ethical issues

• ethical issues arise in psychology when a conflict or dilemma exists between participants rights and researchers needs to gain valuable and meaningful findings. this conflict has implications for the saftey and wellbeing on participants
• deception means deliberately misleading or witholding information from participants at any stage of the study. participants who have not recieved adequate information when they agreed to take part have not given their fully informed consent. there are occasions when deception is justified if it does not cause the participant to undure distress.
• proctection from harm is when participants should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in the daily lives due to their involvement.
• participants have the right to control information about themselves. this is the right to privacy. if this is invaded, then confidentiality should be protected. confidentiality refers to our right to have any personal data protected.
• the british psychological society has its own BPS code of ethics and this has a set of guidelines. researchers have a professional duty to observe these guidelines when conducting research. the guidelines are matched to the ethical issues that participants could endure
• to deal with informed consent, participants should be issued with a consent letter detailing all relevant information that might affect their decision to participate. assuming the participant agrees, this is then signed. also, children under 16 must have consent from their parents
• other ways to gain consent is: 1. presumptive consent - a similar group of people are asked if the study is acceptable to them 2. prior general consent - participants give their perimission to take part in a number of different studies including one that involves decpetion 3. retrospective consent - participants are asked for their consent during debriefing having already taken part in the study
• at then end of a study, participants should be given a full debrief where they are made aware of the true aims of the investigation.
• participants should be told what their data will be used for and must be given the right to withhold data if they wish. this is important if retrospective consent is used
• participants may have natural concerns related to their performance within an investigation so should be reassured that their behaviour was typical. also, if participants have been subject to psychological harm such as stress they may reqiure counselling which is provided by the researcher
• if personal details are held, they must protected. it is more usual to record no persona, details known as anonymity. in a case study, psychologists use intials when describing the individual. finally, it is standard practice that during briefing participants are reminded that their data will be protected throughout the process