SYLLABUS
PSY490/580: Ethics in Psychological Research
Spring 2008, Dr. Shapiro
Contact Information
Office Hours in LAS 389
Phone: 910-6907
Mon and Fri, 9:45-10:45
E-mail (best): ashapiro@umassd.edu
Wed 8:45-10:45
Homepage: http://www.faculty.umassd.edu/amy.shapiro/
DATE
January
28
30
TOPIC
Welcome and
Introduction
The Nature of
Ethics
February Ethical Decision
1 Making
4 The APA Code
6 Coercion
8 The Tuskegee
Syphilis Studies
11 Tuskegee
13 Tuskegee
ASSIGNMENTS, ACTIVITIES, ETC.
Chapter 1: Kidder, R. (1995). How Good People Make Tough Choices.
New York: William Morrow and Co.
Chapter 7: Kidder, R. (1995). How Good People Make Tough Choices.
New York: William Morrow and Co.
In class video: “Evolving Concern Protection for Human Subjects” (VT
1800 1986)
The APA Code (I will post a PDF on my site)
Panslar Chapter
In class video: “Miss Evers’ Boys”
Video continued: “Miss Evers’ Boys”
PBS website. Read the Online Newshour transcript and listen to the
audio file. The link toward the top of the page labeled “the legacy of
Tuskegee” gets you to the second half of the transcript of the audio file.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/may97/tuskegee_5-16a.html
15 Tuskegee’s
Psychological
Impact
19 Watson
20 Watson
 Thomas and Quinn (1991). The Tuskegee syphilis study, 1932 to
1972: Implications for HIV education and AIDS risk education
programs in the Black community. American Journal of Public
Health, 81, 1498-1505.
 Freimuth, V. et al. (2001). African American’s views on research and
the Tuskegee syphilis study. Social Science and Medicine, 52(5),
797-808.
NOTE: This is an online publication, available through the UMD
library system.
Student presentation of Watson’s research: Watson, J. and Rayner, R.
(1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 3(1), 1-14.
• Harris, B. (1979). Whatever happened to little Albert? American
Psychologist, 34, 151-160.
• Paul, D. and Blumenthal, A. (1989). On the trail of Little Albert.
Psychological Record, 39(4), 547-553
Buckley, K. (1994). Misbehaviorism: The case of John B. Watson’s
dismissal from Johns Hopkins University. In Todd and Morris (Eds.)
Modern Perspectives on John B. Watson and Classical Behaviorism,
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
DATE TOPIC
22 Harlow
ASSIGNMENTS, ACTIVITIES, ETC.
Student presentation on the history of parental affection, germ theory
and psychology
Blum, D (2002). Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of
Affection. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, pp. 31-60.
25 QUIZ 1
Covers all material through February 20
27 Harlow
Blum, D (2002). Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of
Affection. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, pp. 291-308.
29 Privacy and
Student presentation of lavatory observation research (see me for
Deception
references).
Panslar chapter
March 3 Milgram
Hockenbury and Hockenbury 427-432
S. Milgram (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 67, 371-378.
5 Milgram
 D. Baumrind (1964). Some thoughts on ethics of research: After
reading Milgram’s “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” American
Psychologist, 19, 421-423.
 S. Milgram (1964). Issues in the study of obedience: A reply to
Baumrind. American Psychologist, 19, 848-852.
7 Misconduct/Fraud Student presentation on research fraud and academic dishonesty (who’s
the victim in each?)
Panslar chapter
10 Data Fraud: The  MacKintosh, N (1995). Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed? Oxford
Ambiguous Case
University Press, New York, pp. vi-vii and 1-12.
of Cyril Burt
 Hockenbury and Hockenbury pp. 265-267
12 Why do scientists Chapter 9 (pp. 151-162): Diener and Crandall (1978). Ethics in Social
cheat?
and Behavioral Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
14 Human subjects Panslar chapter
Student presentation on the history/importance of twin studies in
psychological research
24 Twin studies
Read the article and listen to the audio file.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15631007
26 Debate 1
Should data obtained through unethical studies (e.g., Nazi Data) be used
or discarded?
28 Gender
Student presentation on gender formation
Discussion: How should doctors and psychologists advise parents of
babies born with ambiguous gender?
31 Gender
Colapinto, John (1997). The True Story of John/Joan. Rolling Stone,
December 11, pp. 54–97.
April 2 QUIZ 2
Covers all material February 22 through March 31
4 Genie: Research
In class video
versus the welfare
of clinical
populations
7 Genie
Chapters 8-12 (pp. 38-62) & 18-20 (pp. 95-119)
Rymer, R. (1993). Genie: A Scientific Tragedy. New York, Harper
Collins.
DATE TOPIC
9 Genie
11 The Stanford
Prisoner Studies
14 The Stanford
Prisoner Studies
16 The Stanford
Prisoner Studies
18 Animal Research
23 Animal Research
25 Animal Research
28 Animal Research
30 Animal Research
May 2 Ethics of False
Memory
Research
5 False Memory
Research
7 False Memory
Research,
continued
9 Debate 2
12 QUIZ 3
ASSIGNMENTS, ACTIVITIES, ETC.
Chapters 24-27 (pp. 131-155) & 32-34 (pp. 175-202)
Rymer, R. (1993). Genie: A Scientific Tragedy. New York, Harper
Collins.
In class video
http://www.prisonexp.org/
(VT 4328 1992)
 Savin, H. (1973). Professors and psychological researchers:
Conflicting values in conflicting roles. Cognition, 2, 147-149.
 Zimbardo, P. (1973). On the ethics of intervention in human
psychological research: With special reference to the Stanford prison
experiment. Cognition, 2, 243-256.
 Savin, H. (1973). Ethics for gods and men. Cognition, 2, 257.
Student presentation TBA
Panslar chapter
• Paul and Paul (Eds), Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use
of Animals in Medical Research., New Brunswick: Transaction
Publishers, pp. 1-14.
• Frey, G. (2001). Justifying animal experimentation: The starting point.
In Paul and Paul (Eds), Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use
of Animals in Medical Research., New Brunswick: Transaction
Publishers, pp. 197-214.
Morrison, A. (2001). Making choices in the laboratory. In Paul and Paul
(Eds), Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use of Animals in
Medical Research., New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 49-77.
Nicoll, C. and Russell, S. (2001). A Darwinian view of the issues
associated with the use of animals in biomedical research. In Paul and
Paul (Eds), Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use of Animals
in Medical Research., New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 149173.
Shapiro, K. (1998). Animal models of human psychology: Critique of
science, ethics, and policy. Kirkland, WA: Hogrefe & Huber, pp. 168207.
(FYI: K. Shapiro has no relation to your professor.)
Student presentation on the methods used in false memory research.
Discussion about the ethics of giving people false memories of their
past.
http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-05/jane-doe.html
IMPORTANT: Read parts 1 and 2
http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-07/high-cost.html
Is research on animals ethical?
Covers all material April 4 through May 9
PSY 490 : Ethics in Psychological Research
SPRING 2004
Dr. Shapiro
Contact Information
Office Hours in LAS 389
Phone: 910-6907
Mon and Fri, 9:45-10:45
E-mail (best): ashapiro@umassd.edu
Wed 8:45-10:45
Homepage: http://www.faculty.umassd.edu/amy.shapiro/
Course Description
This course will focus on research ethics in psychology. We will spend the first week or so discussing
ethics in a theoretical sense, both generally and in relation to psychology. From there, we will spend the
remainder of the semester primarily discussing case studies that present certain ethical dilemmas. The tension
between the “good of science” and the welfare of individual subjects, both human and nonhuman, will be a
central focus. The topics are all controversial, so there should be some lively discussion!
Goals of the Course
The goals of this course are to provide a foundation about ethical thinking and decision making in a
general sense and with respect to experimental science. I have endeavored to provide materials and a foundation
for discussion that will help guide your understanding of ethics in psychology and other sciences. It is also my
hope that this class will provide you with some tools to help you navigate the tough choices we all face
throughout life, whether we find ourselves in the laboratory or not. Through the process of discussing numerous
real life cases and hypothetical situations, students will learn how to approach and reason about ethical issues in
research. I hope this will be one of those classes that stay with you long after graduation.
Course Requirements/Grading
The format for the course will be group discussion of the assigned readings, video and audio. The
syllabus lists a large number of readings. Every student is expected to come to class having done the reading
and prepared with three questions for discussion of each. The questions are to be handed to me at the beginning
of each class. No hand-written questions will be accepted after 11:05 and no questions in any form will be
accepted after class. All students are expected to actively participate in the discussions and debates. The course
requirements are 1 oral presentation, 3 tests, class attendance and participation, certification from the online
CITI ethics course, and a paper. All deadlines are written in stone. No make-up tests are given unless the
student is in the hospital or in court on a test day and documentation is provided. A score of 0 is recorded for
any missed test without valid documentation. Any student who arrives late will not be granted additional time to
finish a test and will be graded on the amount of work completed during the scheduled test period. Any student
who leaves a test will be graded on the work completed prior to exiting the room. He or she may not return to
finish the test. Attendance, prepared questions and active participation will be judged daily by the professor
and will count heavily toward final grades. There is no way to get an A in this class without good attendance
and active participation. I do not scale or curve grades. Scores on the CITI online ethics course will not be
factored into final grades. However, students who do not pass the CITI course (i.e., earn certification) will
receive an F in the course. Your final grade will be calculated in the following way:
Assignment
Tests
Short answer format, 10-15 questions each. The questions will ask about main points from
the readings and videos, and our discussions about those materials.
Oral presentation
The in-class presentations will be graded on their completeness, clarity, accuracy, and
thoughtfulness.
Paper
The paper is due on April 28 and must be a minimum of 5 pages, double-spaced with 1-inch
margins on all sides. Font is to be Times 12. The topic will be announced soon.
Attendance/participation
All students are expected to come to every class, hand in 3 quality discussion questions for
each reading at the beginning of class and actively participate in discussions.
CITI Ethics Certification
Each student must complete, pass and hand in the certification for the CITI ethics course
before May 2. This component of the course is ungraded, but a passing grade in the class is
not possible without earning the certification. The CITI url is:
Value
3 X 15% = 45%
20%
15%
20%
P/F
https://www.citiprogram.org/
Final grades will be awarded as follows:
MEAN
100-96.5
96.4-92.5
92.4-89.5
89.4-86.5
86.4-82.5
82.4-79.5
79.4-76.5
FINAL GRADE
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
MEAN
76.4-72.5
72.4-69.5
69.4-66.5
66.4-62.5
62.4-59.5
59.4-0
FINAL GRADE
C
CD+
D
DF
Academic Honesty
Given the topic of this course, students’ honesty, integrity and ethics are of particular importance.
Students are expected to adhere to the University policy on academic honesty, which you will find in the course
catalog and on the University website. Anyone caught cheating (e.g., using notes, looking at another’s test,
using an electronic device, etc.) will be failed in this course and reported to the campus Judiciary, even if the
process jeopardizes graduation. The only allowed tools during tests are your brain, pencils, and an eraser. If a
student lies to me about the reason for one or more missed tests/deadlines or presents me with falsified
documentation for one or more missed tests/deadlines, he or she will be failed in this class and reported to the
campus Judiciary, even if the process jeopardizes graduation.
Personal Responsibility
By enrolling and remaining in this class after add-drop period, you have agreed to the course policy
stated in this document and explained on the first day of class. You are expected to be responsible for your
behavior and success in this class by studying, coming prepared to all classes and tests, living up to the
University’s academic honesty policy, and being respectful of all class members. Please feel free to contact
your professor if you have any questions or concerns. However, please check this document first, as it answers
most policy/grading questions.