How do you feel every time I say that you are going to do an experiment? When you went in the office

When you did the word search experiment

Everyone feels a bit like this and researchers must

make sure their participants are not harmed

Possible problems are ethical issues

But…. Ethics can clash with experimental controls

We need to explain to participants what they are about to agree to do

But sometimes we don’t want to let them know what the real aim of the study is

Can you think of an experiment where this might be the case?

Ethical issues Informed consent

Right to withdraw

Informed consent Participants should know what they are about to do

WHY….imagine volunteering for an experiment on

phobias and being shown spiders if you hate them!

Participants might want to know:

1. If they are in competition with others

2. What the results are going to be used for

Right to withdraw Participants should not feel that they have to carry

on

….even if they are being paid!

Imagine how you would feel if you felt you did badly

in an experiment, would you want to do the second

condition?

Ethical Guidelines The British Psychological Society (BPS) give

suggestions (guidelines) for psychologist to deal with

the ethical issues

See the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2006) p. 45

How can you solve these ethical issues? Discuss with a partner Gaining informed consent

Doing a study where there are lots of people in a

park and you could not possibly ask them all to

consent

Someone feel trapped in an experiment and unable

to leave

Solving ethical problems Informed consent can be got by giving participants a

summary of what is about to happen in a study

They can then chose whether to take part

If a study is in a public place like a park, researchers

can ask colleagues whether they think people would

mind

Participants might feel trapped in a laboratory

situation so the researcher should tell them at the

start that they can leave at any time

You are about to watch a clip of a psychological experiment that has now become infamous for

it unethical approach

Milgram Obedience Study

You need to write down any ethical issues that arise from this study

Evaluating Experiments

Strengths v Weaknesses

Strengths of ExperimentsOnly the Independent variable affects the

Dependent Variable

The experimenter sets up the different conditions of

the IV and controls all other variables

They can be sure that any changes in the DV are

caused by the IV

Strengths of ExperimentsMeasuring the Dependent Variable accurately

This can be measured accurately (e.g. in

milliseconds, or the number of items recalled etc.)

Strengths of ExperimentsControls

In Palmers experiment participants were only

allowed to look at the scene for a short amount of

time

Each participant saw the scene for the same amount

of time

You can then be more sure that it was the category

of object (appropriate object or inappropriate similar

object) that caused the object to be identified or not

Strengths of ExperimentsInformed consent

In a laboratory experiment participants can be told

what will happen

This is ethically good

But, they usually cannot be told why they are doing

something as they would change how they behave

and alter the results

Strengths of ExperimentsRight to withdraw

Participants can be told about the right to withdraw

when they go into an experiment

This cannot be done in a more real-life setting where

the participants do not know they are in a study

Activity In pairs you are going to design the most unethical

study ever

You must not say what the ethical issues are

You will swap your study with another pair and see if

you can see what the ethical issues are in their study

Weaknesses of ExperimentsRepresenting real life

Experiments are often set in laboratories and do not represent real life

This is an unfamiliar situation so the participant might behave different to normal

The tests in the experiment can be unlike real life

How often do you find mail boxes in kitchens? (Palmer)

This means the findings might not tell us how people behave in the real world

Weaknesses of ExperimentsHiding the experimental aims

Knowing the aim of a study might alter the way a

participant might behave

How would this have affected Bartlett’s War of the

Ghosts experiment?

Weaknesses of ExperimentsDeception

An example: Imagine you have decided to take part in

a study you believe is about guilt and innocense. You

find examples of crime distressing but you take part

because you feel that it is important. How would you

feel if you later find out that it is just a memory test?

Weaknesses of ExperimentsDeception

Sometimes deception does need to be used but

harm can be minimised by:

1. Avoiding deception unless it is really necessary

2. Avoiding other ethical problems such as

embarrassment

3. Explaining the real purpose as soon as possible

4. Allowing them to withdraw at any time