Psychological experiments should be ethical; doing the right thing, making the correct choices,
preserving the common good, promoting good behavior, and avoiding harm to both participants and
those who conduct the experiments. Yet these experiments showed unethical practices while
conducting the test. Stanford Prison Experiment, Little Albert Experiment, Milgram Experiment, and
Learned Helplessness Experiment are included in the Top 10 Unethical Psychology Experiments
according to Online Psychology Degrees (2022) except for Bobo Doll Experiment and Asch Conformity
Study although there are some unethical practice occurs in these studies.
First is the Stanford Prison Experiment, this study have the participant’s consent form, which
permitted them to “only be released from participation for reasons of health deemed adequate by the
medical advisers to the research project or for other reasons deemed appropriate by Dr. Philip
Zimbardo”. However, it wasn't long before the guards were nasty and sadistic jail guards with a shocking
lack of humanity. They also began torturing them by exhausting them and prevented them from falling
asleep, resulting in extreme sleep deprivation. Other participants tried harming their selves even others
attempt committing suicide. The participant has right to withdraw when any potential
risks/discomfort/effects caused by the participant, and ultimately. Hence they did not allow them and
continue torturing them. In my conclusion, it is very unethical way of experimenting it should not be
replicated I believe that there are more ways to examine the psychological effects of authority and
powerlessness in a prison environment.
Secondly, Bobo Doll Experiment, in the first instance, numerous children showed the capacity to
replicate the violent behavior patterns months after the study's conclusion. However, it has also
contributed to a revolution in psychology by showing that kids can learn new behaviors by imitating
adults, which would not have happened otherwise. The children who participated in it initially showed
higher levels of aggression. However research activities should contain protections against negative
consequences if there is a chance that participants could be harmed. On a final note it would be
preferable to have older individuals to participate the experiment. Even still, the fact that it was
repeatedly replicated contributes to its importance for psychology.
Third, the Little Albert Experiment, a classical condition that is conducted to a little boy named
Albert. After the initial experiment Albert was brought back and this time exposed to other animals. He
cried and tried to crawl away when confronted with a white rat, any other furry creature, or even a fur
coat. Due to their resemblance to the white rat, Albert started to fear other white fuzzy things, a
phenomenon known as stimulus generalization. Experiment resulted little Albert got scared of the rat
after linking its presence with the loud noise. The experiment was very unethical because according to
Academy 4sc (2023) many sources claim that Little Albert was used as a subject in the study without the
permission of his mother. Despite knowing the child's health condition, Watson continued the
experiment. Today, an experiment like this would not be approved by the Institutional Review Board,
which protects the rights of human research subjects in studies. The experiment caused a young child a
lot of discomfort and fear. Albert's health condition might've deteriorated faster by undergoing this
stressful experiment. In that being said I conclude that this experiment should not be replicated.
Fourthly, Asch Conformity Study he was interested in finding out how much social pressure from
the majority could cause someone to conform. The actual participant was tricked into thinking the other
seven individuals were also actual participants. The first ethical problem of this experiment is Asch did
not ask permission to those who participated in his experiment. According to Tutor2u (2022) He broke
several ethical guidelines, including: deception and protection from harm. Asch deliberately deceived his
participants, saying that they were taking part in a vision test and not an experiment on
conformity. Despite of that, in conclusion this experiment should be replicated but in an ethical
practices.
Fifth is Milgram Experiment the participant would hear the learner plead for release or possibly
complain about heart conditions as the experiment progressed. When they reached 300 volts, the
learner would knock on the wall and demand to be let go. His experiments' ethics were exceedingly
questionable. The participants experienced substantial psychological and emotional trauma. According
to VeryWellMind (2022) many participants left the experiment in a state of considerable distress. While
the truth was revealed to some months or even years later, many were simply never told a thing. Hence,
many countries still replicated this experiment but the maximum shock level was 150 volts as opposed
to the original 450 volts. And participants were also carefully screened to eliminate those who might
experience adverse reactions to the experiment. In my conclusion it is still very unethical I think it should
not be replicated anymore because I believe we can have experiment without any harm to anyone.
Lastly is one of the most controversial psychological experiments, Learned Helplessness
Experiment. They did an experiment to explore if helplessness could be taught. They intended to see
how dogs reacted to electric shocks (whether they avoid them or not). The dogs showed signs of taught
helplessness. Despite the fact that they could have simply hopped out of the box, neither of them did.
The group of dogs who were harnessed together developed clinical depression. This experiment was
unethical since it created a depression in the dogs, which is maltreatment and also were likewise unable
to withdraw from the experiment. They were unaware of the researcher's goals, implying that informed
consent was not given. For scientific purposes, they ignored the dogs' reactions to the electric shocks. To
sum things up clearly it should not be replicated as I said no one should be harmed when performing an
experiment.
https://www.online-psychology-degrees.org/study/top-unethical-experiments-psychology/
https://academy4sc.org/video/little-albert-experiment-oh-rats/
https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/conformity-asch-1951
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-milgram-obedience-experiment-2795243