Issues and debates

• Ethical implications


  The wider ethical implications of psychological research; the impact that psychological research may have in terms of the rights of other people e.g. influencing social/public policy and/or the way groups of people are viewed in society
• Researchers have little influence on how their psychological findings are presented in the media and how their work 'impacts' society
• Social sensitivity


  Research that has negative or ethical implications beyond the research situation and may affect individuals or groups within society or between societies & cultures
• Possible ethical implications of psychological research

  • Effects of research on participants
  • Effects of publication on the wider public
  • Potential use of the findings e.g. allocation of resources; political consequences – changes in legislation
  • Potential bias against people of certain cultures / socioeconomic backgrounds
  • Potential influence on moral attitudes towards individual / social and ethnic groups
  • Economic implications, e.g. for further psychological research, e.g. funding
• Socially sensitive research


  • Where the topic area and/or group studied can have implications for society/certain groups in society, potentially leading to a change in, or justification for, the way these groups are treated/perceived
  • Some areas of research are likely to be MORE controversial than others and be subject to greater social sensitivity than others
  • Research studies that tackle social sensitive topics of 'taboo' topics such as any aspect of race or sexuality will attract a lot of attention from within the field of psychology as well as media coverage and the general public
• Aronson (1999) argued that just because a topic is sensitive it should not mean psychologists shy away from them, in fact it he argued psychologists had a social responsibility to carry out research in these areas
• Concerns researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research

  • Implications: some studies may give 'scientific status' to prejudice and discrimination
  • Uses/public policy: what will the research be used for? What could happen if it was used for the wrong purpose?
  • Validity of the research: some findings that were presented as objective and value-free in the past have actually turned out to be highly suspect and in some cases fraudulent
• Burt's research on IQ

  • Had ethical implications / negative consequences for UK schoolchildren
  • Burt's view was that intelligence is genetic, based on his studies of twins showing a heritability coefficient of +.77 (1955)
  • Discrepancies in his data later showed that he had made some of his findings up, as well as inventing two research assistance
  • The 11+ exam and the subsequent educational policy remained for many years, and in fact many grammar schools still use the test
• Bowlby's research into attachment and maternal deprivation


  • Hugely influenced the UK government's decision not to offer free childcare places to children under 5
  • Could have also indirectly influenced the legal norm that mothers are granted custody of the children in divorce and separation cases
  • This research has had huge implications for women, as stay at home mothers were portrayed as the norm and important for the formation of healthy attachments, while working mothers have been demonised in the media
• Research into the genetic and neural explanations of offending behaviour

  • The findings could be used in society as evidence that violent acts are beyond their responsibility, this is sensitive to victims and their families and may increase violent acts
  • It may also lead to calls to decriminalise certain offences because the offender cannot be held accountable for their actions
  • It could be suggested that violent offenders could be detected using diagnostic brain scans, which would be very sensitive as it would be a frightening proposition for the person concerned
• Research into the explanation of obedience


  • It can be argued that some people may blame unacceptable actions e.g. genocide by claiming to act in the agentic state and following the orders of agents of authority
  • Research by Adorno that suggests personality factors such as RWA are indicators of obedience could lead to screening the population for people with those traits which would be socially sensitive and could lead to racism
• There are benefits of conducting socially sensitive research
• Benefits of socially sensitive research

  • It may promote greater understanding to help reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance
  • It helps to understand how to frame research questions in the future to avoid misrepresenting minority groups
  • It helps to understand potential negative consequences that could arise
• Problems associated with socially sensitive research are handled by following the BPS ethical principles of scientific integrity and social responsibility and getting approval from ethics committees
• Socially sensitive research has been used by governments and other institutions to shape social policy, even when findings are found to be dubious
• It is difficult to predict the cost and benefits of socially sensitive research
• Assessments about the 'worth' of such research are typically subjective and the real impact of research can only ever be known once it has been made public