Application: Ethics: Do No Harm Whenever psychologists conduct research they need to ensure that people who participate

Application: Ethics: Do No Harm

Whenever psychologists conduct research they need to ensure that people who participate in the study are not harmed. Only in exceptional cases, causing minimal harm to the participants—in the form of deception—is permitted to maintain the integrity and the validity of such studies. Researchers in psychology follow the standards identified in the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code to protect the rights and welfare of research participants. All psychologists (including students) need to follow the APA guidelines for ethical behavior while conducting research. You will read more about the codes of ethics in this week’s Learning Resources.

You may wonder, “How do I know if I am going to end up harming my participants inadvertently?” You are right in your apprehension. That is why there are checks and balances in place for conducting psychological research. Prior to conducting any research, the proposed study is reviewed to determine if it meets ethical standards. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are committees that meet to review psychological research to protect the rights and welfare of human participants and animal subjects, and to determine the possible benefits and risks of a proposed research project. There are three main types of risk in psychological research: the risk of physical injury, psychological injury, and social injury. The IRB provides guidelines on how to minimize the study’s risk.

An effective way to develop your research skills is to analyze sample studies. For this Assignment, you will review brief research descriptions, address ethical issues in them, and apply alternative research methods to resolve them.

To prepare:

• Review Chapter 3 from the course text.

The Assignment (2 pages):

• Select two of the following four research studies:
  1. A researcher was studying initial interactions between people. While two students were supposedly waiting for an experiment to begin, the researcher covertly videotaped their actions and conversation. The researcher then told them about the research and gave them the opportunity to have the tape erased.
  2. A researcher worked for a time on the production line of a large manufacturing plant. His status as a researcher was unknown to his co-workers. It was not until he was about to leave that he revealed his purpose and identity to others.
  3. To study what types of people are most likely to give money to a stranger, people on city streets were asked for money by an individual who said he had just lost his wallet. No one was ever told that he or she was part of a research project.
  4. To study the effects of alcohol on decision making, a graduate student interviewed college students after they had left a campus bar. With a portable breathalyzer, he registered their blood alcohol level. Although some of them were found to be intoxicated beyond the legal state limits, and many of them were going to be driving home, he did not inform them of their blood alcohol levels.
• For both studies selected, do the following:
  • Explain whether or not the research is ethical and how the study may have violated principles of ethical behavior.
  • Explain what, if any, alternative research methods might have been used.
  • If you do not believe there are any alternative methods, explain why that is the case.

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