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Based on this context, diagnose the ethical issue present in the investigator's plan, identify the specific moral principle it conflicts with, and explain the justification for why this approach might still be employed.
Case context: An investigator wants to study obedience to authority. Recognizing that participants will behave unnaturally if they are fully aware of the research design, the investigator plans to intentionally mislead participants by telling them the study is about memory performance rather than obedience.
Question: Based on this context, diagnose the ethical issue present in the investigator's plan, identify the specific moral principle it conflicts with, and explain the justification for why this approach might still be employed.
Sample answer: The ethical issue present is the use of deception, as the investigator is intentionally misleading participants about the true purpose of the study. This conflicts with the moral principle of acting with integrity and being truthful. However, this approach is justified because understanding obedience to authority is difficult or impossible to study accurately if participants are fully aware of the research design.
Key points:
- Identify the use of deception (intentionally misleading participants about the nature or purpose).
- Identify the conflict with the moral principle of acting with integrity and being truthful.
- Explain the justification that obedience to authority is difficult or impossible to study accurately with full participant awareness.
Rubric: The answer must identify the use of deception (misleading about the study's purpose) as the ethical issue, state that it conflicts with the moral principle of acting with integrity/truthfulness, and explain that studying obedience to authority accurately is difficult or impossible if participants know the true design.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Examples of Deception
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A research team wants to study how the perceived authority of a person giving instructions affects compliance. They recruit participants for what is described as a 'market research survey on new products.' During the study, an actor, posing as either a senior lab director in a formal coat or a fellow participant in casual clothes, instructs the participant to shred a stack of papers containing what they are told is 'another group's completed survey data.' In reality, the papers are blank. After the interaction, the researchers fully explain the true purpose of the study, why the misdirection was used, and confirm that no real data was destroyed. Which of the following statements best evaluates the use of deception in this experiment according to ethical guidelines?
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Minimizing Deception
Forms of Deception in Research
Fill-in-the-Blank: Justification for Deception
Arguments Against Deception in Research
Justifying Deception in Research
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Why do researchers sometimes intentionally mislead participants about the nature or purpose of a psychological study?
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Explain the concept of deception in psychological research. In your response, define deception, state the specific moral principle it conflicts with, and describe the scientific justification researchers use for employing it.
Based on this context, diagnose the ethical issue present in the investigator's plan, identify the specific moral principle it conflicts with, and explain the justification for why this approach might still be employed.
An investigator wants to study a scientific question, but they know that if participants are fully aware of the research design, they cannot study it accurately. Apply the concept of deception to explain how the investigator might design their study to get accurate results, and state the moral principle they must balance when choosing this design. Limit your response to one to three sentences.