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Milgram's Obedience Experiment
Participants in Stanley Milgram's experiment were recruited to participant in a and learning study. |
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The study was conducted at University. |
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Participants were told that one person would be the and administer the punishment and the other would be the . |
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The teacher delivered shocks ranging from 15-volts to volts. Milgram was interested in learning whether participants would obey the experimenter and administer very high levels of shock. |
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The results revealed that percent of the participants continued to give the learner shocks up to maximum volts. |
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Indeed, Milgram's study was important for understanding obedience, but it also raised questions. |
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The Belmont Report and Assessment of Risks/Benefits
The Belmont Report defined the and applications that guided the detailed regulations of the American Psychological Association Code. |
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The report's three basic ethical principles are beneficence, and justice. |
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The associated applications of these principles are assessment of risks and benefits, , and the selection of . |
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Assessment of Risks and Benefits
The Belmont Report's principle of refers to the need for research to maximize the benefits and minimize any possible harmful effects of participation. |
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Thus, in any decision about the ethics of research requires a analysis to determine if such procedures have risk to participants. |
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This analysis involves consideration of the potential risk factors such as or physical harm and loss of . |
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Also taken into consideration are potential direct benefits, such as the for psychological or medical problem, material benefits and less tangible benefits. |
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Informed Consent
The Belmont Report's principle of states that participants are capable of making deliberate decisions about participating in a research study. |
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The associated application of this principle is consent. |
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This means that all potential participants must be informed about the (s) of the study, the risks and benefits of participation, and their rights to or terminate participation in the study at any time. |
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Usually participants are provided a consent form to and sign. This form should contain all the information necessary to make an informed decision. |
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Thus, it is very important the consent form is written such that participants are able to what they read. |
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That is why the consent form should be written in the person and in non-technical language. |
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In some cases, researchers will withhold information about the study because too much information could potentially the results. |
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Withholding information is considered acceptable when the information would not affect the participant's decision to participate and when the information is provided later in a session. |
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The Importance of Debriefing and Alternatives to Deception
The debriefing takes place the participant completes the study. |
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During the debriefing, the researcher explains why the deception was and makes sure that the participant is about having participated. |
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Among psychologists, the use of deception in research is a issue. As such, there are alternative procedures that researchers can use in lieu of deception. |
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Among these alternatives is a procedure in which the experimenter describes a situation to participants and then asks them how they would respond in this particular situation. |
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Other alternatives to deception include a variation of role-playing called studies in which the role-playing includes simulation of a real-world situation and experimental strategies that involve naturally-occurring experiments or making participants aware of the purposes of the study or that someone is trying to change their behavior. |
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Justice and the Selection of Participants
The third principle defined in the Belmont Report is . |
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This principle addresses
issues of in receiving the benefits of research as well as bearing the burdens of accepting risks. |
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Any decisions to include or certain people from a research study must be justified on grounds. |
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Federal Regulations and the Institutional Review Board
According to the rules and regulations for the protection of human research participants issued by the , every institution that receives federal funds must have an . |
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The IRB is composed of at least individuals and is responsible for the of research conducted within its institution.
When research is reviewed it is categorized according to the amount of risk involved. There are three such categories. |
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The first category is research and it is exempt from an IRB review. |
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The second category is research. |
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This means that the risks of harm to participants are no greater than risks in or routine physical or psychological tests. |
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Lastly, the third category, greater than risk, is subject to a very detailed and thorough review. |
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APA Ethics Code
The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct was revised in and it is known as the . |
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It is composed of five general principles that relate to beneficence, , integrity, justice, and respect for the rights and dignity of others. |
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There are also ethical standards that address the conduct of psychologists. |
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When researchers conduct research involving either human participants or animals, they should refer to the sections of Ethical Standard number . |
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Fraud (Misrepresentation)
In addition to the Ethics Code related to treatment of human participants and animals, two elements of the code relating to or misrepresentation are very important. |
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These elements concern and data. Both are very serious offenses and not taken lightly in science. |
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