Case Study

Explain how Dr. Aris's choice to use deception in this study could lead to the negative ethical and scientific outcomes highlighted by critics of deceptive practices.

Case context: Dr. Aris is designing a study on conformity where participants are told they are evaluating a new textbook, but the real goal is to see if they agree with incorrect statements made by confederates. The study does not inform participants of the confederates' true role until after the session.

Question: Explain how Dr. Aris's choice to use deception in this study could lead to the negative ethical and scientific outcomes highlighted by critics of deceptive practices.

Sample answer: Dr. Aris's deception prevents the participants from giving truly informed consent because they do not know they are actually being tested on conformity. This fails to respect their basic human dignity. Once the participants discover they were deceived, they may experience psychological distress from being misled. In the long run, this can lead them to be distrustful of researchers, causing them to give less honest responses in future studies, and it can also damage the public reputation of the scientific community.

Key points:

  • Hiding the true conformity task prevents participants from giving informed consent.
  • The deception fails to respect the participants' basic human dignity.
  • Learning they were misled by confederates can cause participants psychological distress.
  • Participants may develop distrust, resulting in less honest responses in subsequent studies.
  • The reputation of the scientific community is potentially damaged by such deceptive practices.

Rubric: Grading Rubric: - Explains how the cover story prevents informed consent and violates dignity. - Describes potential psychological distress when the truth is revealed. - Explains the long-term impact on participant behavior in future studies (distrust, less honest responding). - Explains how the reputation of the scientific community could be harmed.

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Updated 2026-05-26

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KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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