Abnormal Psychology – PSY 405
LECTURE 6:
RESEARCH ETHICS
It refers to norms, standard, methods of conducting research. Why we should observe these
ethics? Let us go through some research examples
1-Watson and Rayner in 1920
In this study an 11 month old boy, Albert was introduced to white rat and he was reported to
show no fear. Just as he reached out to touch the rat a loud noise was created which startled
little Albert and on repeated trials, Albert learned to fear white furry objects.
2-Latane and Darley (1976)
In this study a child was asked to guard the experimenter’s pet hamster, which was then
removed secretly from the cage through a hole in the floor when the boy was not looking.
This was a source of mental stress for the boy.
3-Researchers and clinicians frequently use experimental and control groups in experiments
where the experimental group gets the treatment while the control group gets placebo (sugar
coated pills). This placebo looks like treatment but actually it is deception.
4-After World War – II, the Nazis forced the prisoners of war to go through some painful
and uncomfortable “medical experiments.”
5-Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience and Conformity
The debate on ethical principles in psychological research began with the classic experiment
by Milgram in which volunteers were introduced to a participant; this participant was actually
an experimental confederate. The volunteers became the teacher and they were asked to
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administer electric shocks to the participant for each mistake he made. The electric shocks
ranged from 15 volts to 450 volts which was labeled as danger: severe shock”. A tape
recording of screams and refusals of the confederate also deceived the volunteers. The
volunteers were pressurized to continue the experiment. The volunteer continued to
administer the electric shocks up to 450 volts.
This study opened the debate that the normal people are capable of behaving like a sadistic
and cruel or evil individual.
To control these unethical practices in research the British Psychological Society (BPS) and
the American Psychological Association (APA) provides Ethical Principles for Conducting
Research with Human Participants (1992). The principles guide researcher the areas like risk,
consent, deception, debriefing, and withdrawal from investigation, confidentiality, protection
of participants, observational research, giving of advice to participants, and monitoring of
colleagues in profession.

Ethics committees consists of groups of psychologists or other professionals who look
over each proposed research study and judge it according to its safety and
consideration for the participants in the study.

Common ethical guidelines:
1. Rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the study’s
value to science.
2. Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about
participation.
3. Deception must be justified.
4. Participants may withdraw from the study at any time.
5. Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks.
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6. Investigator must debrief participants, telling the true nature of the study and
expectations of results.
7. Data must remain confidential.
Scientists and researchers raise many ethical questions related to a research project. Ethical
issues are concerned with federal and state laws as well. The American Psychological
Association (APA) has formulated an ethics code regarding conduction of research, therapy,
teaching and serving as administrators.
Following ethical standards are spelled out before researchers begin a psychological research.
Approval for the research project
1. Psychologists plan and conduct a research according to federal and state law and
regulations as well as abiding by professional standards, governing the conduct of
research related to human participants and animal subjects.
2. Psychologists get permission and approval from institutions and organizations, they
are part of and they are conducting research for. So, they seek permission from their
institutional research boards and other higher research boards governing them.
3. Psychologists design to conduct research in a scientific manner so that ethical
acceptability under the ethics code is provided through institutional review boards,
animal care and use societies or committees, peer consultations and other proper
mechanisms. Psychologists take appropriate protections for the rights and welfare of
human participants and other persons affected by research.
Nearly every college and university has an independent committee or a board which reviews
every research project involving humans or animals as subjects, spells out the expenditure on
the research and the benefit it will provide to the society. Thus every individual, who wants to
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do research, should inquire from the proper authority, about the appropriate procedure for
institutional review.
Following ethical issues are important when we use humans as subjects
i. Risk
Risk is involved related with physical, psychological or social injury that may be caused to
subjects. So a risk- benefit ratio should be purposed for each research project which is just
like calculating a profit –loss index of the research project. Whether research participants are
at risk or not, is an important question. Life is a risky affair. When we go to school, cross a
street, all activities have an element of risk. To say that human participants in psychological
research are at risk of physical, psychological and social risk of hurting themselves. So then it
means that assessing risk benefit ratio is important. Risk is physical harm or possibility of
physical injury. The researcher should protect participants from physical injury, bodily harm,
emotional and mental stress arising out of deception as well. Minimal risk means that the
possibility and magnitude of harm or discomfort in the research are not great or not more than
the one encountered in the daily life during the performance of routine physical or
psychological tests.
Example – 1: The example discuss in the beginning of eleven months old Albert.
Example – 2: Milgram’s Study on obedience
ii. Consent
Researchers seek the willingness or consent of their students, patient, clients and other
members of the community who are taking part in a scientific investigation. So informed
consent of participants is either taken verbally or in writing in form of a contract that clearly
spells out each and every detail of the investigation. In other words lying, cheating or
fraudulent behavior on part of participant is violation of the consent contract. Inform consent
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means, that psychologist has informed the participant about the nature of the research, the
methodology of the research, the consequences or results of declining to participate or to
withdraw from the research at any stage.
Example:
In every research it is very essential that the consent should be taken from the participants.
iii. Deception
Deception means to hide, to withhold information or misinformation to participants about an
aspect of a research. Psychologists use deceptive techniques to study different phenomenon
but they never deceive their research participants about significant aspects about the research.
They have to provide logic and rationale why they are using deception. Example: Milgram
in 1977, has suggested that deception or masking or technical illusion would be more
appropriate.
Example: The study carried on by Griffin (1959) who made a systematic observation of white
people’s attitude towards negros. He painted himself black sat in a bus and observed white
people’s attitude towards him, this practice continued for a month. He wrote down all these
perceptions in his book ‘Black like me’. This book is a precursor of the civil rights movement
in USA.
iv. Privacy
Privacy refers to the rights of the individual to decide, how information about him is to be
communicated to others i.e. whenever possible, the information about participants will be
kept confidential. Privacy is keeping a piece of information about their client confidential.
Example: The information related to the fact that even if a prime minister of a country is
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being treated for a psychological disorder, this information is sacred and it should be kept
confidential.
v. Debriefing
Debriefing is an opportunity for participants to know about a research. Debriefing is
necessary to remove any harmful effects or misconceptions about participation as well as an
opportunity to explain to participants about the need for deception. So debriefing educates the
participants about the research, it rationale, its method, its results and why the real purpose of
the experiment was hidden from the participant. So debriefing is good for both the participant
and the researcher.
Example: Take the example of a little boy who was guarding the experimenter’s pet hamster.
Example 2: Debriefing was essential in case of Milgram’s study. Example 3: In control
group experiments, very often placebos are used. Which are fake medicines so debriefing
again is essential?
vi
Non Participation in research
The investigator should give the participant full information of the experiment, the level of
discomfort involved. The participant has the right to withdraw at any point of the experiment
and they will not be punished or his grade will not be affected.
Vii Power of the investigator
The practice of getting students, prisoners and psychiatric patients as participants for the
stressful experiments where rewards such good grades, pack of cigarettes and release from
hospital routine activity are promised. If the student refuses to participate, his grade may be
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effected, or he will be asked to study another extra credit course, prisoners privileges will be
withdrawn and psychiatric patients will be asked to do more to please the clinician.
Human participants should be informed in 7 ways.
1. What procedure will be used in experiment?
2. All potential risks should be identified.
3. Any benefits be identified.
4. Participation and performance should be kept confidential.
5. Compensation in case of harm.
6. Questions related to experiments who will answer.
7. No penalty if subjects refuse to participate or leave it in the experiment in the middle.
Plagiarism
Psychologists do not present portions or elements of another persons work or data as their
own, even if the other person’s work or data source is missing so it means that the publication
credit be given to the real author. Don’t present portion or elements of another person’s work
as your own or avoid giving the impression that another person’s work is yours. Ignorance is
not a legitimate excuse. If you do not know that it’s a crime even then there is not excuse for
it. Research on animal subjects is justified by the need to gain knowledge without putting
humans to jeapody.

Animal research – answers questions we could never do with human research.

Focus is on avoiding exposing them to unnecessary pain or suffering.

Animals are used in approximately 7% of psychological studies.
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These rabbits are part of a drug-testing study. Their bodies are enclosed in the metal cases to
prevent movement during the test. What steps might the researchers be using to treat the
animals ethically?
Care and use of animals as subjects in research
1. People who conduct research with animals should treat animals humanely.
2. Appropriate consideration to be given to comfort, health, and humane treatment of
laboratory animals with which research is conducted.
3. Researchers should make efforts to minimize the discomfort and pain of animal
subjects. The cage in which the animal is to be kept must be clean, proper light,
temperature and fresh supply of food and water be made available.
4. A procedure subjecting animals to pain, stress, discomfort is used only when no other
alternative procedure is available.
5. Surgical procedures are performed under appropriate anesthesia.
6. When it’s necessary that animal life be terminated it is to be done rapidly with
minimum pain and in accordance with accepted procedure.
Let us learn about Ethics of doing research in abnormal psychology.
1. The clinician’s decision to delay treatment, the people who need it is frequently
questioned. Treatment is also with held when placebo control group are used in group
experimental design.
2. Another important question relates to inform consent. Participants are told that they
may or they may not receive a treatment. True inform consent is rare, in other words,
only volunteers who are willing to participate in a study, their inform consent is seek.
The concept of informed consent is derived from World War II where prisoners of
war were forced into medical experiments.
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3. APA wants that adults and children both should be protected from physical and
psychological harm. Informed consent of children of age 7 and older is taken from
their caregivers.
The society for research in child development 1990 has endorsed guidelines for research with
children be provided to their caregivers and guardians. The APA ethical principles for
conducting research is an extremely comprehensive document towards overall guidance
towards respect for people’s rights and dignity, concern for others welfare and social
responsibility. The new millennium looks forward to researchers to give up their
unprofessional and unethical attitude towards research.
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