The following sample SAQ addresses the question:
Describe one ethical consideration related to one research
study in the biological approach.
The sample below is an exemplary response.
An annotated copy of the sample response can be found at
the bottom of the page.
What is the question asking?
One ethical consideration should be identified and described.
A study related to the biological level of analysis should be described, including the aim, procedure, and
results of the study.
The ethical consideration should be explicitly linked to the study.
Sample response
One ethical consideration in the biological approach is informed consent. Informed consent means that before
someone agrees to participate in a study, the researcher must explain the purpose and procedure of the study. In
addition, the researcher must explain the person’s rights – including the right to withdraw and that all data will be
kept anonymous. Any potential negative effects of participation must be explained.
The biological approach has some special problems with regard to informed consent. First, the biological
approach uses animals that cannot actually give consent. In addition, biological researchers often do studies of
people who have a mental illness or brain damage. It could be argued that these participants may not be able to
understand what they are agreeing to. Finally, often biological research is rather complex and may not be
understood by the average person, making “informed consent” difficult.
One study that raises questions about informed consent is the study of HM by Milner. HM had severe amnesia as
a result of an operation that was done to stop epileptic seizures. HM had both retrograde amnesia (he couldn’t
remember what happened before the operation) and anterograde amnesia (he couldn’t create new memories).
Milner carried out a case study and found that the hippocampus plays a key role in the transfer of episodic and
semantic memories from short-term to long-term memory.
As HM could not remember giving consent, this study is ethically problematic. HM was asked to give consent
throughout the experiment, but it is not clear that he really understood what was happening or who Milner actually
was. Originally consent was given by HM’s mother and then later by his caretakers. However, there is a concern
that HM may not have been able to take advantage of his right to withdraw either because he did not understand
or he forgot.
Informed consent is important so that researchers do not take advantage of participants. Many of the types of
participants used in biological research make obtaining informed consent difficult.
What are the common problems for this question?
* The ethical consideration is not clearly identified or linked to the study.
* The study is not well described – or it is not linked to the biological approach.
* The ethical consideration is not outlined in any detail.
* The ethical consideration is not highly relevant to the study that was chosen
Annotated sample response
