Ethics case studies Case study 1 Mac, a Psychology student at UWA has written a proposal for a psychological research experiment. His proposal was submitted to the universities Ethics board. 50 Year 12 students will be divided into 3 groups. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Coloured water Beverage labelled 2 Beverage labelled 3 no alcohol Alcohol until their blood alcohol level is .5 Alcohol until their blood alcohol level is .8 Participants do not know the beverage is alcohol. They are told it is an inhibiting/enhancing drink. Individuals will be asked to do a variety of driving tasks including driving, at speed through a maze which has a variety of hazards, (such as obstacles which require the driver to break) their errors will be recorded. In the event of a participant feeling ill, the participant will be given the opportunity to rest for 5 minutes before continuing but cant pull out of the experiment until the tests are completed Would this experiment pass? Yes or no Describe what the Ethics board would say to Mac about his experiment. What are the examples of ethics that need to be considered in this scenario? Case study 2 A university student wanted to research the effect of smoking on a persons appeal. His group consists of 50 one pack a day female smokers aged between the age of 20-25. He took photos of their smiles and that of 50 non smoking females aged 20-25. He then asked 50 males aged between the ages of 20-25 to rate the girls potential attractiveness based on the smile. He did not mention the teeth colour. The results showed that the more stained the teeth the less potential attractiveness the females were rated. Explain in detail what the researcher would need to do to ensure he followed the ethical guidelines set up to protect participants in experiments. Case study 3 A Psychology university lecturer, Dr Jet, has been asked to conduct research investigating how mild pain affects memory formation. She decides to use her students from her tutorial class. Dr Jet separates the students into 2 groups. She shows group A a list of 20 words and gives them 2 minutes to recall as many words as possible. She shows group B the same list of 20 words, administers a mild electric shock to them, then gives them 2 minutes to recall as many words as possible. Table: Words remembered by group A and B group Group A Group B Words remembered 16 11 Using your knowledge of ethical issues in Psychological research, outline what needs to be covered to make this ethical. Case study 4 A Psychology student is researching alcohol consumption amongst young people in their teens and wishes to conduct a survey and a series of focus groups with secondary school aged young people to explore their experiences and views. They approach a local school in order to gain access. The Principal gives them permission to carry out the survey and arranges for questionnaires to be distributed to Form classes. The Psychology student has little control over the process and it becomes clear that some of the students of the Form classes are being told that they have to complete the questionnaire. As for the focus groups, the Principal is again happy for the student to conduct them, but insists that parental consent is obtained before these. Most parents give consent, but a number refuse, even though their child is keen to be involved in the research. On turning up to the focus group, some pupils appear to be more willing to participate than others. The student asks them to respect the confidence of group members, although several group members joke about telling their friends what has been discussed. After the fieldwork has been completed, the Principal asks for some form of feedback, even though the student had not previously agreed to provide such information. Identify the ethical principles that are being breached Explain the ethical principles being breached Explain how these things should be protected
