RESEARCH ETHICS:Approval for the research project, Risk, Consent

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Abnormal Psychology PSY404

LESSON 10

RESEARCH ETHICS

It refers to norms, standard, methods of conducting research. Why we should observe these ethics?

Let us go through some research examples

1-Watson and Rayner in 1920

In this study an 11 month old boy, Albert was introduced to white rat and he was reported to show no fear.

Just as he reached out to touch the rat a loud noise was created which startled little Albert and on repeated

trials, Albert learned to fear white furry objects.

2-Latane and Darley (1976)

In this study a child was asked to guard the experimenter's pet hamster, which was then removed secretly

from the cage through a hole in the floor when the boy was not looking. This was a source of mental stress

for the boy.

3-Researchers and clinicians frequently use experimental and control groups in experiments where the

experimental group gets the treatment while the control group gets placebo (sugar coated pills). This

placebo looks like treatment but actually it is deception.

4-After World War II, the Nazis forced the prisoners of war to go through some painful and

uncomfortable "medical experiments."

5-Milgram's Experiment on Obedience and Conformity

The debate on ethical principles in psychological research began with the classic experiment by Milgram in

which volunteers were introduced to a participant; this participant was actually an experimental confederate.

The volunteers became the teacher and they were asked to administer electric shocks to the participant for

each mistake he made. The electric shocks ranged from 15 volts to 450 volts which was labeled as danger:

severe shock". A tape recording of screams and refusals of the confederate also deceived the volunteers.

The volunteers were pressurized to continue the experiment. The volunteer continued to administer the

electric shocks up to 450 volts.

This study opened the debate that the normal people are capable of behaving like a sadistic and cruel or evil

individual.

To control these unethical practices in research the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the American

Psychological Association (APA) provides Ethical Principles for Conducting Research with Human

Participants (1992). The principles guide researcher the areas like risk, consent, deception, debriefing, and

withdrawal from investigation, confidentiality, protection of participants, observational research, giving of

advice to participants, and monitoring of colleagues in profession.

Ethics committees consists of groups of psychologists or other professionals who look over each

proposed research study and judge it according to its safety and consideration for the participants

in the study.

Common ethical guidelines:

1. Rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the study's value to science.

2. Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation.

3. Deception must be justified.

4. Participants may withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks.

6. Investigator must debrief participants, telling the true nature of the study and expectations

of results.

Abnormal Psychology PSY404

7. Data must remain confidential.

Scientists and researchers raise many ethical questions related to a research project. Ethical issues are

concerned with federal and state laws as well.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has formulated an ethics code regarding conduction of

research, therapy, teaching and serving as administrators.

Following ethical standards are spelled out before researchers begin a psychological research.

Approval for the research project

1-Psychologists plan and conduct a research according to federal and state law and regulations as well

as abiding by professional standards, governing the conduct of research related to human participants

and animal subjects.

2-Psychologists get permission and approval from institutions and organizations, they are part of and

they are conducting research for. So, they seek permission from their institutional research boards

and other higher research boards governing them.

3-Psychologists design to conduct research in a scientific manner so that ethical acceptability under

the ethics code is provided through institutional review boards, animal care and use societies or

committees, peer consultations and other proper mechanisms. Psychologists take appropriate

protections for the rights and welfare of human participants and other persons affected by research.

Nearly every college and university has an independent committee or a board which reviews every research

project involving humans or animals as subjects, spells out the expenditure on the research and the benefit

it will provide to the society. Thus every individual, who wants to do research, should inquire from the

proper authority, about the appropriate procedure for institutional review.

Following ethical issues are important when we use humans as subjects.

i. Risk

Risk is involved related with physical, psychological or social injury that may be caused to subjects. So a

risk- benefit ratio should be purposed for each research project which is just like calculating a profit loss

index of the research project. Whether research participants are at risk or not, is an important question. Life

is a risky affair. When we go to school, cross a street, all activities have an element of risk. To say that

human participants in psychological research are at risk of physical, psychological and social risk of hurting

themselves. So then it means that assessing risk benefit ratio is important. Risk is physical harm or

possibility of physical injury. The researcher should protect participants from physical injury, bodily harm,

emotional and mental stress arising out of deception as well. Minimal risk means that the possibility and

magnitude of harm or discomfort in the research are not great or not more than the one encountered in the

daily life during the performance of routine physical or psychological tests.

Example 1:

The example discuss in the beginning of eleven months old Albert.

Example 2:

Milgram's Study on obedience

ii. Consent

Researchers seek the willingness or consent of their students, patient, clients and other members of the

community who are taking part in a scientific investigation. So informed consent of participants is either

taken verbally or in writing in form of a contract that clearly spells out each and every detail of the

investigation. In other words lying, cheating or fraudulent behavior on part of participant is violation of the

consent contract. Inform consent means, that psychologist has informed the participant about the nature of

the research, the methodology of the research, the consequences or results of declining to participate or to

withdraw from the research at any stage.

Abnormal Psychology PSY404

Example:

In every research it is very essential that the consent should be taken from the participants.

iii. Deception

Deception means to hide, to withhold information or misinformation to participants about an aspect of a

research. Psychologists use deceptive techniques to study different phenomenon but they never deceive

their research participants about significant aspects about the research. They have to provide logic and

rationale why they are using deception.

Example:

Milgram in 1977, has suggested that deception or masking or technical illusion would be more appropriate.

Example:

The study carried on by Griffin (1959) who made a systematic observation of white people's attitude

towards negros. He painted himself black sat in a bus and observed white people's attitude towards him,

this practice continued for a month. He wrote down all these perceptions in his book `Black like me'. This

book is a precursor of the civil rights movement in USA.

iv. Privacy

Privacy refers to the rights of the individual to decide, how information about him is to be communicated

to others i.e. whenever possible, the information about participants will be kept confidential. Privacy is

keeping a piece of information about their client confidential.

Example:

The information related to the fact that even if a prime minister of a country is being treated for a

psychological disorder, this information is sacred and it should be kept confidential.

v. Debriefing

Debriefing is an opportunity for participants to know about a research. Debriefing is necessary to remove

any harmful effects or misconceptions about participation as well as an opportunity to explain to

participants about the need for deception. So debriefing educates the participants about the research, it

rationale, its method, its results and why the real purpose of the experiment was hidden from the

participant. So debriefing is good for both the participant and the researcher.

Example:

Take the example of a little boy who was guarding the experimenter's pet hamster.

Example 2:

Debriefing was essential in case of Milgram's study.

Example 3:

In control group experiments, very often placebos are used. Which are fake medicines so debriefing again is

essential?

vi Non Participation in research

The investigator should give the participant full information of the experiment, the level of discomfort

involved. The participant has the right to withdraw at any point of the experiment and they will not be

punished or his grade will not be affected.

Vii Power of the investigator

The practice of getting students, prisoners and psychiatric patients as participants for the stressful

experiments where rewards such good grades, pack of cigarettes and release from hospital routine activity

are promised. If the student refuses to participate, his grade may be effected, or he will be asked to study

another extra credit course, prisoners privileges will be withdrawn and psychiatric patients will be asked to

do more to please the clinician.

Human participants should be informed in 7 ways.

1. What procedure will be used in experiment?

2. All potential risks should be identified.

3. Any benefits be identified.

Abnormal Psychology PSY404

Participation and performance should be kept confidential.

Compensation in case of harm.

Questions related to experiments who will answer.

No penalty if subjects refuse to participate or leave it in the experiment in the middle.

Plagiarism

Psychologists do not present portions or elements of another persons work or data as their own,

even if the other person's work or data source is missing so it means that the publication credit be given to

the real author. Don't present portion or elements of another person's work as your own or avoid giving

the impression that another person's work is yours. Ignorance is not a legitimate excuse. If you do not know

that it's a crime even then there is not excuse for it.

Research on animal subjects is justified by the need to gain knowledge without putting humans to

jeapody.

· Animal research answers questions we could never do with human research.

· Focus is on avoiding exposing them to unnecessary pain or suffering.

· Animals are used in approximately 7% of psychological studies.

These rabbits are part of a drug-testing study. Their bodies are enclosed in the metal cases to prevent

movement during the test. What steps might the researchers be using to treat the animals ethically?

Care and use of animals as subjects in research

1. People who conduct research with animals should treat animals humanely.

2. Appropriate consideration to be given to comfort, health, and humane treatment of laboratory animals

with which research is conducted.

3. Researchers should make efforts to minimize the discomfort and pain of animal subjects. The cage in

which the animal is to be kept must be clean, proper light, temperature and fresh supply of food and

water be made available.

4. A procedure subjecting animals to pain, stress, discomfort is used only when no other alternative

procedure is available.

5. Surgical procedures are performed under appropriate anesthesia.

6. When it's necessary that animal life be terminated it is to be done rapidly with minimum pain and in

accordance with accepted procedure.

Abnormal Psychology PSY404

Let us learn about Ethics of doing research in abnormal psychology.

1-The clinician's decision to delay treatment, the people who need it is frequently questioned. Treatment is

also with held when placebo control group are used in group experimental design.

2-Another important question relates to inform consent. Participants are told that they may or they may not

receive a treatment. True inform consent is rare, in other words, only volunteers who are willing to

participate in a study, their inform consent is seek.

The concept of informed consent is derived from World War II where prisoners of war were forced into

medical experiments.

3- APA wants that adults and children both should be protected from physical and psychological harm.

Informed consent of children of age 7 and older is taken from their caregivers.

The society for research in child development 1990 has endorsed guidelines for research with children be

provided to their caregivers and guardians.

The APA ethical principles for conducting research is an extremely comprehensive document towards

overall guidance towards respect for people's rights and dignity, concern for others welfare and social

responsibility.

The new millennium looks forward to researchers to give up their unprofessional and unethical attitude

towards research.

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