Ethics

• Ethical guidelines


  Advice for researchers, can be bent or broken but serious mistreatment would likely result in expulsion
• Participants' rights


  • Informed consent
  • Right to withdraw
  • Protection from harm
  • Confidentiality
  • Debriefing
• Informed consent


  Participants should be made aware of the aims, purpose and consequences of taking part in research and provide their consent before the study begins
• Right to withdraw


  Participants should be told they have the ability to end their participation in the study at any stage
• Protection from harm


  Researcher needs to consider any risk of the participant's psychological well-being, physical health, personal values and dignity
• Confidentiality


  Personal records should be kept securely and personally identifiable information should not be published, except in some situations where confidentiality needs to be broken
• Debriefing


  After the participant has completed their role, the researchers should give them a debriefing to explain the reasons for the research, any outcomes, and check for any harm caused
• Ethical guidelines are just advice, psychologists can and do bend and even break these rules
• Serious mistreatment of participants would likely result in being expelled as a member of the BPS
• Milgram's study breached pretty much all the ethical guidelines
• Demand characteristics


  Participant altering their behavior because they're aware of the research aim, usually shaping the behavior in the belief it'll help out the researcher
• Alternatives to informed consent

  • Prior general consent
  • Retroactive consent
  • Presumptive consent
• None of the alternatives to informed consent are perfect, but they are ways of avoiding participants changing their behavior due to demand characteristics
• Cost-benefit analysis


  Considering and comparing all potential costs to participants with the potential benefits to wider society of the research
• Ethics committees consider if research should be carried out based on ethical principles, and may use a cost-benefit analysis in their decision-making process
• The debriefing can be a time to deal with any ethical issues such as revealing deception, reminding participants of their right to withdraw, checking for harm, and offering support