¶ … Ethical Responsibility
There are several ethical responsibilities that psychologists need to consider when conducting a research with adult human participants. The first is to follow APA (American Psychological Association) ethics standards for rights of the participants (Zechmeister, n.d., p. 53). Second, the researchers must conduct a risk-benefit analysis before carrying out the study. Third, the researchers must take informed consent of the participant, which is the critical ethical responsibility in every exploration. Fourth, maintaining the participant's confidentiality is another major ethical task. Privacy should be maintained in order to gain true data from the respondents. Fifth, deception should be avoided. Last, a quick but comprehensive debriefing should be given to the human adults so that any possible misconceptions could be avoided.
Historical Example of Psychological Research
One historical example of psychological research that raised serious ethical questions is Milgram Obedience Study (Cherry, 2016). It was conducted after World War 2, in 1961. Newspaper ads were published to recruit the volunteering participants for a petty cash amount of $4.50. A shock generator was given to the participants labeled from "slight shock" to "danger: severe shock." The participants were informed...
Stanford Prison Experiment The roles we take on in our everyday lives are dictated by several factors. Whether it's the role of mother, son, student, cashier, accountant, boyfriend, wife, or teacher, the roles that make up our identities are varied and we slip into and out of them without any conscious thought. These roles are adopted by us based on expectations and assumptions prescribed to us by ourselves and others. The
Stanford Prison Experiment Ethical issues are always first and foremost a subject of ambiguous grounds when it comes to experiments that are hinged on human behavior. Whether this is because of the short- and long-term consequences of psychological and physical harm, ethical questions are raised with regards to how much scientific benefit can be accrued from conducting such an experiment. This question remains heavily controversial especially in the Stanford Prison Experiment,
More importantly, they were not guaranteed the right to terminate the experiment at their will. When Prisoner 8621 asked to get out of the experiment he was summarily ridiculed and sent back. It was only when he screamed that Zimbardo was forced to let him quit. Guards were also given far too much leeway in their ability to mentally abuse and thoroughly humiliate the prisoners. There were no checks
Participants in the study did receive a psychological testing battery but in the study it is reported that scores were not known until the close of the experiment. This may mean that the aggressive behavior seen in the experiment was not due to the effect of the situation on the person, but rather the interaction of the person in the situation. Members of the study staff (minus Dr. Zimbardo,
Response to the Stanford Prison ExperimentAfter watching the Stanford Prison Experiment video, it is clear that in spite of being randomly assigned to the role of �prisoner� or �guard,� the subject in this experiment readily accepted their respective roles as well as the corresponding expectations. For example, students playing �prisoners� in this experiment soon mirrored the social expectations of people who are incarcerated, including becoming passive and stressed. Likewise, students
Stafford Prison Experiment is a study and film based on the study detailing the psychological effects people undergo when becoming a prison guard or prisoner. Stanford University held the conduction of the experiment from August 14-20 in 1971. Psychology professor Philip Zimbardo led a team of researchers for the study and funding came from the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The Marin Corps and the U.S. Navy had interest
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now