Ethical principles

• 4 ethical principles: respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity
• respect is the principle that requires psychologists to treat people as autonomous individuals, value the dignity and worth for any participant
• responsibility is the principle that requires psychologists to take responsibility for their actions, no harm whatsoever should be caused to others
• competence is the principle that requires psychologists to maintain their knowledge, maintain their level of professionalism and must be fully aware of ethical guidelines
• integrity is the principle that requires psychologists to be honest with themselves and others about their own values and beliefs
• Ethical elements : anonymity, deception, informed consent, confidentiality, privacy and right to withdraw
• deception - when researchers mislead participants into believing something they know isn't true
• anonymity - where participants are not identified by name or other identifying information
• privacy - where people have the right to keep things personal to them and not share it with anyone else without permission
• right to withdraw - where participants may leave at any time during the experiment without giving a reason
• informed consent - where participants must fully understand what they are agreeing to take part in and give voluntary agreement
• confidentiality - where data collected from research participants will only be shared if necessary and with appropriate individuals
• Avoiding risks and dealing with ethical issues: risk assessment, consent and debriefing, research ethics committee
• Risk assessment is an important step when planning your research as it allows researchers to identify potential harms that could occur during their research.
• Consent is another key principle which ensures that participants know exactly what they’re signing up for and gives them control over their involvement in the research process.
• Researchers can then decide whether these risks outweigh the benefits of conducting the research and how best to minimise harm.
• Debriefing involves explaining the true purpose of the research to participants once the session has ended, allowing them to reflect on their experience and ask questions.
• The British Psychological Society (BPS) provides guidance on how to conduct psychological research in an ethical manner through its code of human research ethics.