informed consent and other safeguards
  may be required

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APA Code of Ethics10 Ethical Standards
Subsections

• 1. Resolving Ethical Issues
• 2. Competence
• 3. Human Relations
• 4. Privacy and Confidentiality
• 5. Advertising and Other Public Statements
• 6. Record Keeping and Fees
• 7. Education and Training
• 8. Research and Publication
• 9. Assessment
• 10. Therapy

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Research With Human Participants

• Ethical Standard 8
• 8.01 Institutional approval
• 8.02 Informed consent to research
• 8.03 Informed consent for recording voices and
  images in research
• 8.04 Client/Patient, student, and subordinate
  research participants

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Research With Human Participants

• 8.05 Dispensing with informed consent for
  research
• 8.06 Offering inducements for research
  participation
• 8.07 Deception in research
• 8.08 Debriefing

29
Ethics and Animal Research

• 8.09 Humane Care and Use of Animals Committee
• APA has developed a more detailed Guidelines
  for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of
  Animals (American Psychological
  Association, 2002b)

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Misrepresentation

• 8.10 Reporting research results
• Fabrication of data is fraud.
• Serious implications to the foundation of
  science.
• Failing to replicate previous work
• 8.11 Plagiarism
• Misrepresenting anothers work as your own.