08/03/2026
Chapter 3: Ethical Issues
Buse Keskindag, PhD, CPsychol.
keskinda@[Link]
Outline:
ETHICAL ISSUES TO CONSIDER BEFORE BEGINNING RESEARCH
INFORMED CONSENT
DECEPTION IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
DEBRIEFING
REPORTING OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
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Good science:
Each individual scientist has an ethical responsibility to seek knowledge and
to strive to improve the quality of life.
Scientists should
— carry out research in a competent manner;
—report results accurately;
—manage research resources honestly;
— fairly acknowledge, in scientific communications, the individuals who
have contributed their ideas or their time and effort;
—consider the consequences to society of any research
endeavor;
— speak out publicly on societal concerns related to a scientist’s
knowledge and expertise.
To guide ethical decisions, the American Psychological
Association (APA) has formulated an Ethics Code.
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The Internet has changed the way many scientists do research
E.g., collaborations, collecting data ([recording “behaviour” in
chat rooms], surveys [questionnaires,
including personality tests]).
Internet offers many opportunities for the behavioural scientist,
it also raises many ethical concerns
Such as: the difficulty of obtaining adequate informed consent
and providing debriefing, and concerns about protecting
participant confidentiality
ETHICAL ISSUES TO CONSIDER BEFORE BEGINNING
RESEARCH
Prior to conducting any study, the proposed research must be
reviewed to determine if it meets ethical standards.
• Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) review psychological
research to protect the rights and welfare of human
participants.
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs)
review research conducted with animals to ensure that animals
are treated humanely.
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The failure to conduct research in an ethical manner can also
lead to significant legal and financial penalties for individuals and
institutions
Following World War II, the Nuremberg War Crimes Court
charged German doctors with crimes against humanity,
Because of performing medical experiments on human beings
without their consent.
the development of the Nuremberg Code => which set rules for
permissible experimentation with human beings.
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THE RISK/BENEFIT RATIO
“Is it worth it?”
members of an IRB rely on a subjective evaluation of the risks and
benefits both to individual participants and to society,
When the risks outweigh the potential benefits, then the IRB does
not approve the research;
When the benefits outweigh the risks, the IRB approves the research.
Quality of research?
“If because of the poor quality of the science no good can
come of a research study, how are we to justify the use of participants’
time,
attention,
and effort
and the money, space, supplies,
and other resources that have been expended on the research
project?”
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Determining Risk
We often think of risk in terms of the possibility of physical injury.
however, participants in social science research risk social or
psychological injury.
E.g. if personal information were revealed to others, a potential for
social risk such as embarrassment
Data related intelligence; personality traits; political, social, or religious
beliefs; and particular behaviours.
A research participant probably does not want this information to
shared with others
Failure to protect the confidentiality of participants’ responses may
increase the possibility of social injury.
E.g. psychological risk => if participants in the study experience
serious mental or emotional stress.
Imagine the stress a participant may experience when smoke
enters the room in which she is waiting.
The smoke may be entering the room so that the researcher can
simulate an emergency (diffusion of responsibility experiment).
Until the true nature of the smoke is revealed, participants may
experience considerable distress.
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when researchers seek to gather information about child abuse
and interpersonal violence
=> asking individuals to describe instances of child abuse or
family violence from their past can be emotionally stressful.
Yet, knowledge of such experiences can help to provide
important insights (e.g., divorce, poor school performance,
criminality).
A researcher is obligated to protect participants from emotional
or mental stress, including, when possible, stress that might arise
due to participants’ misconceptions about the psychological task.
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Minimal Risk
= the harm or discomfort participants may experience in the
research is not greater than what they might experience in their
daily lives or during routine physical or psychological tests
E.g. task: to complete the tests quickly and participant may
receive specific feedback about their performance.
Although there is likely to be stress in this situation, the risk of
psychological injury is likely no greater than that typically
experienced by students
Dealing with Risk
Even if the potential risk is small, researchers should try to
minimize risk and protect participants.
E.g. simply by stating at the beginning of a memory experiment
that the tasks do not measure intelligence or personality
reduces the stress that some participants experience.
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when participants may experience emotional stress in a
psychology experiment, an IRB could require that a independent
psychologist be available to counsel individuals about their
experience
E.g. online research poses difficult ethical dilemmas
in this regard.
However they encourage participants to contact with related
associated or service by providing contact details of it.
data collection should keep participants’ responses anonymous
by asking participants not to use their names or any other
identifying information.
When this is not possible, researchers should keep participants’
responses confidential by removing any identifying information
from their records during the research.
E.g. when testing people on more than one occasion, code
numbers can be randomly assigned to participants at the
beginning of a study.
Only these numbers need appear on participants’ response
sheets.
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Names are linked with the code numbers on a master list, and
access to this list is restricted by keeping it under lock and key.
Making sure participants’ responses are anonymous or
confidential can also benefit the researcher if this leads
participants to be more honest and open when responding
INFORMED CONSENT
informed consent is an essential component of the social
contract between the researcher and the participant.
Informed consent is a person’s explicitly expressed willingness
to participate in a research project based on a clear
understanding of the nature of the research, of the
consequences for not participating, and of all factors that might
be expected to influence that person’s willingness to
participate.
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The U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972 examined
the course of untreated syphilis in poor African American men
from Macon County, Alabama, who had not given informed
consent.
They were unaware they
Had syphilis and their
disease was left untreated.
Participants’ consent must be given freely, without pressure.
Participants should also know they are free to withdraw their
consent at any time without penalty or prejudice
True informed consent cannot be obtained from certain
individuals, such as the mentally impaired, and young children
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must be obtained from the participants’ parents or legal
guardians
Pressure to participants:
E.g. when university students are asked to fulfill a class
requirement by serving as participants in psychology
experiments, an alternative method of fulfilling the class
requirement must be made available to those who do not wish
to participate in psychological research
In some situations researchers are not required to obtain
informed consent.
E.g. observing individuals’ behaviour in public places without any
intervention.
=> race relations on a college campus by observing the
frequency of mixed-race versus non-mixed-race groups walking
across campus.
The investigator would not need to obtain students’ permission
before making the observations.
Informed consent would be required, if the identity, and
information of specific individuals was going to be recorded.
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DECEPTION IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
In the 1960s, participants in Stanley Milgram’s experiments
were not told that the purpose of the research was to observe
people’s obedience to authority, and many followed the
researcher’s instructions to give severe electric shock to
another human being.
Deception can occur either through neglect, the withholding of
information, or commission, intentionally misinforming
participants about an aspect of the research.
Despite the increased attention given to deception in research
over the last several decades, the use of deception in
psychological research has not declined
One reason: it is impossible to carry out certain kinds of research
without withholding
In other situations, it is necessary to misinform participants in
order to have them adopt certain attitudes or behaviours
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E.g., investigating helping behaviour –
Would participants’ helping behaviour change when they knew
that the study is about helping behaviour?
Although deception is sometimes justified to make it possible to
investigate important research questions, deceiving participants
for the purpose of getting them to participate in research that
involves more than minimal risk is always unethical.
the Ethics Code: “Psychologists do not deceive prospective
participants about research that is reasonably expected to cause
physical pain or severe emotional distress”
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DEBRIEFING
Participants are given this form at the end of the study
When deception has been used in research, debriefing is
necessary to explain to participants the need for deception, to
address any misconceptions participants may have about their
participation.
For all research (with/out deception), as the important goals of
educating participants about the research (rationale, method,
results)
REPORTING OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Plagiarism
Don’t present substantial portions or elements of another’s
work as your own.
A substantial element can be a single word or short phrase if
that element serves to identify a key idea or concept that is the
result of another’s thinking.
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It is also important to cite the source of material you include in your
paper when you paraphrase
STEPS FOR ETHICAL COMPLIANCE:
-- Review the facts of the proposed research situation (e.g.,
participants, procedure).
—Identify the relevant ethical issues, guidelines, and law.
—Consider multiple viewpoints (e.g., participants, researchers,
institutions, society, moral values).
—Consider alternative methods or procedures and their
consequences, including the consequences of not doing the proposed
research.
To help ensure ethical compliance throughout the research
process, APA has published an Ethical Compliance Checklist
[Link]
formal institutional approval (IRB) must be obtained before
beginning to do research
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