Ethics in psychology experiments
- 2. How do you feel every time I say that you are going to do an experiment? When you went in the office When you did the word search experiment Everyone feels a bit like this and researchers must make sure their participants are not harmed Possible problems are ethical issues
- 3. But…. Ethics can clash with experimental controls We need to explain to participants what they are about to agree to do But sometimes we don’t want to let them know what the real aim of the study is Can you think of an experiment where this might be the case?
- 4. Ethical issues Informed consent Right to withdraw
- 5. Informed consent Participants should know what they are about to do WHY….imagine volunteering for an experiment on phobias and being shown spiders if you hate them! Participants might want to know: 1. If they are in competition with others 2. What the results are going to be used for
- 6. Right to withdraw Participants should not feel that they have to carry on ….even if they are being paid! Imagine how you would feel if you felt you did badly in an experiment, would you want to do the second condition?
- 7. Ethical Guidelines The British Psychological Society (BPS) give suggestions (guidelines) for psychologist to deal with the ethical issues See the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2006) p. 45
- 8. How can you solve these ethical issues? Discuss with a partner Gaining informed consent Doing a study where there are lots of people in a park and you could not possibly ask them all to consent Someone feel trapped in an experiment and unable to leave
- 9. Solving ethical problems Informed consent can be got by giving participants a summary of what is about to happen in a study They can then chose whether to take part If a study is in a public place like a park, researchers can ask colleagues whether they think people would mind Participants might feel trapped in a laboratory situation so the researcher should tell them at the start that they can leave at any time
- 10. You are about to watch a clip of a psychological experiment that has now become infamous for it unethical approach
- 12. You need to write down any ethical issues that arise from this study
- 13. Evaluating Experiments Strengths v Weaknesses
- 14. Strengths of Experiments Only the Independent variable affects the Dependent Variable The experimenter sets up the different conditions of the IV and controls all other variables They can be sure that any changes in the DV are caused by the IV
- 15. Strengths of Experiments Measuring the Dependent Variable accurately This can be measured accurately (e.g. in milliseconds, or the number of items recalled etc.)
- 16. Strengths of Experiments Controls In Palmers experiment participants were only allowed to look at the scene for a short amount of time Each participant saw the scene for the same amount of time You can then be more sure that it was the category of object (appropriate object or inappropriate similar object) that caused the object to be identified or not
- 17. Strengths of Experiments Informed consent In a laboratory experiment participants can be told what will happen This is ethically good But, they usually cannot be told why they are doing something as they would change how they behave and alter the results
- 18. Strengths of Experiments Right to withdraw Participants can be told about the right to withdraw when they go into an experiment This cannot be done in a more real-life setting where the participants do not know they are in a study
- 19. Activity In pairs you are going to design the most unethical study ever You must not say what the ethical issues are You will swap your study with another pair and see if you can see what the ethical issues are in their study
- 20. Weaknesses of Experiments Representing real life Experiments are often set in laboratories and do not represent real life This is an unfamiliar situation so the participant might behave different to normal The tests in the experiment can be unlike real life How often do you find mail boxes in kitchens? (Palmer) This means the findings might not tell us how people behave in the real world
- 21. Weaknesses of Experiments Hiding the experimental aims Knowing the aim of a study might alter the way a participant might behave How would this have affected Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts experiment?
- 22. Weaknesses of Experiments Deception An example: Imagine you have decided to take part in a study you believe is about guilt and innocense. You find examples of crime distressing but you take part because you feel that it is important. How would you feel if you later find out that it is just a memory test?
- 23. Weaknesses of Experiments Deception Sometimes deception does need to be used but harm can be minimised by: 1. Avoiding deception unless it is really necessary 2. Avoiding other ethical problems such as embarrassment 3. Explaining the real purpose as soon as possible 4. Allowing them to withdraw at any time