CHAPTER 2Ethics in Psychological

Research

Course Lecturer: Alla ChavargaMonday 9:05-10:45am

If you have not already done so…

• EMAIL ME at

alla.chavarga@gmail.com

Subject: YOUR NAME Psych 3450- TA

Notice: NO CLASS Feb 17th (Holiday) AND Feb 20th (Conversion Day)

CHAPTER 2Ethics in Psychological Research

• Origins of the APA ethics code and its five general principles

• The role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the research process

• The ethical questions involved when completing research using children and those from special populations

• Describe how the ethics code applies to research that involves the Internet

• Describe the arguments for and against the use of animals in psychological research

Questionable Practices

• Ethics – a set of standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession

• Watson & Rayner (1920) Little Albert

• Landis (1924) Rat Beheading

Developing the APA Code of Ethics

• Late 30’s: An empirical approach to forming the code was utilized; the critical incidents technique.

• APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct 2002 (2010 amendments)

• First APA code of ethics 1953 Hobbs committee

Guidelines for ethical behavior for the practice of research, clinical work, and teaching in psychology

Applies to all of us in the field of psychology

Code contains: 5 general principles 10 standards of practice

http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Developing the APA Code of Ethics

APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

General Principles Beneficence and non-maleficence

• Constantly weigh costs & benefits; protect from harm; produce greatest good

Fidelity and responsibility• Be professional; constantly be aware of responsibility to

society Integrity

• Be scrupulously honest Justice

• Always treat people fairly Respect for peoples’ rights and dignity

• Safeguard individual rights; protect rights of privacy and confidentiality

Research and Publication

• Identify potential risks

• Protect participants from physical and psychological harm

• Justify remaining risks

• Obtain informed consent

• Take care of participants after the study (debriefing)

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans

• Judging benefits and costs: the IRB : In 1974, as part of the National Research Act, the federal government mandated that IRBs be in place for any college or university receiving federal funds for research. (IRB = Institutional Review Board)

• At least five people, including at least one member of the outside community and a minimum of one nonscientist.

• Determines whether the project meets ethical

guidelines• Some research is exempt; expedited; full review• Key factor: degree of risk to subjects

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans

• Informed consent and deception in research• Consent: sufficient information to decide whether to

participate

• Deception rationale• Desire to have subjects act naturally

• Milgram (1963) obedience study as an example• Cover story effect of punishment on learning

• Real purpose limits of obedience to authority

• No consent needed in some circumstances• some survey, educational, archival, and observational research

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans

• Elements of consent• Study’s basic description• Enough information to decide whether to participate

• How long participation will take• May quit at any time• Confidentiality and anonymity ensured• Contact information given (researcher, IRB)• Opportunity to obtain final results of the study• Signatures

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans

• Historical example of poor consent• Tuskegee syphilis study• Willowbrook hepatitis study

• MK-ULTRA (CIA & LSD)

• Consent with special populations• Children• assent also needed

• Children and other special groups (e.g., prisoners)• Special care to avoid feelings of coercion

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans

• Treating participants well• Debriefing• Dehoaxing

• Desensitizing

• Participant crosstalk• Code allows partial debriefing followed by full report at

completion of the study

• Research ethics and the Internet• Problems with ensuring consent

• Problems with conducting effective debriefing

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Animals

• The issue of animal rights

• Using animals in psychological research

• Aids both humans and animals

• Sometimes there is no alternative (tissue, simulation/computer model)

• The APA Code for animal research / The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

• Justifying the study

• Cost-benefit analysis

• No plausible alternatives

• Caring for the animals

• e.g., expertise with species, upkeep of animal health

• Using animals for educational purposes

Scientific Fraud

• Plagiarism

• Data falsification• Varying degrees (all unethical)• Reasons• Range from individual weakness to societal moral

standards

• Publish or perish climate in academia

Summary

• As psychological researchers, we adhere to a Code of Ethics regarding research with humans and animals.

• The APA code and IRBs help guide our decisions and actions in conducting research ethically, responsibly, and with integrity.

Lab Prep

• Your first experiment: TASK-SWITCHING

“The Myth of Multitasking”

• Assumption: A person can switch their attention and effort between multiple tasks without loss of efficiency (speed and performance).

Lab Prep

• Task-set: effective intention to perform a task; configuring one's mental state (e.g. attention) to be in accordance with the specific operations demanded by the task.

• Switch cost: The difference in accuracy and performance between a task repeat (A-A) and a task switch (A-B)

• Task-Set Reconfiguration Theory: once the task set is implemented, it stays in a given state of activation of until it has to be changed, such as when a new task is presented. Switch costs arise from an executive control process that reconfigures the cognitive system to implement the relevant task set.

Lab PrepThings to keep in mind…

• The rationale for studying this phenomenon

• Explanation of task-set theory; what would it predict?

• Pay special attention to methodology; specific details in testing environment

• What could be some shortcomings?

• Could anything else be responsible for your results besides your manipulation?