Ethical implications / social sensitivity

Ethical implications definition

• Concerned with the way research impacts its participants, psychology as a whole and the wider society

• Looks at if we learned anything from the study and if it made any changes (positive or negative)

Ethical issue 1 AO1

• Deception - occurs when participants are misled about the true nature or aims of a study

• prevents fully informed consent and may increase psychological distress

Ethical issue 1 AO2 (Milgram)

• Deceived his ppts into believing they were administering real shocks to the learner

• Unaware the learner was a confederate

• Told it was a study on learning & teaching, not obedience

Milgram implication/justification AO3

• P - A justification for the use of deception in Milgram’s obedience study is that it increased the validity of the findings.

• E - Milgram argued that '“illusion is used when necessary in order to set the stage for the revelation of certain difficult to get at truths. If participants had been aware that the electric shocks were not real, their behaviour would have lacked mundane realism and they may have responded to demand characteristics or acted in a socially desirable way, reducing internal validity. Because participants believed the situation was genuine, their responses reflected real obedience to authority rather than demand characteristics. This allowed Milgram to accurately investigate obedience in a socially sensitive context, producing findings that could be generalised to real-world situations such as atrocities committed under authoritarian regimes. Furthermore, Milgram did debrief participants after & 83% said they were glad to be in the experiment, with only 1% stating they wished that they hadn’t

• Therefore, although deception raised ethical concerns, it can be argued that it was justified because without it, participants would not have shown the same levels of obedience, and the research would have failed to provide meaningful insights into human behaviour and its implications for society.

• P - practical applications

• E - improved understanding of how ordinary individuals can obey destructive authority figures, which has important applications in real-world settings such as the military, education and workplace hierarchies. For example, Milgram’s findings have informed the development of ethical training and safeguards designed to reduce blind obedience, such as encouraging questioning of authority. Furthermore, it has helped to explain real-world events involving extreme obedience, such as the actions of Nazi soldiers during the Holocaust. Prior to Milgram’s research, it was often assumed that only cruel or abnormal individuals carried out such acts. However, Milgram demonstrated that ordinary people are capable of obeying harmful orders when placed under pressure from a legitimate authority figure.

• T - without the ethical implication, the findings would have lacked validity and practical usefulness. Therefore, although deception caused short-term psychological distress, the long-term benefits of the research for society suggest that the ethical costs may be outweighed by the study’s practical implications, showing that sometimes ethical implications are necessary for real-world benefits.

Ethical issue 2 AO1

• Protection from psychological harm - researchers have a responsibility to ensure that participants are not exposed to levels of stress or distress beyond what they would normally experience in everyday life.

• Important to protect as research can cause lasting psychological effects

• Consent

Ethical issue 2 AO2

• Consent - participants were arrested in their homes which they didn’t consent to

• Protection from harm - some participants showed signs of distress eg anxiety, emotional breakdown & depression

• Study was meant to last 2 weeks but was terminated after 6 days due to psychological harm

Zimbardo justification/implication AO3

• P - A justification for the ethical issue of psychological harm is that there is little evidence of long-term psychological damage to participants.

• E - Zimbardo held extensive group & individual debriefing sessions & gave participants post-experimental questionnaires at weekly, monthly and yearly intervals. He reported that participants did not experience lasting distress and were glad to have taken part (some stating they were glad because they learned a lot about themselves), showing that although participants experienced short-term psychological harm during the study, the effects were not permanent. Also, the emotional distress couldn’t have been predicted from the outset as approval for the study was given by many psychology organisations eg Office of Naval Research. As a result, the ethical costs may be considered lower than initially assumed.

• T - the study provided valuable insights into the influence of social roles and situational factors on behaviour, helping to explain real-world abuses of power within institutions such as prisons. Therefore, when considering the lack of long-term harm alongside the significant societal benefits, the ethical implications of the study can be partially justified.

• P - practical applications, particularly its contribution to understanding institutionalisation and the abuse of power within institutions.

• E - Zimbardo demonstrated how individuals rapidly conform social roles, with guards becoming increasingly authoritarian and prisoners becoming passive and distressed. This insight has been applied to real-world institutions such as prisons, mental health hospitals and care homes, where staff training and monitoring have been introduced to reduce deindividuation and role-related abuse. He also showed the world how broken and dangerous it is and what people are capable of within its structure of power & powerlessness.

• T - These practical applications help to justify the ethical implications of psychological harm in the study, as the intense situation was necessary to reveal how extreme behaviour can emerge from ordinary individuals placed in powerful social roles. Without exposing participants to a realistic institutional environment, the findings would have lacked validity and practical value. Therefore, although the study caused short-term psychological distress, its contribution to improving institutional practices suggests that the benefits to society may outweigh the ethical costs, suggesting sometimes ethical implications are necessary

Social sensitivity definition

• Research/theories that have potential consequences for individuals/groups

• Usually deals with controversial & taboo topics such as gender, race & sexuality

• Does not have to be avoided, but it must be conducted responsibly and ethically

Bowlby monotropic theory AO2

• Believed that children have a critical period where they must form a monotropic attachment with the primary caregiver (typically the mother) during the first 2 years of life

• Maternal deprivation during this time could cause irreversible, long-lasting consequences for the child eg affectionless psychopathy, criminality & low IQ (as found in his 44 Thieves Study)

Strengths AO3

• P - socially sensitive research has positive practical applications

• E - Bowlby’s monotropic theory has influenced childcare practices and policy, particularly regarding hospital visits and parental leave. as his theory highlighted the importance of a primary attachment figure for healthy emotional and social development. His findings on maternal deprivation showed that prolonged separation from the mother could lead to long-term emotional difficulties, such as affectionless behaviour and social maladjustment. As a result, hospitals revised visiting policies to allow more parental contact, and childcare practices began to emphasise stable caregiver relationships.

• This demonstrates the practical value of Bowlby’s research, as it helped reduce the risk of developmental harm in children and informs parenting, adoption, and foster care practices today, showing the importance of socially sensitive research in psychology and providing a justification

• P - although socially sensitive research has negative implications, it also has positive implications which we shouldn’t shy away from

• E - research into the unreliability of EWT is socially sensitive as it can affect the legal system and individuals’ lives. However, studying these topics provides valuable societal benefits, such as improving police interview techniques & refining courtroom procedures. For example, research into memory distortion has informed policies on question phrasing, lineup procedures, and eyewitness protection, which help ensure fairer trials and prevents miscarriages of justice.

• Therefore, while ethically sensitive, such research is necessary, because the potential benefits to society and justice outweigh the risks, demonstrating that ethically challenging studies in eyewitness testimony can be both important and responsible. Instead of shying away from study socially sensitive topics, a cost-benefit analysis should take place to ensure research is conducted in an ethical manner, reducing negative implications such as stereotypes and prejudice.

Limitations AO3

• P - socially sensitive research can validate & amplify stereotypes

• E - Bowlby suggested that the primary attachment figure should be the mother, implying that mothers are solely responsible for a child’s emotional development. Feminist psychologists have criticised this as gender-biased, arguing that it places undue pressure, blame & guilt on women while ignoring the role of fathers or other caregivers. This may contribute to socially reinforced stereotypes that mothers must always be the main carers, which can have negative implications for working mothers or families with shared caregiving.

• Therefore, while Bowlby’s theory provides insights into attachment, it is limited by its potential to reinforce restrictive gender roles, highlighting the importance of considering broader social and cultural contexts in psychological research. However, Bowlby countered this and said that he wasn’t intending to validate stereotypes, but instead wanted to show the importance and power of mothers.