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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
Kimberlee Servideo
Queens University of Charlotte
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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
Introduction
Eighty one years ago, the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” was
at its starting point. This study was started by the Public Health Service, who teamed up with the
Tuskegee Institute, to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment
programs for blacks (Chadwick, 2002). They gathered together 399 poor, black men from Macon
County, Alabama that had syphilis. A factor that went into their decisions on narrowing down
the subjects: being uneducated. This study went on to becoming a government sanctioned
medical investigation (Walker, 2009).
About The Study
The researcher’s scientific objective for this study was to find out what syphilis does to
the untreated body. “For a few months the men received exceedingly low, nontherapeutic doses
of mercurial ointment and bismuth, which were the somewhat effective, but quite toxic
treatments of the day” (Walker, p. 5, 2009). As far as further treatments, there was not enough
funding. Nonetheless, the US Public Health Service investigators continued to salvage what
work was done by assembling data on spontaneous evolution of syphilis and how it affects
African American males (Walker, 2009). The original intent was to compare the morbid
symptoms of the untreated syphilis documented at Tuskegee with results that were found in a
previous study in Olso, Norway. However, the two studies had one big, distinct difference: The
Olso study consisted of information researchers compiled together from white men that had
syphilis that were untreated for quite some time before the study even started in 1928 (Walker,
2009).
What’s Unethical Related to the Tuskegee Experiment?
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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
According to Roger Wimmer and Jospeh Dominick, authors of the book Mass Media
Research, ethics is defined as “distinguishing right from wrong and proper from improper”
(Wimmer & Dominick, p. 65, 2013). Researchers are expected to have the highest respect for
conducting their work as ethically as possible. If they don’t, they hold the potential to affect
further studies. If a participant that volunteered to take part in a study found out that the
information they were given was manipulated in any way, or they were given false information,
that’s unethical. Furthermore, those participants may decide to never volunteer to be part of a
study after that. “Since mass media research depends on the continued goodwill and cooperation
of respondents, it is important to shield them from unethical research practices (Wimmer &
Dominick, p. 65, 2013). Unfortunately, the researchers in the Tuskegee experiment went about
everything very unethically.
Two specific ethical problems that they violated were voluntary participation and
informed consent. First, let’s define the two so we understand what it means and how they could
be misrepresented. Voluntary participation is basically having the option to say yes and accept
participation in a research experiment, survey, questionnaire, etc. or having the option to say no
and decline participation in all of the above. When the researchers were searching for their
human guinea pigs, they originally had a group of 600 poor, black, uneducated men; however,
only 399 of them had syphilis, which is how they ended up with that number of subjects. The
only thing these men were told was that they were being treated for “bad blood”. Problem
number one: these educated and esteemed men and women of science purposely searched for the
criteria they wanted- a poor, uneducated black man with syphilis- with the intention of being
deceitful. These unfortunate subjects weren’t even told that they were being involved in an
experiment, let alone asked if they gave their consent to do so.
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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
The next ethical problem was informed consent: “Researchers have the responsibility to
inform potential subjects or respondents of all features of the project that can reasonably be
expected to influence participation” (Wimmer & Dominick, p. 69, 2013). In retrospect, it is only
fair that those who are being asked to volunteer and participate know enough specifics about the
project so that they can make a smart choice. Some specifics might include that participants be
informed of any possible discomfort and/or unpleasantness; if there will be any odd
measurement techniques the researchers might use, it is imperative that the participants know
before committing to the experiment (Wimmer & Dominick, 2013).
There are endless courtesies that researchers should disclose with any and all participants.
A few examples are: “The purpose of the research, expected duration, and procedures; the
subject’s right to decline to participate and to withdraw from the research once participation has
begun; whom to contact for questions about the research and research participant’s rights, etc.”
(Wimmer & Dominick, p. 71, 2013). These are just a few of the many things that should be
disclosed, yet not one of these was given to the subjects of the Tuskegee experiment. I don’t feel
right calling them participants, due to the fact that they weren’t even aware they were.
“Misleading letters were sent to the participants encouraging their submission to painful
diagnostic procedures and post-mortem autopsies” (Walker, p. 5, 2009). That has unethical
written all over it. A big reason as to why the researchers got away with this, as well as every
other unethical angle they played was because of what they leveraged with. Since this was in the
era of the Great Depression, they coerced the subjects with incentives such as, “Hot meals on
exam days, transportation to town, free care for minor ailments, and a $50 burial insurance
policy” (Wimmer & Dominick, p. 5, 2013).
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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
Conclusion
Although this awfully tainted experiment was originally conducted back in 1932, it’s a
shame that those so-called esteemed men and women of science would commit such unethical
acts. Being that research was part of their science profession, you would think that this would
never be an option even for the simple fact that any results or conclusion they come to from this
would never be 100% accurate. It is extremely important to ensure that all the information on
your research experiment is expressed to all those who volunteer to participate, along with the
option of saying yes or no. According to the text, “Researchers who deal with human subjects
must ensure that all precautions are taken to avoid any potential harm to subjects” (Wimmer &
Dominick, p. 85, 2013).
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Running Head: Tuskegee: The Experiment Gone Bad
References
Walker, C. A. (2009). Lest we forget: The tuskegee experiment. Journal of Theory Construction
and Testing, 5-6.
Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2013). Mass media research. (10th ed., pp. 65-85). Boston, MA:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Chadwick, A. (Performer) (2002). Remembering tuskegee [Radio series episode]. Washington,
DC: NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/tuskegee/