Ethical implications

• What are the ethical guidelines?

  1. Deception
  2. Protection from harm
  3. Debrief
  4. Anonymity
  5. Right to withdrawn
  6. Informed consent
• what’s an example of ethical implications of theories?

  Bowbly’s theory of attachment
• what are the positive implications of Bowbly’s theory of attachment?

  Before Bowbly’s theory, it was frowned upon to visit children in hospital. However, after his theory, the visitation rights made children happier, less scared, and some got better quicker.
• what are the negative implications of Bowbly’s theory of attachment

  Previously, women had to stay at home instead of working. However, when the men never came home, women had to leave the children in order to work.
• what is public policy?

  This is used by the government for political means. EG : it was discovered that intelligence is genetic. The government would not spend any money on children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• what does public policy lead to?

  socially sensitive research
• what is socially sensitive research?

  Sieber and Stanley used this term to describe studies where there are potential social consequences for participants represented by the research.
• what types of implications can socially sensitive research raise?

  1. research question
  2. methodology used
  3. funding
  4. interpretation and application of funding
• what implication does the research question raise?

  The researcher must consider the question carefully. Asking questions about gender or culture may be damaging to some members of the group.
• what implications does the methodology used raise?


  the researcher need’s to consider the treatment of participants (protection of harm, anonymity). If a participant admits to committing a crime, must the researcher maintain confidentiality?
• what implications does the funding raise?

  the researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used. If the research is funded by a private organisation, find out why they are funding it.
• what implications does interpretation and application of fundings raise?


  the researcher must consider how their findings may be interpreted and applied in the real world. Could their results be used to inform social policy?
• what does socially sensitive research lead to?

  1. influencing public policy
  2. discrimination against the groups studied
• what is influencing of public policy?

  Burt used studies of identical Twins to support his view that intelligence is largely genetic. His views created the 11+ exam, meaning that generations of children were affected by this. However, there was controversy over whether Burt had falsified his research data. This idea that children should be divided based on natural intelligence still remains to an extent.
• What is discrimination against the groups studied?

  Using the example of the eugenics programme. In Australia, these programmes targeted Aboriginal people through child-removal practises. The US senate revealed that 2000 involuntary sterilisations had been performed on black women without their consent or knowledge. This was ‘justified’ by (flawed) research findings which argue that black americans had lower IQ scores than white Americans.
• What is the positive?

  There are benefits of socially sensitive research. Scarr argued that studying under-represented groups (females, homosexuals) promotes greater sensitivity to these and could help to reduce prejudice. This provides further support that socially sensitive research plays a role in society and can help to encourage acceptance.
• what is the negative?

  socially sensitive research could be used as a form of social control. In the 1920’s in America, some states passed a law that meant people with low intelligence, drug/alcohol addiction or mental health issues could be sterilised. This supports eugenic programmes and suggests that socially sensitive research can have dangerous implications on the wider society.