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examBoard: AQA
examType: GCSE
lessonTitle: Review and Practice - Ethics
Ethics are the moral principles that guide how psychologists conduct research with human participants. These rules help protect people from harm and ensure research is carried out responsibly. Understanding ethics is crucial for any psychology student, as it affects how all psychological research is designed and conducted.
Key Definitions:
Ethics aren't just rules to follow - they protect both participants and researchers. Without ethical guidelines, people could be harmed physically or psychologically and the reputation of psychology as a science could be damaged. Good ethics = good science!
The British Psychological Society (BPS) provides guidelines that all UK psychologists must follow. These cover everything from getting proper consent to treating participants with respect and dignity throughout the research process.
Before taking part in research, participants must be fully informed about what will happen and give their permission. This is usually done through a consent form that explains:
Participants must be competent to give consent (e.g., adults rather than children, unless parental consent is obtained) and must not be pressured into participating.
Researchers must ensure participants are not exposed to risks greater than those they would encounter in everyday life. This includes:
In 1963, Stanley Milgram conducted his famous obedience study where participants believed they were giving electric shocks to another person. While no actual shocks were delivered (the "learner" was an actor), participants experienced severe distress when ordered to increase the shock level. This study raised serious ethical concerns about psychological harm and deception. Today, this study would not be approved by ethics committees without significant modifications.
Sometimes researchers need to withhold information or mislead participants about the true purpose of a study. This is only acceptable when:
Participants must be told they can leave the study at any time without penalty, even if they've already started. They should also be able to withdraw their data after participation if they change their mind about being involved.
Researchers must protect participants' identities and personal information. This means:
Keeping participants' identities and data private and secure from unauthorised access.
Collecting data without recording identifying information, so even the researcher doesn't know who provided what data.
Following legal requirements (like GDPR) for storing and processing personal information.
After the study, researchers must explain the full purpose of the research, especially if deception was used. Debriefing should:
In 1971, Philip Zimbardo created a mock prison with students as guards and prisoners. The study was stopped early because participants (especially guards) became too aggressive. Ethical issues included: lack of proper informed consent, failure to protect participants from psychological harm and not intervening quickly enough when problems arose.
Participants were deceived about the purpose of the study and experienced severe distress when ordered to deliver what they thought were painful electric shocks. While the study provided valuable insights into obedience, it raised serious questions about the psychological harm caused to participants.
Today, all psychological research must be approved by an ethics committee before it can begin. These committees review research proposals to ensure they meet ethical standards and protect participants.
Extra care must be taken when working with:
As more research moves online, new ethical challenges have emerged. How do you ensure informed consent when you never meet participants face-to-face? How do you debrief properly? How do you protect data that's transmitted over the internet? Psychologists now need to consider digital ethics alongside traditional concerns.
Sometimes there's tension between conducting valuable research and maintaining ethical standards. Researchers must weigh the potential benefits of their work against possible risks to participants.
Research that could improve human wellbeing or solve important problems might justify some level of risk or discomfort - but never serious harm.
If the same knowledge could be gained through less risky methods, researchers should always choose the safer option.
When planning your own psychological research (even for coursework), follow these steps:
Remember: Good ethics doesn't just protect participants - it also produces more reliable and valid research results!
When answering exam questions about ethics, try using the acronym CUREC:
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