Ethical Issues in Psychological Research
Important to consider ethical issues when carrying out research= The British Psychological Society (BPS):
made a series of ethical guidelines to identify, consider and deal with ethical issues (researchers follow code
or rules of conduct when carrying out research to protect participants from harm)
The BPS Code of Human Research Ethics (2014)= Key principles:
1. Respect for the autonomy, privacy and dignity of individuals and communities:
● Researchers= moral duty to respect participants individual and cultural differences (age, gender, etc)
● Should seek to inform participants of the study’s nature/ right to withdraw
● They should protect them from harm, no invading privacy and safeguarding their personal info
2. Scientific Integrity:
● Duty bound to conduct well designed research and not claim false findings
3. Social Responsibility:
● Duty bound to produce findings beneficial to communities/ organisations= collective responsibility to
society as well as participants
4. Maximising Benefit and Minimising Harm:
● Participants= should not be placed in situations they normally wouldn't witness
● Benefit of Research > Cost participants pay= psychologists should minimise harm as much as possibl
● Cost-Benefit Analysis= should be conducted to avoid harm
Other guidelines to also consider:
Informed Consent:
● Agreement in which participants consent to participate once they fully understand the aims and
intended purpose of the study
● Form= entails what, is expected of them, researchers wish to do with the results, how to withdraw
● Parental/professional consent= when participants are too young/ don't understand
● Research conducted without consent/ covert observation= researchers are still entitled follow privacy
Deception:
● Misleading/ giving false information to a participant about the nature of the study
● Intention= to produce a false belief in the participants so they wouldn't change their behaviour
● Violates a participants ability to informed consent= Sometimes necessary, to help maintain
experimental control and help improve internal validity
Important to consider ethical issues when carrying out research= The British Psychological Society (BPS):
made a series of ethical guidelines to identify, consider and deal with ethical issues (researchers follow code
or rules of conduct when carrying out research to protect participants from harm)
The BPS Code of Human Research Ethics (2014)= Key principles:
1. Respect for the autonomy, privacy and dignity of individuals and communities:
● Researchers= moral duty to respect participants individual and cultural differences (age, gender, etc)
● Should seek to inform participants of the study’s nature/ right to withdraw
● They should protect them from harm, no invading privacy and safeguarding their personal info
2. Scientific Integrity:
● Duty bound to conduct well designed research and not claim false findings
3. Social Responsibility:
● Duty bound to produce findings beneficial to communities/ organisations= collective responsibility to
society as well as participants
4. Maximising Benefit and Minimising Harm:
● Participants= should not be placed in situations they normally wouldn't witness
● Benefit of Research > Cost participants pay= psychologists should minimise harm as much as possibl
● Cost-Benefit Analysis= should be conducted to avoid harm
Other guidelines to also consider:
Informed Consent:
● Agreement in which participants consent to participate once they fully understand the aims and
intended purpose of the study
● Form= entails what, is expected of them, researchers wish to do with the results, how to withdraw
● Parental/professional consent= when participants are too young/ don't understand
● Research conducted without consent/ covert observation= researchers are still entitled follow privacy
Deception:
● Misleading/ giving false information to a participant about the nature of the study
● Intention= to produce a false belief in the participants so they wouldn't change their behaviour
● Violates a participants ability to informed consent= Sometimes necessary, to help maintain
experimental control and help improve internal validity
