Assessment - Ethics Quiz
SECTION A. The following questions contain descriptions of research situations that may or may not
require IRB. Select the best choice answer about whether a given situation requires IRB based on what
you have learned.
1) An experiment run by a professor takes students from various classes on campus and asks them to
fill out surveys before and after watching a video in a campus lab. They are informed that participation
is optional and they may leave at any time. There is no risk to volunteering for the study.
a) This study requires IRB.
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment : If it requires people then it requires IRB even if risk and time involved from people is
minimal.
2) In a study at a manufacturing plant, a sample of the products are randomly obtained and tested to
meet various quality control standards. The products will be destroyed in the testing but it will ensure
that the plant is producing products which are not dangerous to consumers. These standards must be
met by a 95% of the tested products for the plant to confirm the consistent production of products
that meet the standards.
a) This study requires IRB.
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study does not require human subjects and therefore does not require IRB.
3) In a study about pharmaceuticals several pills are selected and combined using a selection of
chemicals which simulate processes in the human body. Their products are examined to see if the
different combinations of pills result in any toxins which are known to be hazardous for humans. If
toxins are found in various interactions then a warning will be made not to use those pills together in
patients, and further research will be proposed to examine if the combined pills are hazardous for
human consumption.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study does not require human subjects and therefore does not require IRB.
4) A researcher is examining the effects of driving under the influence of alcohol in small quantities
but due to the risk and illegal nature of putting drunk people behind the wheel of a car, the researcher
decides to use a driving simulator. This would greatly reduce the risk of studying the effects of alcohol
on driving performance. This study would include 40 volunteer drivers and give half of them a glass of
alcohol before measuring their performance in the simulator.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study includes human subjects as well as risks which would need IRB approval before
beginning.
5) A school needs to see the effects of a training program on team performance for faculty and hires a
research team to take measures after the training. Participants are strongly encouraged by the school
to participate. The research team in this situation has very little control over the experimental design
and content but is still responsible for carrying out the data collection and analysis by interacting with
employees and implementing various tests.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study includes human subjects and therefore requires IRB approval. If aspects out of the
researchers control violate ethics and prevent IRB from approving then the study cannot be conducted.
6) A business wants to understand 3 different factors and their effects on a specific group. The
researcher collects a random sample group and conducts tests using various metrics before and after
the 3 different conditions to see what effect each condition has. All of the data and results are
proprietary and remain closed to the public.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: The situation is not specific enough to identify if there are any human subjects. More
information is required to assess if IRB approval would be required.
7) A researcher studies the ability of military personnel to operate multiple unmanned vehicles by
taking random samples of volunteer students and compensating them $15 per hour for their time.
While participating in the study they are asked to operate a simulation for a specific remotely
operated military vehicle that includes different numbers of vehicles. Their ability to meet objectives is
recorded for performance. All data is kept confidential. There is minimal risk.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study includes human subjects as well as potential risks which would need IRB approval
before beginning.
8) A researcher wants to observe the cognitive effects of various genres of video games on participants
and collects a random sample of game players to observe them while they play the different kinds of
games. A repeated measures design is used and participants go from one game to the next. Due to the
violent nature of some games, participants must be over 18 years old. To record cognitive effects an
EEG is used to measure Alpha, Beta, and Theta waves. The process is non invasive and does not pose a
risk to participants. In addition, a self report survey is conducted after each game session, asking
questions which hope to reveal things about the participants state of mind.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study requires human research subjects which would need IRB approval before
beginning.
9) A restaurant owner wants to design smoother seating process for customers and will hire a lab to
do an experiment using a process flow simulation to see if process flow can be enhanced with another
design. The owner will provide the team with customer arrival times, party size, and data about times
for various tasks in the restaurant. A modeling program will be used to replicate the interactions at the
restaurant. The model will be simulated for a long period of time where wait times and items through
are recorded as measures. The model will be verified to replicate real observed times and alternate
versions will be made. The resulting models will be compared statistically on key measures to see if
they significantly improve the desired aspects.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study does not require human subjects and therefore does not require IRB. Customer
arrival times and party size count as public information and is not specific to individuals.
10) A researcher wants to see if there is evidence of a specific education style being effective and
takes the public records of various public and private schools with known differences in their teaching
methods. The schools are categorized based on the kind of teaching method and statistically analyzed
to see if there is a correlation with their public grades and average test scores.
a) This study requires IRB
b) This study does not require IRB.
c) There is not enough information to decide.
Comment: This study does not require human subjects and therefore does not require IRB.
SECTION B. The following questions contain descriptions of ethical concerns for psychology studies.
Select the best choice answer about whether a given situation is ethical or not.
1) Participants will be asked to fill out surveys after watching a video.
a) This is always ethical and acceptable.
b) This is always unethical and not acceptable.
c) It depends on the content of the video and survey. If the content is appropriate for the age
group of the participants then it is acceptable, if it is inappropriate then it is not acceptable.
d) It depends on how long the survey is. It must be under 500 questions to be considered ethical.
2) Participants in a study will be deceived into believing they will consume alcohol but in reality only
half of the participants will actually be exposed to alcohol. Participants will be informed of the
greatest potential risks and only deceived when in a condition exposing them to less risk. The study
aims to understand the psychological effects of thinking one consumed alcohol and there is
potentially great benefit in the results.
a) This is always ethical and acceptable.
b) This is always unethical and not acceptable.
c) The study is unethical because of deception, but acceptable because it is the only way to study
this.
d) This study unethical but only because alcohol is used.
Comment: It is always ethical and acceptable because the deception only reduced the risk participants
have already been made aware of and volunteered for. In addition, the benefits outweigh the risk. This
is a common experiment replicated for research experience in universities across America.
3) A study wishes to observe behaviors in changing rooms so cameras will be set up in changing rooms
to secretly monitor behavior. The recordings will be kept confidential and not shown outside of the
study.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable to IRB because it is the only way to study this behavior.
This study is ethical but not acceptable to IRB because a sign is not posted about the video
taping.
4) A study wishes to observe the behavior of drivers under the influence of various drugs so food and
beverage is offered to the participants secretly containing various medications that the participants
are not made aware of until later. Then they are asked to drive in a simulated vehicle for measures to
be recorded about their driving ability. After the study they informed of the medications they were
given.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable to IRB because it is the only way to study this behavior.
This study is ethical but not acceptable to IRB because the participants were not properly
informed about the potential risks.
Comment: It is never ethical to secretly give participants medications even if they are aware that they
will be asked to take medications at some point.
5) A study wishes to understand a theory about arousal better. The study would put a participant on a
high bridge meant to stimulate one’s senses and increase heart rate. There they meet with an
attractive researcher of the opposite gender and they are asked to complete a survey. At the end the
researcher will offer what is presumably their phone number and ask the participant to call them.
Another group of participants will do the same thing but in a regular room in the lab where the
environment is not stimulating. This is a deception study because the researchers do not care about
the survey. What is being measured and compared across conditions is if the participant calls the
number offered by the researcher, which calls the lab phone. Participants are all briefed about the
entire study at a later date or when they call.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable because it is the only way to study this behavior.
The study is unethical because arousal theory is inappropriate to study.
Comment: This is ethical and acceptable because it does not present any new risks to the participant
and the study is altogether harmless. This is a classic deception study that is replicated often.
6) An experiment is observing the long term effects of treatments on a mental disorder. The
experiment is planned to take 30 years. The participants are selected on the basis of already having
the disorder. They are informed of the risks and experimental nature of the treatments and that some
of the sample will not receive a real treatment. However, years later during the study a cure for the
disorder is found. In the interest of keeping the experiment design ideal, the researchers do not
inform the participants about the newly discovered cure in hopes that they will be able to record
accurate findings about their treatments.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable because it is the only way to study this behavior.
There is not enough information to know.
Comment: This has happened before, the proper response is to end the study early and inform the
participants about the new cure. Report the data recorded up to that point.
7) A study focusing on children under 12 years old wants to expose children to violent images then ask
them questions about the images to understand their perception of violence. Children will only be
selected when a guardian gives appropriate consent and the guardians will be provided with detailed
explanation of the entire study. The study hopes to understand more about the effects of domestic
violence between parents on their children.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable because it is the only way to study this behavior.
There is not enough information to know.
Comment: This is unethical because we already expect that exposing children to violence can have
serious negative repercussions, so one could expect the study itself to hurt the participants.
8) A study on distracted driving wants to observe the effects of texting on drivers and randomly
selects volunteers to put a video camera in their cars for observation. Participants are briefed about
the study and then half of them are directed to not use their cell phones while driving in their daily
lives, while the other half is asked to test often and provide hours for which a researcher can text
them when they are expected to be driving. All information will be kept confidential and participants
will receive all the proper documents at every stage.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is always unethical and not acceptable.
The study is unethical but acceptable because it is the only way to study this behavior.
There is not enough information to know.
Comment: This is unethical because we already expect that the factor will cause more hazards for
drivers. Even when participants are informed, researchers cannot ask them to do known dangerous
activities.
9) Participants are asked to fill out surveys and list their favorite movies. Results to the study will be
publicly released including the data collected from the surveys, all information will be confidential not
be able to identify participants in any way.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always ethical and acceptable.
This is unethical because one cannot be asked about their favorite movies.
The study is unethical but acceptable because it is the only way to study this behavior.
The study is unethical because the results will be made public.
10) Employees are asked to participate in a study about their performance at work. As part of the
debriefing the various scores will be revealed with no name. The work place offers a monthly award
to the highest performer on a regular basis. One person scores the highest and the researchers still
disclose the scores with the report.
a) This is always ethical and acceptable.
b) This is unethical because employers cannot study your performance.
c) The study is unethical because it will post results capable of identifying a specific participant to
specific scores or answers.
d) There is not enough information to tell.
Comment: Even if it is a positive thing, human research must never identify a subject. This requires
taking into account the environments in which information is posted.
11) A study plans to include an Appendix section with scans of filled out surveys. Though there was no
line asking the participant’s name, some participants wrote their names on the documents that were
scanned into the study. This is seen as a volunteer act and so the names are not removed before it is
submitted for publishing.
a) This is always ethical and acceptable.
b) This is ethical because the names were voluntarily written when they were not asked for.
c) The study is unethical because it will post results capable of identifying a specific participant to
specific scores or answers.
d) There is not enough information to tell.
Comment: Confidentiality of participants is required even if they do add their names to documents.
12) A study wants to see if participants answer based on how a question is asked. They are shown a
video of a car getting in an accident after a yield sign. Then one group is asked to describe what
happened, “after the car drove past the yield sign.” The other group of participants is asked to
describe what happened, “after the car ran a stop sign.” This is a planned lie that the researches want
to plant in order to see how it effects the descriptions. Participants are properly informed about risks
and all their data is kept confidential. This is the only way to study this and it is harmless. Participants
are briefed immediately after about the planned lie.
a) This is unethical because you cannot show car accidents to participants.
b) This study is unethical because lying to participants is always wrong.
c) The study is ethical because the lie does not expose participants to any additional risk and the
proposed idea of study cannot be observed any other way.
d) The study is unethical because participants are briefed after the experiment.
13) A study wants to see if participants at a mental institute who have severe mental disorders are
capable of various tasks. They are not provided any paperwork and are brought to the experiment as
if it were an activity at the institute. There is no risk to them and they can leave to return to normal
activities at any time. The data is completely confidential.
a) This is unethical because you cannot study people with severe mental disorders.
b) This study is unethical because a researcher must always provide the proper informed consent
forms and paperwork to participants or guardians before administering tests.
c) This is always ethical and acceptable.
d) There is not enough information to tell.
14) Participants volunteer for a study based on its description on an electronic system associated with
the school. When they arrive to the experiment it is different than described but they are not made
aware of it. The changes make the study twice as long as originally expected and described to the
participants. In other regards the experiment will remain similar in risk and benefits.
a) This is unethical because you cannot mislead participants into volunteering.
b) This study is unethical because using an electronic system associated with a school to obtain
participants is not a true random sample.
c) The study is ethical and acceptable.
d) There is not enough information to tell.
15) A study plans to ask volunteering participants about detailed preference then makes the
information and names public. Participants are informed that the information with their names on it
will be public before they fill out any forms.
a)
b)
c)
d)
This is always unethical and unacceptable.
This study is ethical because the information is volunteered.
The study is ethical because the participants were properly informed.
There is not enough information to tell.
16) Some circumstances where deception is required in a study permit researchers to not give
informed consent forms to participants.
a) True
b) False
17) The identities of participants can never be made public.
a) True
b) False
18) Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice are key aspects of ethics in psychological research.
a) True
b) False
19) If a foreseeable risk is obvious, it is not required to be explicitly stated in the informed consent.
a) True
b) False
20) It is ethical when deception is used to get participants to engage is riskier behavior than they have
been informed of.
a) True
b) False
SECTION C. Reflection.
1). In a paragraph, describe why IRBs are important.