Experimental Psychology PSY 433

1
Experimental PsychologyPSY 433

• Chapter 4
• Ethics

2
Parts of an Experiment

• Welcome orient subjects.
• Informed consent.
• Instructions.
• Subject does task.
• Demographic questionnaire or other measurement
  used to classify subjects.
• Debriefing.
• Always thank the subject for helping!

3
CITI Training (Basic 101)

• Before you start testing subjects, you must have
  completed the online CITI training AND have my
  approval to conduct your experiment.
• You should also know APA guidelines -- the
  preamble 10 general principles on pp. 84-85
  following pages (Kantowitz).
• These principles can be summarized into 6 basic
  tenets.

4
Basic Tenets of Research Ethics

• Society decides whats right wrong.
• Responsibility lies with the experimenter
• Minimal risk versus at risk
• Informed consent and freedom to decline.
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Confidentiality and debriefing procedures

5
Examples of Unethical Studies

• Zimbardos Stanford Prison Experiment
• http//www.prisonexp.org/
• Ivy League Nude Posture Photo Scandal
• http//www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/texts/
  posture.htm
• Tuskegee Syphillis Study
• http//www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects2000/
  Ethics/TUSKEGEESYPHILISSTUDY.html
• Marc Hausers Monkey studies
• http//www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/education/14harv
  ard.html?_r1hp

6
Right and Wrong

• People obviously differ in their beliefs about
  what is right and wrong.
• Experimenters are biased, so oversight is
  necessary.
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) provides
  necessary protections for subjects (human and
  animals).
• Be conservative and seek advice.
• Do unto others even better than you would have
  them do unto you.

7
The Responsibility is YOURS

• Experimenters are held responsible for the ethics
  of an experiment.
• Even if an IRB approves an experiment, the
  experimenter is still held responsible.
• Your job is to protect subjects from any
  discomfort in the research procedures
• Subject should leave in same state as they came
  into the student.
• Advice from dissimilar others is one way to check
  your values.

8
Minimal Risk versus At Risk

• Minimal risk -- the anticipated risks posed by
  the research are no more than those encountered
  in daily life.
• At-risk -- the anticipated risks posed by the
  research are more than those expected in everyday
  life.
• Informed consent is required for at-risk
  research.
• Informed consent is a good idea for any
  experiment can be verbal or written.

9
Freedom to Stop

• Informed consent -- informing subjects of all
  aspects of the research that might influence
  their willingness to participate and answering
  any other questions they have.
• Subjects are always free to withdraw from the
  experiment at any time without penalty.
• Deception requires special considerations because
  the subject is not truly informed.

10
Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Experimenters should always compare the costs of
  doing the research with the expected benefits of
  the results.
• This is even more important if the research costs
  involve deception.
• The greater the deception, the greater the
  expected benefits should be.
• Must explore non-deceptive alternatives.

11
Confidentiality and Debriefing

• All subject data are kept confidential.
• If possible, keep data separate from names.
• Ask about age, gender, etc, but keep such info
  separate from the names.
• Upon completion, debrief subjects ASAP.
• Debriefing involves telling subjects your
  hypothesis and what you expect to find.
• Follow up when long term effects are possible.