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 what’s 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 • Zimbardo’s 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.tuskegee.edu/about_us/centers_of_excellence/bioethics_center/about_the_usphs_syphilis_study.aspx • Marc Hauser’s Monkey studies • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/education/14harvard.html?_r=1&hp# • Facebook • http://www.avclub.com/article/facebook-tinkered-users-feeds-massive-psychology-e-206324

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.