The Stanley Milgram's Study: The Tearoom Trade

Stanley Milgram's 1961 study is a classic example of deception used in the research process. Neither deception or debriefing protocol was followed in conducting this study. In any studies that involve deception, there must be a debriefing in which the subjects who were deceived are informed of the nature of the deception. The Stanley Milgram’s study violated this protocol beyond any acceptable ethical standards.

Secondly, “The Tearoom Trade” is the title of a highly controversial piece of research by Laud Humphreys in 1970. The study analyzes homosexual acts in public restrooms. As the review of this research points out, Humphreys violated the privacy rights of the people he studied. Furthermore, informed Consent which is attained through a signed consent form that clarifies in very clear language the nature of the research, its safety protocols, and whether or not there is potential for harm to the subject was neither sought nor provided.
Public Health Service’s Tuskegee syphilis study conducted between 1932 and 1972 is a historical example of ethical violations in clinical trials. Protection from harm states that a research design must be constructed in such a way as to minimize any possible emotional or physical harm that could be potentially done to the subject. The Tuskegee study failed miserably to meet this standard reach practice. Informed Consent, which was also not obtained, serves as another ethical violation of the participants in the Tuskegee study. In the end, the Tuskegee study serves as a historical researchers’ example of what not to do if one wants to act in an ethical, humane manner when conducting