Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis.
Psychologists agree to follow certain ethical standards in order to avoid harming participants. When designing a study, it is necessary to determine if the procedure is ethical. All research needs to be conducted in a way that respects the dignity of the participants- whether they are animal or human participants.
Psychological associations around the world have come up with sets of guidelines that psychologists must use in carrying out psychological research.
Informed consent – Participants must be informed about the nature of the study and agree to participate.
Deception- Sometimes the researcher does not want the participants to know the exact
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They did not know that the study aimed to investigate the two factor theory of emotion. They did not know that they would be receiving adrenaline or placebo injections. Some participants did not know the true effects of the adrenaline injection they were given. They were either given false effects or no effects. But being fully informed of the true nature and aims of the study may result in participant bias. Participant protection- Researchers did not protect participants. Participants may have had a harmful reaction to the adrenaline. Researchers did not ensure that participants would not experience harm from the injection. Debriefing -Participants were adequately debriefed. Deception was revealed and justified
APA Guidelines for Animal Research- Tries to avoid harm to animals. But harm may still be inflicted on animals. The research may potentially provide significant benefit to the health or welfare of humans or other animals. If it is unavoidable
If the procedure would cause pain to humans, it should be assumed that it will cause pain to animals. Animal welfare should be monitored. Animals should be euthanized as soon as possible if research causes long term/serious harm. Affects their ability to live normally
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May have caused distress to the rats living in the deprived environment. Rats were euthanized to study their brains. But the research provided significant benefit to the understanding of the effects of the environment on brain plasticity. This knowledge could benefit humans and other animals. In case of animals the ethics of informed consent, right to withdrawal and debriefing does not apply as they are animals and do not have the capacity to understand or express their desires. Animal ethics -The welfare of the rats was not monitored. Ethical considerations in all research in psychology includes- Protection of participants from informed Consent ,Withdrawal, Confidentiality, Deception and Debriefing and protection from physical and mental harm. But there are slight exceptions for consent and deception. Animal research has slightly different ethical considerations. Differences regard harming participants and ethical