Psych 540: Deception In Psychological Research
Deception in Research
PSYCH/540
August 5, 2013
Kimberly Wilkins
Deception in Research
Ethics are a very important part of psychological research, not only for the researcher, but also for the participant(s). Researchers have a duty to protect the participants from any kind of harm or injury. There is not one exact definition of ethics, as there are many. In this paper I will discuss what I believe the definition of ethics to be, along with the connection between deception and ethics. Deception is also an important issue when dealing with ethics and psychological research. I will also discuss the risk/benefit ratio when related to ethics and deception. When does the risk of the experiment outweigh the benefits of it? According …show more content…
to the Resnik (2011) website, ethics are a set of rules that distinguish between acceptable (right) and unacceptable (wrong) behavior. Ethics are sometimes confused with morals. Morals are what are considered acceptable and unacceptable by one’s own principle or idea. Ethics are what help define the rules society believes individuals should live by. Ethics are what are considered acceptable and unacceptable by a culture or class. When conducting a study, researchers have a responsibility to keep the participants from harm. The American Psychological Association (APA) constructed the Code of Ethics that help guide psychologists to maintain ethical work. The “American Psychological Association” (n.d.) states that this code is for psychologists’ activities that are part of his or her educational, scientific, or professional roles of the psychologists. Areas covered by the APA Code of Ethics include but are not limited to research, social intervention, constructing assessments, conducting assessments, and program and administration. These cover contexts such as person to person, telephone, postal, and Internet.
According to Banks (2008), research risk is “the probability of harm or injury (physical, psychological, social, or economic) occurring as a result of the participation in a research study” (Regulatory Considerations). The probability or risk can range minimal to significant. According to Banks (2008), research benefit is defined as “something of health-related, psychosocial, or other value to an individual research subject or something that will contribute to the acquisition of generalizable knowledge” (Regulatory Considerations). Payment for participating would not be considered a benefit to the individual because it does not affect the outcome of the study.
The outcome of the study must outweigh the risk of the participant(s). The Banks (200) website states that before a study the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must assess each study using a series of steps.
• First, the IRB must determine what, if any, risks are associated with the research.
• Second, the IRB must determine if risks are possible and if so how to minimize those risks to the lowest extent possible.
• Third, the IRB must determine that the benefits associated with the study and what knowledge is to be gained from the study.
• Fourth, the IRB must determine that the participants will be provided knowledge of the possible risks and benefits associated with the study.
• Fifth, the IRB must determine the frequency of review and when necessary, providing adequate monitoring of the data collected from the study.
Deception refers to deliberately withholding and misleading information to the participant (“Deception Topics,” n.d.). Using deliberate deception to get an individual to participate in a study is always unethical, though not all research can be done without deception. For example, if researchers believe the participants may change their behavior if they know details, those details may be intentionally left out. If this occurs, researchers must provide alternate designs and procedures of the study. If there are no alternatives, the researchers must be able to justify their use of deception (“Deception Topics,” n.d.). Some researchers believe that deception is necessary, at times, to maintain validity, although other researcher’s feel it is always unacceptable (“Deception Topics,” …show more content…
n.d.).
There are two types of accounts of deception: normative and non-normative accounts.
Normative accounts question if misleading in certain cases is ethical and if it is deemed as deception. Non-normative accounts of deceptive do not (Athanassoulis & Wilson, 2009). Non-normative accounts are more desired in research than normative accounts. In non-normative accounts ethics is not questioned. The “Deception Topics” (n.d), states that omission or passive deception refers to when researchers withhold information from the participants, whereas commission or active deception refers to refers to when researchers intentionally misleads a participant.
Deception is one of the most debatable issues in psychological research. Research has shown that individuals who participated in deceptive versus non-deceptive found the deceptive studies more enjoyable. These individuals also found a greater sense of educational gain and did not mind their privacy invaded or experiencing deception. This research suggests that although deception is unethical on a moral basis, it is not seen that way from the view of the
participants.
Numerous studies have been done on how participants react to deception experiments. These studies were done by the participants completing self reports after participating in a deception experiment. In 1964 Milgram found that 1.3 % of the participants reported negative feelings about their experience within a deceptive study, whereas 84% reported positive feelings. Ring, Wallston, and Corey (1970) replicated Milgram’s study and found that only 4% of the participants had negative feelings toward the deceptive study. Clark and Ward (1974) found that 94% of participants involved in a “bystander intervention in an emergency” thought that deception was unavoidable in this type of study (Christensen, 1988).
Ethics will continue to play a big part in psychological research. Ethics are what guide the researchers to use his or her moral compass when developing and conducting research experiments. Deception is a part of ethics and will continue to be debated about whether it is morally wrong or right. A researcher’s first duty is protect the participants from any harm, whether that is physical, psychological, social, or economic. The researcher must determine if deceiving the participant is worth the results of the study.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Athanassoulis, N., & Wilson, J. (2009). When is deception in research ethical?. Clinical Ethics, 4(1), 44-49. Deception Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/webbasedtraining/deceptionoutline.htm
Banks, M. A. (2008). A Closer Look at Risk-Benefit Analysis. Retrieved from https://dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/ocr/clinicalresearchnewsletter/article.aspx?=218
Christensen, L. (1988, December). Deception in Psychological Research: When it is Justified. Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 14(664), . 10.1177/0146167288144002
Resnik, D. B. (2011). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.niehs.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/
PSYCH/540
August 5, 2013
Kimberly Wilkins
Deception in Research
Ethics are a very important part of psychological research, not only for the researcher, but also for the participant(s). Researchers have a duty to protect the participants from any kind of harm or injury. There is not one exact definition of ethics, as there are many. In this paper I will discuss what I believe the definition of ethics to be, along with the connection between deception and ethics. Deception is also an important issue when dealing with ethics and psychological research. I will also discuss the risk/benefit ratio when related to ethics and deception. When does the risk of the experiment outweigh the benefits of it? According …show more content…
to the Resnik (2011) website, ethics are a set of rules that distinguish between acceptable (right) and unacceptable (wrong) behavior. Ethics are sometimes confused with morals. Morals are what are considered acceptable and unacceptable by one’s own principle or idea. Ethics are what help define the rules society believes individuals should live by. Ethics are what are considered acceptable and unacceptable by a culture or class. When conducting a study, researchers have a responsibility to keep the participants from harm. The American Psychological Association (APA) constructed the Code of Ethics that help guide psychologists to maintain ethical work. The “American Psychological Association” (n.d.) states that this code is for psychologists’ activities that are part of his or her educational, scientific, or professional roles of the psychologists. Areas covered by the APA Code of Ethics include but are not limited to research, social intervention, constructing assessments, conducting assessments, and program and administration. These cover contexts such as person to person, telephone, postal, and Internet.
According to Banks (2008), research risk is “the probability of harm or injury (physical, psychological, social, or economic) occurring as a result of the participation in a research study” (Regulatory Considerations). The probability or risk can range minimal to significant. According to Banks (2008), research benefit is defined as “something of health-related, psychosocial, or other value to an individual research subject or something that will contribute to the acquisition of generalizable knowledge” (Regulatory Considerations). Payment for participating would not be considered a benefit to the individual because it does not affect the outcome of the study.
The outcome of the study must outweigh the risk of the participant(s). The Banks (200) website states that before a study the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must assess each study using a series of steps.
• First, the IRB must determine what, if any, risks are associated with the research.
• Second, the IRB must determine if risks are possible and if so how to minimize those risks to the lowest extent possible.
• Third, the IRB must determine that the benefits associated with the study and what knowledge is to be gained from the study.
• Fourth, the IRB must determine that the participants will be provided knowledge of the possible risks and benefits associated with the study.
• Fifth, the IRB must determine the frequency of review and when necessary, providing adequate monitoring of the data collected from the study.
Deception refers to deliberately withholding and misleading information to the participant (“Deception Topics,” n.d.). Using deliberate deception to get an individual to participate in a study is always unethical, though not all research can be done without deception. For example, if researchers believe the participants may change their behavior if they know details, those details may be intentionally left out. If this occurs, researchers must provide alternate designs and procedures of the study. If there are no alternatives, the researchers must be able to justify their use of deception (“Deception Topics,” n.d.). Some researchers believe that deception is necessary, at times, to maintain validity, although other researcher’s feel it is always unacceptable (“Deception Topics,” …show more content…
n.d.).
There are two types of accounts of deception: normative and non-normative accounts.
Normative accounts question if misleading in certain cases is ethical and if it is deemed as deception. Non-normative accounts of deceptive do not (Athanassoulis & Wilson, 2009). Non-normative accounts are more desired in research than normative accounts. In non-normative accounts ethics is not questioned. The “Deception Topics” (n.d), states that omission or passive deception refers to when researchers withhold information from the participants, whereas commission or active deception refers to refers to when researchers intentionally misleads a participant.
Deception is one of the most debatable issues in psychological research. Research has shown that individuals who participated in deceptive versus non-deceptive found the deceptive studies more enjoyable. These individuals also found a greater sense of educational gain and did not mind their privacy invaded or experiencing deception. This research suggests that although deception is unethical on a moral basis, it is not seen that way from the view of the
participants.
Numerous studies have been done on how participants react to deception experiments. These studies were done by the participants completing self reports after participating in a deception experiment. In 1964 Milgram found that 1.3 % of the participants reported negative feelings about their experience within a deceptive study, whereas 84% reported positive feelings. Ring, Wallston, and Corey (1970) replicated Milgram’s study and found that only 4% of the participants had negative feelings toward the deceptive study. Clark and Ward (1974) found that 94% of participants involved in a “bystander intervention in an emergency” thought that deception was unavoidable in this type of study (Christensen, 1988).
Ethics will continue to play a big part in psychological research. Ethics are what guide the researchers to use his or her moral compass when developing and conducting research experiments. Deception is a part of ethics and will continue to be debated about whether it is morally wrong or right. A researcher’s first duty is protect the participants from any harm, whether that is physical, psychological, social, or economic. The researcher must determine if deceiving the participant is worth the results of the study.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Athanassoulis, N., & Wilson, J. (2009). When is deception in research ethical?. Clinical Ethics, 4(1), 44-49. Deception Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/webbasedtraining/deceptionoutline.htm
Banks, M. A. (2008). A Closer Look at Risk-Benefit Analysis. Retrieved from https://dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/ocr/clinicalresearchnewsletter/article.aspx?=218
Christensen, L. (1988, December). Deception in Psychological Research: When it is Justified. Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 14(664), . 10.1177/0146167288144002
Resnik, D. B. (2011). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.niehs.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/