Ethical Implications

Ethical implication is the eimpact that research has on society, ow it influences public policy and/ or the way in which certain groups of people are perceived. It can also include how research has an impact on those who participate in studies and also the impact on psychology and wider society since they influence public policy eg maternity vs paternity leave. Ethica implications can be positive or they can be negative.

two potential ethical isssues participants may face are deception ad protection from harm. These have implications for the participants involved as they violate their rights in research. However, such implications can be considered and minimised through debriefing participants on the aims, reminding them that they have the right to withdraw and offering support information. breaking such issues has allowed researchers to study topics in areas such as conformity and obedience which has had positive implications for wider society. For example research into conformity into prisons has allowed develop our understanding of prisons in order to train guards. Eg in the social influence topic Zimbardos ppts were impacted by failure to protect from harm. However this issue was overcome through thorough debriefing and Zimbardo concluded there were no long lasting effects. the overall impact of this research on society was positive since it led to understanding of prisons as well as stricter ethical guidelines in research.

Social Sensitivity

Social sensitivity is a term to describe studies where there are potential social consequences for the ppts or the group of people represented in research. Socially sensitive research often covers taboo topics such as aspects of race and sexuality. they attract a lot of attention from other psychologists, the media and general public. However just because research is socially sensitive doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be conducted. An example of socially sensitive research is bowblys maternal deprivation theory. he suggested the critical stage of attachment it’s primary caregiver wa the fist two years of life, and maternal derivation during this time could have severe intellectual and emotional consequences for the child eg affection less psychopathy. Feminist writers were critical of this because this research suggests the absence of mothers is damaging to the child and daycare causes this. his implies that the mother is unable to pursue opportunities fr example at work. Feminists would see this view as keeping women at home. This illustrates potential stereotypes and long term implications of socially sensitive research. However other studies have shown that fathers can be equally important and children can form attachments with many people.

Evaluation

researchers acknowledging socially sensitive research is a strength since it may have positive implications an should not be shred away from. It can be argued that by studying socially sensitive groups, great sensitivity and understanding can be gained. This can help reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance. Socially sensitive research has also benefited societ, for example, research into reliability of eyewitness testimony has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice within the legal system . This s a strength since it suggests so illy sensitive resection can benefit society if conducted correctly.

One weakness is that there can be negative implications of socially sensitive research, like discriminatory practices. For example in 1920s ans 30s America, a large number of us custards enacted legislation that led to sterilisation of many civilians on the grounds hey we’re drains on society. his included people of low intelligence ,addicts and the mentally ill. The rationale supported by psychologist at this time is that they were unfit to breed. This is a weakness since socially sensitive research used to prop up discriminatory practices in hte past is an argument against its widespread use.

CBA

Any research with potential ethical issues and implications should be subject to a thorough cost benefit analysis prior to the research thanking place. This will ensure that the study is conducted in the most ethical way possible. Also reviews from ethical comities allow the different perspectives of experts to judge the research which highlights aspects that may have been missed by the researcher

Although its subjective cost benefit analysis increases the chance that research is as ethically sensitive as possible before research is conducted.