ethical issues

• human research

  • certain types of research must be viewed by an ethics committee
  • e.g. when using vulnerable groups, researching sensitive topic, using deception, involving access to confidential info, research that would cause stress/anxiety
• animal research

  • some research cannot be done on humans or in any other way
  • e.g. computer stimulation
  • research into brain functioning is carried out with the purpose of improving the lives of individuals with mental disorders like depression
  • drug treatment can be developed from knowledge from animal studies
• integrity (AO1)

  • includes issues around the causing of harm to participants
  • research into the interactions between people (like social psychology) must balance the need to study behaviour that may be undesirable, like prejudice, with the risk of harm to participants
• milgram (AO3)

  • participants were exposed to extremely stressful situations that may have the potential to cause psychological harm
  • many were visibly stressed (e.g. nervous laughter, sweating)
  • many pleaded to stop the experiment yet were still pushed by the experimenter to continue
• milgram - counter (AO3)

  • although participants may come to harm such as Milgram’s study, psychologists are required to undertake thorough debriefing
  • Milgram made sure to debrief his participants (e.g. referred counselling where necessary)
• carlsson et al (AO3)

  • additionally, there has been research that had been conducted far more ethically
  • his study was a literature review of research on the level of neurotransmitters and SZ symptoms
  • not many ethical issues as he only used secondary data
• respect (AO1)

  • includes issues of deception snd right to withdraw
  • although participants should be made aware of the research, this may affect their behaviour due to knowing that they are being observed
  • therefore deception may be necessary
• bandura (AO3)

  • children were deceived
  • not given any indication of what the study was about therefore unaware of their right to withdraw
  • there was even a researcher at the door to stop children from leaving the experiment
• bandura - rosenhan - counter (AO3)

  • such research would be impossible to carry out without deception
  • sometimes it leads to important psychological findings
  • hospital staff was deceived but he was able to draw the conclusion that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals, therefore affecting diagnosis
• informed consent (AO1)

  • often requires some ethical debate when researching mental disorders and brain damage
  • surrounding the ability of those involved in the research to fully consent
• HM case study (AO3)

  • informed consent could not be obtained due to damage of his memory
  • he would not have understood that he was a participant
• McGuigan (AO3)

  • research on individuals with severe SZ who experienced auditory hallucinations
  • they may not have been able to fully consent to the study
  • participation may have also caused them some distress
• counter (AO3)

  • despite not being able to obtain full consent, or research that is socially sensitive, confidentiality is often maintained
  • e.g. using case names or initials (like HM)
  • ensures that they cannot be identified
• justifying the use of animals in research (AO1)

  • debate on whether animal research can actually tell us anything about human behaviour.
  • much early psychological research (like the learning approach), would be considered unethical today
• pavlov (AO3)

  • used apparatus to catch dogs’ saliva - this was invasive
  • he was working at a time where there was less focus on ethics than there is today
  • he used the evolutionary theory to suggest that findings from animal research could be generalised to humans
  • was made justifiable through the cost-benefit analysis
• animal research - counter (AO3)

  • much research animals would not possible to conduct on humans