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Ethical Implications of Research Studies/theory

  • Ethical implications
    • Ethical issues are due to conflict between:
      • Psychology’s need for valid/valuable research
      • Preserving rights/dignity of participants
    • Wider ethical implications are hard to predict
      • Researchers control methods/how the treat participants
      • Less influence over how findings:
        • Are presented in the media
        • Impact public policy
        • Affect perception of some groups in society
  • Socially sensitive research
    • Research with social consequences
      • Either to participants or group of individuals represented by research
        • g. Genetic basis of criminality research might have far-reaching consequences
        • Studies that tackle topics such as race/sexuality attract attention
      • Researchers should not avoid this type of research
        • Aronson (1999): because of its importance, psychologists may have a social responsibility to carry it out
      • Sieber and Stanley (1988): concerns for socially sensitive research
        • Implications
          • Some studies may give ‘scientific status’ to prejudice/discrimination
        • Uses/public policy
          • What would happen if it was used for the wrong purpose?
          • Findings may be adopted by governments for political ends/to shape public policy
        • Validity
          • Some findings presented as objective in the past turned out to be fraudulent (E.g. Burt)
        • Burt’s IQ research
          • Consequences for UK schoolchildren
          • Leading psychologists in establishing 11+
            • Based on ‘natural intelligence’
            • Significant impact on opportunities
          • Burt: intelligence is genetic
            • 1955 twin study showed heritability coefficient of 0.77
          • Discrepencies in the data showed he made most of it up
          • Publicly discredited but 11+ still remains
  • Benefits of socially sensitive research
    • Scarr (1988)
      • Studies of under-represented groups/issues may promote greater understanding to help reduce prejudice/encourage acceptance
    • Socially sensitive research has benefitted society
      • g. research into unreliability of EWT has reduced risk of miscarriages of justice in the legal system
    • Suggests socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society
  • Understanding how to frame questions
    • Sieber and Stanley (1988)
      • How research questions are phrased/investigated may influence ways findings are interpreted
    • Kitzinger and Coyle (1995)
      • Research into ‘alternative relationships’ has been guilty of ‘heterosexual bias’
        • Homosexual relationships were judged against heterosexual norm
      • Suggests investigators must approach research with an open mind/be prepared to have preconceptions challenged
        • Avoid misrepresenting minority groups
  • Costs and benefits may be difficult to predict
    • Socially sensitive research is scrutinised by an ethics committee
      • Weigh up the costs and benefits of the research
    • Some of the social consequences may be difficult to anticipate
    • Assessments are typically subjective
      • Real impact can only be known once findings are made public