Ethics

ETHICAL
GUIDELINES
 Ethics are a set of principles put forward by
British Psychological Society (BPS) in 1973 to
guide human behaviour. This code has been
adapted throughout the world APA, DGP)
 They provide a moral framework or code for
psychologists to carry out ethical research.
 Morals refers to everyday standards of ‘right’
and ‘wrong’ such as honesty and kindness.
 Ethics are determined by a balance between
means and ends, or a cost-benefit analysis.
E.g. certain things may be less acceptable than
others, but if the ultimate end is benefit to
mankind, then it is acceptable.
The BPS Guidelines
 Informed Consent
 Deception
 Debriefing
 Withdrawal from Investigation
 Confidentiality
 Protection of P’s
 Privacy
Rating the Studies
Piliavin
Milgram
Bandura
Schachter and Singer
Canli
Saavedra and Silverman ?
Andrade
Laney et al
Wider Ethical Concerns
 Ethical concerns have wider implications

than those just for the P’s.
 Will results lead to negative views of certain
groups?
 Will results be misinterpreted?
 Will results be used for dubious
political/legal purposes?
 Will the infringement of ethical guidelines
give psychology a bad name? (Milgram)
Informed consent
 Informed consent means informing the
participants about the research, including what
the research will require, the purpose of the
research and the rights the participant has.
 They must know that they can withdraw at any
time and how the data will be used.
 Informed consent must be taken before they
take part in any study.
 Children, elderly and those with special needs
may not be able to give their consent.
It is the right to give voluntary, informed consent.
Without fully informed consent, it is impossible to
make a reliable judgment to agree to participate.
Needs to be informed! (Milgram, Schachter
Reasons for not gaining it –
1.No harm to P.
2.Children are participants or in field exps.
3.Not possible to do study if informed.
4.Only a ‘white lie’.
5.Previous studies show that P’s are not
concerned
Right to Withdraw
Before the outset of any study, participants
should know that they can withdraw from the
investigation at any time, irrespective of payment
and can have their data destroyed.
Needs to be made explicit. (Milgram, Bandura,
Schachter and Singer)
Reasons for not stating explicitly –
1.Would ruin the study
2.Little/no harm to P
3.They are being paid and have signed contract.
Deception
Participants who take part in any research must not
be deceived if at all possible.
Intentional deception over the purpose and nature
of the research should be avoided wherever possible.
When Ps are misled, we take away their chance to
give fully informed consent to take part in a study
P’s should never be purposely misled without good
reason.
Unfortunately, most research cannot be avoided
without some deception. When this is the case, they
must be debriefed after the study and informed of the
real aims
 A matter of degree as some forms of
deception may be harmless. (Schachter &
Singer, Rosenhan, Milgram)
 Reasons for using deception –
1. Impossible to undertake study without it.
2. Little/ No harm to P’s
3. Benefits outweigh the costs (to whom?).
4. Previous research precedent.
5. May be no alternate ways to study an issue
Protection from harm
 Investigators have a primary responsibility to
protect participants from physical and
emotional harm during the research. Normally
the risk of harm should be no greater than in
ordinary life.
 Participants must be protected from stress by
all means, assuring them that answers to
personal questions need not be given.
 In research involving children, great caution
should be exercised when discussing with
parents and teachers.
 Refers to emotional / psychological as well
as physical harm. (Milgram, Piliavin,
Saavedra, Bandura)
 Reasons for limiting protection-
1. No significant harm can occur.
2. Benefit of validity outweighed against potential
harm
3. Study could not be done otherwise.
Privacy
 A concern in observational research.
(Zimbardo, Rosenhan)
 Reasons why normal rules of privacy may be
broken –
1. Behaviour shown in semi-public place.
2. P’s cannot be identified.
3. Benefit of breaching this rule outweighs
ethical concern.
Confidentiality
Information about a Participant remains
confidential. It is a right, a part of anonymity and
a breach of this ethical guideline could lead to
legal action against the therapist. All information
must be kept in the strictest confidence.
P’s have a right to expect that information they
provide will be treated confidentially and their
names, addresses and personal details will not
be identified as theirs.
Participants should be referred to as numbers
rather than names.
 P’s will assume that normal rules of
confidentiality will apply to research. (Dement
& Kleitman, Thigpen and Cleckley )
 There are no good reasons for why
confidentiality may be broken.
 Consider – use of photos of the research, use
of pseudonyms, publishing of personal details
without informed consent.
Debriefing
Debriefing is an important part of research,
especially where deception or some kind of harm
has taken place.
At the end of the research study, participants
should be told the real nature and purpose of the
research.
It can be used to reduce any distress caused by
the experiment and told that they can get their
results excluded if they wish. It restores them to
their original state as when they entered the
investigation.
P’s are regarded as colleagues, not objects
 Debriefing is not an ethical issue itself, it is a
way of dealing with ethical issues
 Used because it is polite to do so, to gain
P’s awareness of aims, any demand
characteristics, inform them of deception,
etc. (Milgram, Schachter & Singer)
 Reasons why debriefing may not occur-

1. P’s unaware of taking part in research.
2. Endanger researcher.
Points to Consider
 Milgram found that most of his P’s agreed
with how the research had been undertaken,
and that more like it should be done.
 Christensen (1988) found that most P’s do
not mind being deceived as long as the
deception is not extreme.
 P’s expect to be deceived, especially if
they have been deceived before. (Krupat &
Garonzik 1994)
 It is hard to remain objective
Points to Consider cont.
 The ethics of a study conducted some time ago
should not be judged by today’s standards.
 Do the benefits (e.g. knowledge that can be used to
improve human life) of research outweigh any
ethical concerns?
 They are hard to enforce
 In some areas of research we may always
have to break one or more ethical rule to
undertake valid research. (Social Psych,
Individual Differences)
THANK YOU
Sehr Saigol Shahid

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ETHICAL

 Ethical concerns have wider implications

 Reasons why debriefing may not occur-

Sehr Saigol Shahid

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