Objective 39: Summarize the ethical guidelines for research on human

subjects.

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In 1978, the National Commission published a Belmont Report and there were 3
ethical principles that guide research conducted with humans. The first is respect for the
person. Individuals that are being tested should be treated as independent agents, and
people with less independence are entitled to special protections. This requires
voluntary informed consent to be obtained before the research is done. The second is
beneficence. People should not be exposed to harm or unnecessary risk, and any
benefits should be increased. Required for beneficence is a list of potential benefits and
potential harms that are associated with the research. The third is justice. Individuals
should be exposed to fair and impartial procedures, and fair distribution of costs and
benefits. This focuses on the selection of research participants, such as people on
welfare or belonging to a certain race, stating that they are not being picked for research
just because of their easy availability. This set of guidelines was adopted by the Council
of Representative of the American Psychological Association in 2012.
Artifacts:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/01/
AR2010100104457.html?hpid=topnews
In the late 1940s in Guatemala, experiments were done to people held against their will.
They were infected with syphilis and ethics were questioned. The government was
outraged to find out that these experiments had slipped under the radar. This study
relates to the Tuskegee syphilis study.

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/shad.htm
Project SHAD, aka Shipboard Hazard and Defense was a chemical and biological test
conducted during the 1960s. The U.S. warships were sprayed down with chemicals and
soldiers were given shots. The Pentagon had been using military personnel as guinea
pigs for many years. In the past, they have been used in atomic testing, LSD
experiments, herbicide exposure, and mustard gas testing.