Chapter 3: Ethical Treatment of Research Participants

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Chapter 3 Ethical Treatmentof Research
Participants

• Responsibility for ethical research
• Researcher, IRB
• Ethical considerations in planning research
• Risks, voluntary participation, informed consent,
  deception
• Ethical considerations in data collection
• Avoid harm, withdrawal of consent
• Ethical considerations following data collection
• Alleviating adverse effects, debriefing,
  compensation of control groups, confidentiality
  of data
• Summary

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Chap 3 EthicsResponsibility for Ethical Research

• Primary issues
• Both researcher and those supervised
• Harm cf to benefits
• IRB (Institutional Review Board)
• How many, who is represented? Who, how many?
• Scientist
• Non-scientist
• Non-affiliated with institutions
• Criteria and Review Procedures
• How many criteria? Box 3-1
• Elements of a research protocol (6) (Review
  procedures)

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4 Ethical Considerations Planning

• Risk of harm or deprivation
• Voluntary participation
• Informed consent
• Deception

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1Risk of harm

• Categories of risk
• Physical,
• psychological stress
• inconvenience, boredom?
• Economic?
• What are some potential risks in your study?
• Evaluating risks
• Likelihood (Jacob et al., 91 Zimbardo, 73)
• severity
• duration
• reversibility (Milgram, 74)
• early detection (Viox?)

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Risks of Harm cont

• Deprivation
• Framingham studyasprin,
• with-holding drugs from college students?
• Withdrawing treatment (single subject e.g.
  Anorexia)
• Benefits of research
• Psychological (Milgram, 74 Zimbardo, 73)
• Risk-Benefit analysis
• Subjective judgment

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2 Voluntary Participation

• Covert v. Subtle Coercion.
• Whats the difference?
• Have you experienced it?
• Excessive inducements
• What it take () for you to donate a kidney?

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3 Informed Consent

• Elements
• Behavioral consent (Sieber, 92)
• Is this sufficient?
• Have you given, rejected an offer?
• Public behavior
• Have you been observed? (Middlemist et al., 76)
• Would you have known?
• Would you have cared?
• Competence to consent
• When would it not be necessary?
• Readability of consent form

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4 Deception

• Active v. passive does it matter?
• Why is it necessary?
• Internal validity reactivity, control demand
  characteristics
• Overcome reluctance to give information (e.g.
  bogus pipeline)
• Allow for manipulation of IV (e.g. confederate
  agrees)
• To study rare events (e.g. emergencies)
• Minimize risks (e.g. Milgram, Buss)
• Ethical objections
• Its lying and can have adverse effects
• Are you suspicious? Are non-psych students
  suspicious?

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Deception cont

• Alternatives
• Natural settings (often lack control)
• Simulation research (e.g. Deutsch Krauss, 60)
• Passive role playing
• Janis Mann, smoking cessation
• To test response to mugging?
• Consent to deception
• Would you agree to it?
• Minimizing harm
• Use the checklist p 76
• How harmful is itreally? (Christensen, 88)

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Ethical Considerations data collection

• Avoidance of harm
• Screening for risk factors (how is your ticker?)
• Unanticipated adverse effects (Milgram
  Zimbardos work)
• Discovering psychological problems
• Depression studies
• I-O testing applicants personality cognitive
  ability
• Withdrawal of consent
• Reluctance to withdraw
• Would you have refused to shock Ss? (Milgram,
  72))
• Right to withdraw internal validity
• What to do with perception of control (Singer
  Glass, 75)

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Ethical ConsiderationsAfter data collection

• Alleviating adverse effects
• Debriefing (post experimental interview)
• Components
• Education disclose deception asking for Ps
  insight
• Effective debriefing
• Can debriefing be harmful?
• Compensation of control groups
• Confidentiality of data
• Protecting confidentiality (cf with anonymity)
• Data confidentiality and the law (discoverable
  through subpoena
• DHHS certificate complete anonymity

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Ethical TreatmentSummary

• Responsibility for ethical research
• Researcher, IRB
• Ethical considerations in planning research
• Risks, voluntary participation, informed consent,
  deception
• Ethical considerations in data collection
• Avoid harm, withdrawal of consent
• Ethical considerations following data collection
• Alleviating adverse effects, debriefing,
  compensation of control groups, confidentiality
  of data