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Analyze this case study to determine which conditions of the APA Ethics Code for justifying deception are met, and which condition(s) are violated by the proposed research design.
Case context: A researcher wants to study social conformity by having participants join a virtual group discussion about controversial topics. The other 'participants' in the chat are actually automated computer scripts designed to express extreme views to pressure the participant. The researcher believes this design will cause mild frustration but not severe emotional distress. To avoid biasing future participants on campus, the researcher decides not to debrief anyone until the entire three-month study is fully completed.
Question: Analyze this case study to determine which conditions of the APA Ethics Code for justifying deception are met, and which condition(s) are violated by the proposed research design.
Sample answer: The researcher's design violates the APA Ethics Code condition regarding debriefing. The APA code requires that when deception is justified, researchers must fully disclose it to participants as soon as possible during the debriefing phase. Waiting three months to debrief participants violates this requirement. However, the study may meet the condition of not causing physical pain or severe emotional distress, provided the frustration remains mild, and the researcher must still demonstrate that the scientific benefits outweigh the risks and that no nondeceptive alternatives are feasible.
Key points:
- Identify that delaying debriefing for three months violates the APA requirement to disclose the deception as soon as possible.
- Analyze the potential for emotional distress, determining if the frustration caused by the automated scripts remains mild or crosses into severe distress.
- Evaluate if the prospective scientific benefits of studying social conformity in this way outweigh the risks of mild frustration.
- Examine whether the researcher has sufficiently established that nondeceptive alternatives are not feasible.
Rubric: The response should correctly identify that the delayed debriefing (three months) violates the APA condition to disclose deception as soon as possible. It should also analyze how the study addresses the other three conditions: risk-benefit ratio, avoidance of physical pain or severe emotional distress, and the necessity of deception over nondeceptive alternatives.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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