Research Methods Psych 402 LECTURE 13 – Ethics VHS: POV - Refrigerator Mothers.

Research MethodsPsych 402

LECTURE 13 – Ethics

VHS: POV - Refrigerator Mothers

Return Assignments: Library Research

• Paraphrase

• Journals: Italicize, spell out fully, volume number

• Hanging indent

Ethics

• The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.

American Heritage Dictionary

“An ethical issue is said to arise whenever one party in pursuit of its goals engages in behavior that materially affects the ability of another party to pursue its goals.”

Mason, Mason, and Culnan,

Ethics of Information Management, Sage

Who is being protected?• Participants (subjects)

• Researchers

• Sponsoring organization(s)

• Users of data, findings

Goals of Science vs. Ethics of Science

• GOAL: Discovery of facts and to increase human knowledge

– Pure research is neutral with regard to values or moral interpretation (i.e., amoral)

– some moral valence make exist in applied research

What provides the ethical guideposts for science and scientists?

• Law – minimum standard of behavior

• Morality – cultural standard of behavior– Derived from that culture’s belief in future

events, outcomes

• Ethics – absolute standard of behavior– Attempts to consider all possible beliefs about

outcomes

Ethical Practice of Science

1. Individual researcher’s own ethics

2. Disciplinary/Professional guidelines

3. Government laws and regulations

4. Society and culture

Ethical Practice of Science

• Fraud– Fabrication of results– Selective reporting (of only those data you “like”)– Misrepresentation

• Protection– Failure to replicate– Peer review– Whistle-blowing

Concepts

• Volunteers Human Participants

• Permission Informed Consent

• Oversight Institutional Review Board

• Documentation Assurance and Records

• Self-Interest What’s it to you?

History of Human Research Subjects

• 18th Century – Physicians and scientists were their own subjects

• 19th and early 20th Century – Research subjects often patients on a ward or prisoners– Benefits of research was mostly for private patients, not

the subjects

• Mid-20th Century – Nazi war crimes

Nazi Doctor Mengele

Dr. Mengele was obsessed with twins, studying blood, body, iris coloration, etc.

One gruesome night he rounded up 14 pairs of Gypsy children twins, killed them, and went about dissecting them, part by body part.

Nuremberg War Crimes Trials

23 German doctors charged with crimes against humanity for “performing medical experiments upon concentration camp inmates and other living subjects, without their consent, in the course of which experiments the defendants committed the murders, brutalities, cruelties, tortures, atrocities, and other inhuman acts . . . ”

The Nuremberg Code (1947)

• “Permissible Medical Experiments” provided rules including:

1. voluntary consent

2. benefits outweigh risks

3. ability of subject to terminate participation

Study of Untreated Syphilis in African-American Males (1932-1972)

• U.S. Public Health Service with Tuskegee Institute studied natural course of untreated syphilis in black American men. – Impoverished sharecroppers from Alabama were unknowing participants in this

study

– Men not told that they had syphilis, nor were they offered effective treatment

• Public Outcry when study was publicized– New York Times front page article (July 1972)

– Advisory Panel (October 1972): “ethically unjustified”

– Asst. Secretary for Health & Scientific Affairs: Stopped study

– 1973: Class-action lawsuit by NAACP. $9M awarded to subjects

– 1997: Pres. Clinton apologized to living subjects and families on behalf of nation

Evolution of formalized ethical protocols

• 1974 National Research Act– Identify basic ethical principles– Develop guidelines to assure research is carried out according to

those principles• Required IRBs at institutions receiving support ($) for human

subjects research• 1979 Belmont Report

– Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research

• Respect for Persons– people can not be used as a means to an end– provide protection to the vulnerable

• Beneficence– Prevent harm, do good (minimize risks, maximize benefits)

• Justice– Treat fairly

1st Priority of Ethical Research: How are participants treated?

Humans• Institutional Review Board (IRB)• APA guidelines (Ethical Principles of

Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 1992)

• External Peer Review (for projects funded by the government)

Non-human Animals• Institutional Animal Care & Use

committee (IACUC)• APA guidelines & Animal

Welfare Act• External Peer Review (for

projects funded by the government)

Regulated by American Psychological Association guidelines and federal law

Exact use and treatment of participants must be reviewed and approved by review boards before research can be done

Risk/Benefit Ratio, or no lasting harm

• Individual participant

Will the participant suffer any physical or psychological harm, distress, or discomfort, by his/her participation in the experiment?

• Role of the IRB is to minimize risk to the participant, and decide whether benefits of the research outweigh the risks

Goal of No Lasting Harm

• Definition and determination of risk– Minimal risk (if possible): The probability and

magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater in and of themselves from those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examination or tests

• Dealing with risk– Correct if possible and/or refer to clinician

Role of the Expert in Society

• B Bettelheim – Refrigerator Mothers (1950s to early 1990s)

• Experts fail to say “I don’t know” when asked about something they do not know, or they overestimate their understanding– Frontal lobotomies

Informed ConsentIndividual agrees to participate after fully informed about nature and purpose of study

Exception: when deception is deemed necessary (to test an important hypothesis), individuals informed that deception may be in use

• Participants must exercise “free will” to participate, and be able to exercise “free will” – (impaired or young requires guardian consent)

• Subjects must receive a full explanation of procedures to be used• Potential risks must be made clear• Allowed to discontinue at any time during experiment, without penalty or

pressure• Must be agreed to in writing

Use of deception

Decision to use deceptionProblems with casual use of deceptionAlternatives to deceptive (e.g., role playing)

• Must decide risk to individual of deception against benefit (i.e., importance of the study)– Useless study if deception not used?– Would subject likely refuse to participate if s/he had

been fully informed (no deception)?– Any physical or psychological jeopardy caused by

the deception?• Must fully debrief and disclose at the end of

experiment (not necessarily that session)

Would you give a stranger a

lethal shock if asked to?

(seen in ecological validity)

“Effect of Punishment on Memory”

Version 1: n=40, Yale

“Learner” is confederate; mentions untrue mild heart condition.

Teacher (true subject) straps learner, samples 45 volt jolt

Examiner says shocks may be painful but no permanent damage

STANLEY MILGRAM1933-1984

Privacy

• Maintain anonymity and confidentiality

Other issues

• Consider risk of “placebo” (no-treatment control)

• Consider potential long-term changes in the participant resulting from being in the experiment

Additional responsibilities to Participants

• Share and utilize data

• Provide participants with information about the study

Research using Animals

• Protections and Review of Use

• Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights

• Health and well-being is essential to science

• No unnecessary pain or distress

Reporting Research

• obligation

Taping concerns

• Videotaping and identity

• Video/audiotaping that captures unrelated behavior or comments

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS AND CODE OF CONDUCT 2002

• Principle A: Beneficence and Non-maleficence… strive to benefit those with whom they work and. … safeguard the welfare and rights of those with whom they interact…

• Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility… establish relationships of trust with those with whom they work. … uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, accept appropriateresponsibility for their behavior, and seek to manage conflicts of interest…

• Principle C: Integrity…seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of [their profession]. … do not steal, cheat, or engage in fraud, subterfuge, or intentional misrepresentation of fact…strive to keep their promises…

• Principle D: Justice… recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures, and services being conducted …exercise reasonable judgment and take precautions to ensure that their potential biases, the boundaries of their competence, and the limitations of their expertise do not lead to or condone unjust practices…

• Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity…respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. …special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights of those whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision-making…

APA Informed Consent to ResearchInform participants about (1) the purpose of the research, expected duration, and procedures; (2) their right to decline to participate and to withdraw from the research

once participation has begun; (3) the foreseeable consequences of declining or withdrawing; (4) reasonably foreseeable factors that may be expected to influence

their willingness to participate such as potential risks, discomfort, or adverse effects;

(5) any prospective research benefits; (6) limits of confidentiality; (7) incentives for participation; and (8) whom to contact for questions about the research and research

participants' rights. (9) provide opportunity for the prospective participants to ask questions

and receive answers.

Example informed consent form:

Study title: Individual Differences in Social Attitudes

I hereby authorize the Principal Investigator, Jane Doe, Ph.D., to include me in the above titled research study. Dr Doe’s address is: XXXX phone XXXX

I have been asked to participate in a research project which is designed to investigate social and sexual attitudes. For my participation I will receive 1 hour of credit toward the 6 hours required for Psychology 101. I understand that the completion of the series of questionnaires will take less than 1 hour.

I understand that if I am a subject, I will complete the following questionnaires: Background information, Handedness, and a Social/Sexual Attitudes Inventory.

I understand that the subjects in this study are not expected to be harmed in any way and therefore no compensation for injuries will be provided. I understand that if any adverse reaction does occur as a result of completing the questionnaires, I will be informed of counseling services offered by Student Health Services and provided with contact information if so requested.

I understand that participation in this study is voluntary. I understand that I have the right to refuse to participate in, or to withdraw from this research at any time without prejudice of any kind. I understand that the circumstances may arise which might cause the investigator to terminate my participation before the completion of the study. I understand that if I withdraw before the study is completed or in the event my participation is terminated through no fault of mine, I will receive full credit for my participation.

Example informed consent form continued

I understand that my responses will be kept confidential; in all probability there will be publications and/or other educational uses of the data. I understand that most scientific reports and educational publications present statistical data, but any identifying information will be deleted. My name and phone number will be known only to experimenters who will be blind to my experimental condition assignment; my responses to specific questions on any questionnaire or test will be pooled together with other people’s responses and published as percentages. I understand that no information which identifies me will be released without my separate consent except as specifically required by law.

If the study design or my use of the information is to be changed, I will be so informed and my consent reobtained.

I understand that I have the right to refuse to answer any question that I may not wish to answer.Some of the information with which I will be provided may be ambiguous, or inaccurate. However, I will be informed of any inaccuracies following my participation in this study.

I understand that XXX who can be reached at XXX will answer any questions I may have at any time concerning details of the procedures performed as part of this study.

I understand that if I have further questions, comments, or concerns about the study or the informed consent process, I may write or call the Office of the Vice Chancellor-Research Programs, XXXX.

In signing this consent form, I acknowledge receipt of a copy of the form. Subject’s Signature __________________________ Date _______________ Witness Signature __________________________ Date _______________