The topic that I found most interesting from the textbook is “Ethics in Psychological Research”. Since a lot of psychological theories are established by conducting researches which involves individuals, ethical considerations play a very important role in these researches. The topic also encompasses how researchers should behave when conducting psychological studies. It is interesting to discover the challenges that psychologists go through when faced with ethical decisions in their researches.
The topic on ethics in psychological research is related to the topic on “Descriptive Research Methods”. If the research methods deal with human beings, particularly when the observational method is undertaken, there may be a need for an informed consent from the participants of the study. The importance of ethical considerations in research methods is supported by the code of ethical principles which was published by the American Psychological Association (APA) to serve as guidelines for researchers. In the same manner, when animals are used for psychological experiments, ethical principles should also be followed to ensure that they are not harmed. It is essential that researchers are able to determine which method is appropriate to achieve the objective of the research, while taking into consideration that it does not violate any ethical principles.
The second topic related to ethics in psychological research is the chapter on psychological disorders. Psychological disorder is a very sensitive topic not only for the individual with the disorder but also for their families. In an effort to better understand psychological disorders such as depression or autism, research studies are done through observation of individuals afflicted with these disorders. The ethical issue that is essential in this subject of disorders is confidentiality. The participants and their families are at risk of social injury once the study is publicized. The identities of these participants must remain confidential. Furthermore, if there are medications that will be tested on the participants, the participant and their families should be informed of the possible negative effects and other risks involved in the study.
Social psychology is another topic that is related to ethics in psychological research. Since social psychologists are interested in the social behaviors of individuals when faced with various situational variables, ethical principles in the researches to be conducted are major considerations. Studies on interpersonal relationships are part of social psychology. Where human relationships are involved, privacy is a major consideration. The behavior, attitudes, feelings or thoughts of individuals in certain social interactions that are studied by researchers may be very private to the participants; thus, the privacy issue is a foremost concern.
The topic on ethics on psychological research has always been a matter of importance in the field of psychology. Several psychological researches became controversial because they went beyond ethical principles. Worth mentioning is the Stanford Experiment wherein students who played the role of prison guards abused students who played the role of prisoners. Another controversial study is the Milgram Shock Experiment which was a study on the obedience to people in authority which was considered “ethically dubious” in nature. These researches are proofs that there is a need for a code of ethics in psychological research. The issues are real and must be policed not only by organizations of psychologists but also by participants to such experiments. Psychological researches are beneficial in various fields of psychology but a necessary caveat is that these researches must abide by the ethical norms and standards set.
References
Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2014). Ethics in psychological research. In D. H. Hockenbury, & S. E. Hockenbury, Discovering Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.
Jarrett, C. (2014, September 19). The 10 most controversial psychology studies ever published. Retrieved from The British Psychological Society: http://digest.bps.org.uk/2014/09/the-10-most-controversial-psychology.html
