Explain why this in

unethical
Explain why this is
unethical
 Anonymity
Consent

Right to
Privacy
What are the ethical withdraw

considerations?
Debrief Deception

Protection from
physical/psychological
Confidentiality
harm
 Ethics committee
• The British Psychological Society (BPS) produces a code of conduct for
psychologists carrying out research. The aim of the guidelines is to
help psychologists carry out ethical research and to protect
participants. However, these guidelines have their limitations.

• There is also - APA (American Psychological Association)

Note: remember the questions are about considerations, not violations – so when
referring to psych harm, avoid saying they caused psych harm. Instead say, ‘the
researchers should consider the potential for psych harm if….’
 Ethics in Psychology
• Ethics in Psychology is about the needs of the
researchers vs. the protection of participants
 Mnemonic to help you remember

Crack den’s don’t work cus police probably arrive

• CONSENT
• DEBRIEF
• DECEPTION
• WITHDRAWAL
• CONFIDENTALITY
• PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
• PRIVACY
• ANONYMITY
Counter the
point you see
The points you see will be from the
participant’s perspective (remember
priority is keeping them safe)
Tell me what a researcher might think
about it (aiming to collect valid data)
Ethical What it is
consideration
Informed consent Counter each point
- Obtaining participant permission to
Helps participant to feel
test. Informed about
confidentiality/anonymity/right to
withdraw/ over 16 unless any issues/
may withhold some info about the true
aims (deception by omission)
Deception Not all information revealed to
participants. Usually occurs in consent
form. Deception by omission (most
often used) and deception by
commission.
Right to withdraw Participants able to remove their data
from the study within a given time
frame. Reminded of this in consent and
debrief – usually a cut of time.
Debrief Disclosing true aims of study after it’s
happened. Share contact details with
participants in case they choose to
withdraw. May direct participants to
further support.
Confidentiality Keeping findings and data private and
not shared with anyone who isn’t
Why it’s important The downsides of it
More you tell participants,
comfortable in taking part the more chance of demand
and knowing their rights. characteristics which will
reduce internal validity.
No deception makes From researcher’s
participants feel more perspective, having deception
comfortable and they know is good as reduces demand
what they’re giving consent characteristics BUT do
for participants then know what
consenting to.
More likely to participate as Can lead to subject attrition –
know they can withdraw. people drop out and sample
Helps for those who are is not representative of target
finding participation difficult population. Data may be
skewed as less to analyse.
Participants understand why Can lead to subject attrition –
they took they part. Counter people drop out when aim is
any deception if used. Chance revealed = sample not
for them to withdraw. representative of target
population. Data may be
skewed as less to analyse.
Protect participants and make Means others cannot always
them feel more comfortable. access the data, which may
 Counter each point
Ethical consideration What it is Why it’s important The downsides of it
Informed consent

Deception

Right to withdraw

Debrief

Confidentiality

Anonymity

Psychology/physical harm

Privacy
 Consent

Participant
• All participants get informed
consent and know what they’ll
be doing 
Researcher
• Participant’s know more about
what the study’s about, which
may lead to demand
characteristics that will lower
the internal validity of the
results 
 Deception

Participant
• Participants don’t fully know
what the study will be about as
key bits of information are
withheld 
Researcher
• Results aren’t subject to demand
characteristics where
participants work out the aim of
the study
 Right to withdraw

Participant Researcher
• Participants have the right to • If participants do this, then the
withdraw their data from the data may be biased to only
study  reflect a ‘certain type’ of person
 Debrief

Participant
• Participants are informed about
the aims of the study, which is
especially important if there was
any deception. Research checks
if they’re okay and they have the
right to withdraw their data 
Researcher
• They might decide to withdraw
their data. This could lead to
subject attrition, where people
who drop out are a ‘certain type’
of person, and this may bias the
results, lowering the internal
validity :9
 Confidentiality

Participant
• Participant’s personal
information is not shared with
anyone else 
Researcher
• Other researchers who want to
investigate a similar thing aren’t
able to use the same
participants, unless consent has
been obtained for this. This can
make collecting your sample
more time consuming.
 Anonymity

Participant
• No identifying information is
released and their identity is
protected 
• Participants may be more likely
to provide honest and accurate
information 
Researcher
• Researchers may still reveal too
much information  e.g. an IB
secondary school in Sevenoaks,
makes it pretty obvious which
school it is.
 Psychological harm

Participant Researcher
• Participants don’t come under • Researchers can’t fully investigate
any more harm than everyday what they want to 
life 

• Participants may come under • This allows the researcher to test

some psychological harm  things in more detail. They also
have the right to withdraw at any
time and will also receive a debrief.
 Privacy

Participant
• Protected and not observed
where they wouldn’t expect to
be 
Researcher
• Lack of rich data. If you’re only
allowed to observe them where
they might expect to be seen by
others, this could lead to
demand characteristics (which
would lower the internal validity
of the results) 
• In groups answer the question above assigned to you.
 Ethics essay’s
• Explain one ethical consideration
in one study in the sociocultural
approach
• Explain one ethical consideration
in one study investigating the
individual and the group
• Explain one ethical consideration
in one study investigating cultural
origins of behaviour or cognition
• Explain one ethical consideration
in one study investigating cultural
influences on individual attitudes,
You will never be asked to explain an ethical identity and behaviours
consideration in related to something specific e.g.
acculturation or stereotypes
 Tajfel

Bandura

Hamilton
and Gifford

Lewis
Revise the
Berry
studies
we’ve
looked at in
Kulkosky

Berry

Kulkosky socio
Odden and
Rochat

Lueck and
Wilson

You will never be asked to explain an ethical
consideration into something specific e.g.
reconstructive memory
Ethics essay’s
• Explain one ethical consideration in one
study in the cognitive approach
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
in the cognitive approach
• Explain one ethical consideration in one
study investigating cognitive processes
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating cognitive processes
• Explain one ethical consideration in one
study investigating the reliability of cognitive
processes
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating the reliability of cognitive
processes
• Explain one ethical consideration in one
study investigating emotion and cognition
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating emotion and cognition
 Can you get a question
on…
• Discuss one or more ethical considerations in neurotransmitters
• Discuss two ethical considerations in hormones and behaviour
• Explain one ethical consideration in one study investigating cultural origins
of behaviour or cognition
• Outline one ethical consideration investigating acculturation

• Discuss ethical considerations in genes and

behaviour
• Discuss ethical considerations in the
cognitive approach
• Discuss ethical considerations in emotion
and cognition

You will never be asked to explain an ethical
consideration in related to something specific e.g.
neurotransmitters
Ethics essay’s
• Explain one ethical consideration in one study
in the biological approach
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
in the biological approach
• Explain one ethical consideration in one study
investigating the brain and behaviour
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating the brain and behaviour
• Explain one ethical consideration in one study
investigating hormones and behaviour
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating hormones and behaviour
• Explain one ethical consideration in one study
investigating genes and behaviour
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research
investigating genes and behaviour
Testosterone

MAOA gene
 Ethics essay’s
• Discuss one or more ethical
considerations in research
investigating abnormal
psychology
• Discuss one or more ethical
considerations when
investigating the etiology of
abnormal psychology
• Discuss one or more ethical
considerations when
You will never be asked to explain an ethical
investigating treatments of
consideration in related to something specific e.g. disorders
biological treatments
Take a look
at the ‘3.
ethics in each
approach
grid’

Pick 2 studies
per
subsection
that have
good
consideration
s to talk
about. These
could be the
same as your
research
methods
studies
We’re going to
look at how to
write an ethics 9
marker first
Although you can get 9 markers
in bio and cog for ethics, we’ll
look at it in relation to socio
Pre-plan which study and
consideration you’d talk
about for each subsection
 9 marker – Explain one ethical consideration in
research relating to the sociocultural approach
Intro:
- Explain what ethics are – DO NOT LIST OFF ALL THE ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Needs of researchers vs. needs of participants.
Explain the BPS and its role in ethics
- Give the assumptions of sociocultural approach
e.g. humans are social animals with a need to belong
- Focus in on the sociocultural approach to say which section your study will focus
on e.g. social identify theory
Quick definition of social identity theory
- Refer to the commend term (focusing in on one ethical consideration)
 Intro
• Ethics are the researchers needs vs the participants needs. There is an
organisation called the British Psychological Society whose job it is to
approve research based on whether or not it is ethical.
• The sociocultural approach is based on the idea that humans are social
animals with a need to belong, and culture influences our behaviour.
• A specific part of the approach which focuses on the individual and the
group is called social identity theory. This is the idea that our sense of self
comes from membership to a group (otherwise known as our ingroup).
• The essay will explain the ethical consideration of psychological harm in
relation to Tajfel’s study investigating social identify theory
 9 marker – Explain one ethical consideration in
research relating to the sociocultural approach
Main body

Explain the ethical consideration you’re focusing on (this

is the theory in an ethics essay)
Brief details of the study
Explain the ethical consideration in relation to the study
 Main body
• Psychological harm is an important consideration in research. The BPS outlines that individuals shouldn’t
experience any more psychological harm than they would do in everyday life. To maintain this, participants are
given consent so they know what they are going to be doing and their also debriefed at the end to ensure they
are okay.
• Within Tajfel’s study, there may have been some psychological harm.
Note:toremember
• Tajfel aimed investigate ifthe questions
he could arecategorisation
use social about considerations, notinto
(splitting people violations – sooutgroups)
ingroups and when in
order toreferring
caused discrimination towards
to psych harm, the outgroup.
avoid saying they caused psych harm. Instead say, ‘the
• Participants were boys from Bristol
researchers who were
should all friends
consider thewithout enough.
potential for They
psychfirstharm
had toif….’
rate paintings from
artisits Klee or Kandinsky. There were then told they have been split into two groups based on their artistic
preference (although this was actually done randomly). Students then used a matrix to assign points to their own
ingroup and their outgroup. Most students awarded 7 points to their ingroup because it meant the outgroup got
even less (1 point). This was adopted to cause maximum difference in favour of the ingroup rather than giving
themselves 19 points, as it meant to outgroup would get 25.
• This could have led to psychological harm because the boys were previously all friends, however by the end of
the study they were prepared to get competitive and assign more points to their ingroup. The boys got really
invested in the experiment and forgot about their previous friendship with the other participants in their
outgroup. This could have led to some tension after the experiment and they may find it takes longer than usual
to feel connected to the other group. Therefore researchers should be aware of this.
 Read the example ‘2. SAQ socio Odden and
Rochat’ essay and highlight the following parts
1) Explain what ethics are
2) Give the assumptions of sociocultural approach
3) Focus in on the sociocultural approach to say
which section your study will focus on e.g.
social identify theory
4) Refer to the commend term (focusing in on one
ethical consideration
5) Explain the ethical consideration you’re
focusing on
6) Brief details of the study
7) Explain the ethical consideration in relation to
the study
Here’s another 9
marker example
for bio
 Describe one ethical consideration related
to one research study in the biological approach.

• Read the example SAQ on ethics in the biological approach, using HM

and consent
Structure
How to write a 22 marker ethics
question
Exam tips
 22 marker ethical considerations
• Ethical considerations refers to good and bad
• Ethical considerations can be weighed up in terms of benefits and costs to the researcher and
benefits and costs to the participant.
• If the researcher doesn’t consider the participant’s needs, then they will feel distrusted and not
participate in future research
• But if the participant knows everything they’ll be doing, it becomes difficult for the researcher
to test natural behaviour without creating demand characteristics – these will lower the
internal validity of the findings.
• Ideally, an even balance needs to be found
• Validity of the results vs protecting participants from harm
• You can talk about the ethics of the research, but also the ethics of investigating that subtopic
e.g. emotion and cognition (in cognitive) or the individual and the group (in socio), or
treatments for disorders (in abnormal)
 Anonymity
Consent

Right to
Privacy
What are the ethical withdraw

considerations?
Debrief Deception

Protection from
physical/psychological
Confidentiality
harm
Because we’re going to 22 mark level now, we’re going to look at some deeper
ethical considerations too

• Social sensitive research

• Implications of generalising
 22 marker: discussion
As well as talking about ethical considerations in the study, you can also
address wider ethical considerations in research investigating that
subtopic.
 What ethical considerations need to be considered for the
following 22 marker subtopics?
You can think about the nature of the research in each subtopic

Cognitive Biological Abnormal Relationships

(HL)
- Cognitive - Brain and - Etiology of
processes behaviour abnormal - Personal
- Reliability of - Hormones and psychology relationships
cognitive behaviour - Treatments for - Social
processes disorders responsibility
- Genes and
- Emotion and behaviour
cognition
There’s more than just the ethical
considerations in the study

It can be important to consider

the wider implications of the
research:
• How might the results affect
people
• Would it be ethical to apply
the results to more groups
of people?
• Could the results be socially
sensitive
Do any of these points apply to research in the cog approach by:
Loftus and Palmer Yuille and Cutshall’s study on eyewitness
Milner: HM testimonies may have ethical implications for
Hamilton and Gifford people who are believed to be wrongly in prison
Yuille and Cutshall based on a faulty testimony. The results of this
Kulkofsky study say that memory can be reconstructed
Neisser and Harsch very accurately
 Caspi: might not be appropriate to generalise Caspi’s
Do any of these points apply to research in the bio approach by: results to all people with depression. It’s a complex
Corkin: HM Caspi: findings shouldn’t be used by companies to
disorder and an individual may believe their
Caspi screen people for potential genetic vulnerabilities
depression stems from a range of factors outside of
Wedekind for depression
their biology. To make an assumption that it’s caused
by low serotonin, may upset them
Do any of these points apply to research in abnormal psychology? Caspi: might not be appropriate to generalise Caspi’s
Brown and Harris results to all people with depression. It’s a complex
Caspi: findings shouldn’t be used by companies to
Caspi disorder and an individual may believe their
screen people for potential genetic vulnerabilities
Alloy depression stems from a range of factors outside of
for depression
Skovlund their biology. To make an assumption that it’s caused
March by low serotonin, may upset them
• The difference between a 9 mark and 22 mark is the
critical thinking.

• In an ‘ethics’ 22 marker, the critical thinking comes

in the form of arguing back and forward, like a
debate, considering the participants’ perspective
and then the researchers’.
• While you choose one ethical consideration and a
study to demonstrate it. In a 22 marker, you want
to discuss the ethical consideration by throwing it
back and forth (participant vs researchers needs),
and you can also bring in some other ethical
considerations
Look at the Loftus and Palmer example on the next
slide, which is for consent, but brings in other points
too
 Loftus and Palmer
The researchers gained informed consent from the participants prior to the experiment. This is good
because is allows the participants to know what the experiment will require them to do, and they can
decide whether or not to take part. Participants must be 16 years or older to give informed consent
for themselves. If they’re over age 16 but are not in the right frame of mind to give consent, or have
any severe disabilities, it can mean consent may be required from a legal guardian.
Proceed to then give the aim, procedure, findings and conclusion of L+P.

However, from the researchers’ perspective, the more information that is given in
the consent form, the more the participants might start to work out the aims of the
study, leading to demand characteristics. Therefore the participants wouldn’t have
been told that there was a critical question ‘how fast were the cars going when they
________.’ that would be hidden in amongst filler questions.
 Loftus and Palmer
However, from the researchers’ perspective, the more information that is given in
the consent form, the more the participants might start to work out the aims of the
study, leading to demand characteristics. Therefore the participants wouldn’t have
been told that there was a critical question ‘how fast were the cars going when they
________.’ that would be hidden in amongst filler questions.

But then if the researcher does withhold information in the consent form to reduce
demand characteristics, does this really mean the participants know what they’re
giving consent for?
 Loftus and Palmer

But then if the researcher does withhold information to reduce demand

characteristics, does this really mean the participants know what they’re giving
consent for?

However, the mild deception the researchers used in the consent form in this case
was no more than that which would be experience in everyday life and so it could be
argued that the study was ethical.
Choose a study in the cog approach and
an ethical consideration to go with it.
Make your own back and forth chain.
Stamps for the team which makes the longest chain
There are prompts on the next slide if you’re stuck
 Prompts
• HM obtained consent from his mother which was good
• However when his mother died___________________________
• Although this is bad, if this didn’t happen then _______________

• In Yuille and Cutshall’s study, there may have been some psychological
harm because _________________
• However, if you weren’t allowed to cause any psychological harm in
this study then ______________________________
 Structure 22 marker
1. Intro: state the two considerations you’re focusing on and refer to command term
2. Describe the first ethical consideration and explain it (theory) We will look at
the implications
3. Link it to a relevant study. Keep the study brief as it’s more about explaining the ethical
consideration in relation to that study
more on the
next slide
4. Critical thinking: Discuss this ethical considerations – why was it good/bad for the researcher. Why
was it good/bad for the participant? What were the implications of this ethical consideration
5. Critical thinking: You may discuss how the consideration you’ve chosen is linked to other
considerations e.g. deception by omission will mean the participant hasn’t given full consent to
everything in the study. This could lead to undue stress/harm if they find out, and so it’s important
they are offered the right to withdraw.
6. Repeat points 2, 3, 4, and 5 for a 2nd consideration and study.
Then include a final discussion paragraph talking about the ethics of investigating the particular
subtopic in the question. This is points deeper than just the piece of research you’ve mentioned e.g.
implications of this research, whether it could be socially sensitive research, ethical issues in applying
the findings (info on slide 53 and 54).
 Let’s discuss some general ethical considerations for
each of the subtopics (not necessary for socio which
is at 9 marker level)
• Brain and behaviour • Cognitive processes • Personal relationships
• Hormones and • Reliability of cognitive • Social responsibility
behaviour processes
• Genetics and • Emotion and cognition
behaviour

• Etiology of abnormal
psychology
• Treatments of
disorders
 Quick fire
I am going to put up a study and tell me
which ethical consideration you would link
to it
 Read the example essay and
highlight any information that you
think counts as critical thinking
You’re looking for where the ethical
considerations have been ‘discussed’

Make a note of anything you think could be improved

and anything you think is good
Notice that the way you
introduce a point can
count as critical thinking
 Read the 2 example essay on genes
nd

and behaviour. Notice that the blue

font is full of discussion

Make a note of anything you think could be improved

and anything you think is good
PRACTICE
QUESTIONS/ESS
AYS
Complete the plans ‘6.
Question practice ETHICS’’
• Choose one of the questions above to write a 9 marker essay for.
• Timed in class, with notes
 So we need to look at
• Brain and behaviour
- Whether animal studies give insight/are valuable into human behaviour in the brain and
behaviour
- Ethical considerations in animal research into the brain and behaviour
• Hormones and behaviour
- Whether animal studies give insight/are valuable into human behaviour in hormones and
behaviour
- Ethical considerations in animal research in hormones and behaviour
• Genetics and behaviour
- Whether animal studies give insight/are valuable into human behaviour in genes and
behaviour
- Ethical considerations in animal research in genes and behaviour
 Specific ethical considerations for each study
• You can refer to specific ethical
considerations for each of your animal studies
(not relevant to talk about them in relation to
human studies)

e.g. psychological or physical harm and why

this is/isn’t necessary

Other ethical considerations e.g.

consent/deception/debrief/right to withdraw
are not relevant to animals
 General points for the studies
• Cost benefit analysis must be considered each time a study is proposed and if the
benefits are not great enough, then the risk is unjustified.
• As part of this ^^ it’s worth considering whether animals are valuable/offer insight. If
they don’t then it would be unethical to carry out the research.
• You could defend an unethical animal study by referring to the human study and
how it provided insight, thus the negative ethics were outweighed by the value of
the study
• Invasive techniques. Brain and behaviour (killing rats to examine brain). Hormones
and behaviour (injecting animals with different hormones). This subjects great
psychological and physical harm to the animals and they are subsequently killed
afterwards. Only bred for the study, which is not a great life 
• However, there are massive scientific advances e.g. MHC gene can help us
understand mate selection and what offers the best immune system to offspring
 Legislation regarding animal research

• Several countries have passed legislation in order to

limit animal research and protect animal rights.
• In 1966 the USA passed the Animal Welfare Act.  The
federal law requires that all animal dealers be
registered and licensed.
• In addition, all animal labs must be overseen by a
committee that includes one veterinarian and one
person not affiliated with the facility.
• The committee must regularly assess animal care,
treatment, and practices during research, and are
required to ensure that alternatives to animal use in
experimentation would be used whenever possible.
 Legislation regarding animal research

• In 1986 the UK passed the Animal

Act. All research must take place in
approved facilities; procedures must
be approved by an ethics board; a
minimal number of animals must be
used; and it must be shown that the
research cannot be carried out
without using animals.
• Relatively few behavioural studies
involve pain, stress, or privation to
the animals.
• The American Psychological
Association has a Code of Ethics
that includes prescriptions for the
humane and ethical treatment of
research animals. All APA
members are committed to
uphold these principles. Failure to
do so can lead to expulsion from
the Association.
The most recent law passed by In the UK the Home Office
the EU was a directive in 2010.  licensing procedure is very
The Directive is based on the strict.
principle of the “Three R’s”, to
replace, reduce and refine the
use of animals used for scientific
purposes.

This inc. better housing and

improvements to procedures which
And no. of minimize pain and suffering
animals
While it is all well and good having the 3 R’s, they do not apply themselves very well to
studying hormones and behaviour.

• Replace the use of animals with alternative techniques, or avoid the use of animals
altogether.
But invasive techniques can’t be used on humans
Reduce the number of animals used to a minimum, to obtain information from fewer
animals or more information from the same number of animals.
The more animals that are tested and demonstrate the same findings, the more we can
demonstrate cause and effect and know that the behaviour is not a one off finding. So it is
rarely the case the one animal is used.
• Refine the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as
possible. This includes better housing and improvements to procedures which minimize
pain and suffering and/or improve animal welfare.
Sometimes this will mean you can’t test what you want to test. E.G. Rosensweig and Bennet
needed a rat isolated on it’s own. You can’t test neuroplasticity otherwise
 Is it relevant to talk about ethics
considerations like consent, right to
withdraw, debrief in relation to animal
studies?
Ethics essay plan
Intro:
- What are animal models? What are ethics (needs of the researchers
vs protection of the animals). Refer to the command term. Identify
the debate: are the developments we get from animal models worth
the possible harm the is caused to the animal
 Ethics essay plan

• Introduce an ethical consideration in

one of your animal studies. Briefly
describe the study and discuss the
ethics. This means throwing it back
at forward e.g. there may have been
psych harm HOWEVER without this
it would not have been possible to
test ____________.
- Can do this for the relevant
study/studies
- Mention some of the points to the
left e.g. box on the right
 Ethics essay plan
Move onto some theory
- Legal policies e.g. in the
USA and then later in
the UK

• Alternatively, another
way to protect animals
is with the 3R’s
framework. Explain this
but then discuss this
using the red points
• Little intro about animal
models
• Little intro
about animal
models

• Identified the
debate and
command
term
• Ethics in the
animal study
• Psychological
harm
• Ethics in the
animal study
• Psychological
harm
• Analysis of
the ethics
• Why it was
good/why it
was bad
• General ethics of using
animals
You could
defend an
unethical
animal study
by referring to
the human
study and how
it provided
insight, thus
the negative
ethics were
outweighed
by the value
of the study
You could
defend an
unethical
animal study
by referring to
the human
study and how
it provided
insight, thus
the negative
ethics were
outweighed
by the value
of the study
You could defend an unethical animal study by referring to the human
study and how it provided insight, thus the negative ethics were
outweighed by the value of the study
Don’t need to
talk about
‘typical’ ethical
considerations
Discussion of
general ethical
guidelines
Discussion of
general ethical
guidelines
Discussion of
general ethical
guidelines
Conclusion
 Answer the questions with which
studies/ethical considerations you’d use
• Explain one ethical consideration when investigating the role of emotion on
cognition
• Discuss ethical considerations in investigating social responsibility
• Discuss two ethical considerations in research investigating the brain and
behaviour
• Discuss ethical considerations in animal research investigating the brain and
behaviour
 Complete the question
practice for RM and ethics