Ethical implications

• Implications of research are consequences of constructing theories and conducting research, both for the participants and the groups they represent. These groups could be small communities of entire social groups.
• Possible implications may include:

  • Participants being affected directly due to taking part in the research (eg - lack of protection from harm).
  • Public being influenced by the publication of psychological findings, including the public forming negative stereotypes about a minority or organisation.
  • Groups studied may suffer bias or discrimination due to public awareness of harmful psychological research or research may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  • Government bodies may use findings to develop policies or legislations that are not in the interest of the researched groups.
• Socially sensitive research are studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in the study or for the class of individuals represented by the individuals.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • Reflexivity - Researchers have a responsibility to be objective and conduct research ethically. They should carefully consider their influential position, self-reflect on personal biases, beliefs and values and then assess how these may influence how they perform and report the research.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • Care in forming the research questions is important so the group studied is not misrepresented.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • Ethical issues in the design of studies should be considered, including the possible reactions of participants. The researchers should make effective use of debriefing, especially if the use of potentially harmful methods is unavoidable.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • An ethics committee makes the ultimate decision on if a study should go ahead. Their reasoning includes a cost-benefit analysis.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • The media may report findings in a biased or sensationalised way. For this reason, when writing up research for publication, psychologists should consider the possibility of their findings being misused, explain their conclusions objectively and clarify the limitations of their methods and conclusions.
• Dealing with socially sensitive research:

  • Peer review can help to ensure harmful or misleading research is not published. They can check the research is reported objectively, that the conclusions drawn are justifiable from the data and that potential conflicts of interest (such as sources of funding) are made clear.
• Discussion points of ethical implications:

  • While researchers and ethics committee are expected to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, the true implications are only known for certain once the research has been conducted and may only be clear many years after publication. Studies may have high short-term costs and be controversial at publication, but they may be very valuable to future psychologists.
• Discussion points of ethical implications:

  • Some areas of psychological research are considered especially socially sensitive, such as sexuality and gender. There is extra difficulty and potential for controversy when conducting research in these fields. This is problematic as the issues these groups will face will remain unstudied objectively.
• Discussion points of ethical implications:

  • Strength - Important that researchers do not stay away from socially sensitive research. This is important because such research may have major positive impacts, such as challenging stereotypes or ‘scientific justifications’ for discrimination. For example, Scarr argues that only by studying these areas will the general public and scientific community develop a greater understanding for these underrepresented groups.
• Discussions of ethical implications:

  • Strength - Cost-benefit analysis. When deciding whether certain research projects should be allowed to continue, ethics committees undergo a cost-benefit analysis, where the benefit of the research (such as contribution to the existing field of knowledge) is compared to the costs of breaching ethical guidelines. However, some ethical implications of socially sensitive research may be particularly difficult to predict, such as the impact of such research on legislation and the way in which certain groups of people are perceived by the public.
• Discussion points for ethical implications:

  • Limitations - Research could be potentially misused. Packard proposed the idea of ‘subliminal messaging’, where he found that when pictures of Coca Cola and popcorn were projected onto cinema screens for split seconds, so that audience members could not see it, their sales increased significantly. BUT it was discovered that Packard had completely made up his results! Although the implications were not serious, such an example shows the power of socially sensitive research and how it can be misused.