Example: Minimizing Deception in a Professor Age Study

Withholding the Research Question

Minimizing Deception in a Professor Age Study

According to the APA Ethics Code, under what condition is the use of deception in research considered ethically acceptable?

To adhere to ethical guidelines regarding the minimization of deception, a researcher should follow a specific logical sequence when planning their study. Arrange the following steps in the correct order from first to last.

A psychology researcher is refining a study protocol to adhere to the principle of minimizing deception. Match each deceptive research procedure with its corresponding nondeceptive alternative that could be used to address a similar research goal.

According to the APA Ethics Code, a researcher is ethically permitted to use a deceptive cover story if they determine that it will provide more realistic participant behavior than a nondeceptive alternative, even if that nondeceptive alternative is technically capable of answering the research question.

According to the APA Ethics Code, which of the following research practices must be proactively identified and evaluated for potential replacement with nondeceptive methods?

According to the APA Ethics Code's guidelines on minimizing deception, what must researchers do if their proposed study design involves withholding information or active deception?

According to the APA Ethics Code, if a researcher can answer their research question using a nondeceptive method, then using active deception in that study would be ethically _____ .

Dr. Smith is designing a study on helpfulness. She realizes she can answer her research question by observing public behavior (a nondeceptive method), but she prefers to stage an emergency using a confederate (a deceptive method) to obtain more dramatic results. Under the APA Ethics Code, Dr. Smith's staged emergency design is ethically acceptable because it is her preferred method.

Match each research scenario with its correct ethical classification or action required under the APA Ethics Code's guidelines on minimizing deception.

When evaluating a research design that incorporates active deception or the withholding of information, researchers must make a value judgment to determine if these deceptive practices are truly _____ to answer the research question.