Ethical issues in psychology

1
Ethical issues in psychology
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Focus on the important questions
• Why are ethics important?
• What are the issues?
• What is and isnt acceptable?
• How should we make ethical judgements?
• Avoid writing essays about how naughty Milgram
  Zimbardo were
• Use the studies to illustrate your discussion of
  the issues

2
Why are ethics important?
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• A number of reasons including
• Moral obligation to society
• Professional values (amelioration of the human
  condition)
• Image of the discipline and profession
• Practical reasons e.g. getting participants

3
What are the issues?
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Research practices that threaten (directly or
  indirectly) the well-being of the participants
  e.g.
• Informed consent (lack of)
• Deception
• Risk of harm (physical/psychological)
• Confidentiality privacy (threats to)

4
Ethical perspectives
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Deontological
• The correctness of an action lies in itself, not
  its consequences
• E.g. lying is always wrong, even if it produces a
  good outcome
• Teleological
• The correctness of an action is determined by its
  intended consequences
• E.g. lying is good if it is done for the right
  reasons (like protecting a person from harm)

5
Ethical Perspectives
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Utilitarian
• A form of teleological ethics
• The moral correctness of an action is determined
  by its consequences for society as a whole
• The greatest good for the greatest number
• Psychological researchers usually take a
  utilitarian view, but with certain absolute
  prohibitions

6
Making ethical decisions
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Where ethical problems arise, a cost-benefit
  analysis is often applied, where
• Costs are the (potentially) negative consequences
  of the research usually for the PPs involved
  (NB SSR)
• Benefits are the (potentially) positive
  consequences of the research for the PPs or (more
  usually) for society

7
Cost-benefit analysis
www.psychlotron.org.uk

• Provides a framework for making ethical decisions
• Involves subjective judgements about costs and
  benefits
• Consequences cannot always be anticipated e.g.
  Zimbardo, Milgram