Ethical Issues

Question 1

What ethical issues will we have to deal with?

Answer 1

• deception
• valid consent
• risk of harm
• confidentiality
• privacy

Question 2

what is meant by deception?

Answer 2

• a participant is not told the true aims of a study (e.g. what participation will involve) and thus cannot give valid consent
• deception can distress participants and lead them to see psychologists as untrustworthy, it might further mean that a participant may not want to take part in psychological research in the future.

Question 3

What is meant by privacy?

Answer 3

• a persons right to control the flow of information about themselves
• it may be difficult to avoid invasion of privacy when studying participants without their awareness, for example in a field experiment.
• people do not expect to be observed by others in certain situations, for example when in the privacy of their own homes, while they might expect this when sitting on a park bench in public.

Question 4

what is meant by confidentiality?

Answer 4

• concerns the communication of personal information from one person to another, and the trust that the information will be protected.
• • the data protection act makes confidentiality a legal right. it is only acceptable for personal data to be recorded if the data is not made available in a form that identifies the participants.

Question 5

what is meant by valid consent?

Answer 5

• participants are given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.

Question 6

what is meant by risk of harm?

Answer 6

• during a research study, participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects, such as physical injury, lowered self esteem or embarrassment- beyond what would be normal for them to experience.
• nothing should happen to participants that could cause them harm.
• it is acceptable if participants are in the same risk of harm as in ordinary life.

Question 7

Working with vulnerable individuals ( including children)

Answer 7

• special ethical considerations need to be paid when conducting research with vulnerable individuals.
• the BPS considers vulnerable populations to include children under 16,people with learning difficulties, patients in care, people in custody or on probation, and people engaged in illegal activities such as drug abuse (BPS 2009.)
• valid consent needs to be obtained from the person legally responsible for the individual, e.g. parent or guardian.
• this is necessary because the person involved may not be able to fully understand the reasons for the research

Question 8

Working with animals?

Answer 8

• Research is governed by legislation, such as the animals (scientific procedures) act 1986.
• in addition there are strict requirements for the ethical treatment of animals.
• members of the BPS, for example are ‘reminded of their general obligation to avoid or at least minimise discomfort to living animals.’ (guidelines to psychologists working with animals 2012)
• researchers are asked to consider alternatives to using animals, such as computer simulations.
• if using animals is unavoidable, there are strict recommendations about factors such as the species type, care requirements etc, that need to be met by the researcher.