Ethical implications of deceiving subjects in psychologial subjects.

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I have been asked to write an essay discussing the ethical implications of deceiving subjects in psychologial subjects.

I would appreciate some opinions on what exactly the essay is asking for, as I can't figure out in my head what it is.

Also any information on how I should structure it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

John Condron 1st year psychology (University of Glasgow, Scotland)

-- John Condron (john@jciwebsolutions.com), October 20, 2003

Answers

Classic work on this was done by Diana Baumrind. You can read about her positio in an essay I've written, and you can also consult her original work.

Baumrind, D. (1964). Some thought on ethics of research: After reading Milgram's "Behavioral study of obedience." American Psychologist, 19, 421-423.

Baumrind, D. (1966). Further thoughts on ethics after reading Milgram's "A reply to Baumrind." Unpublished manuscript, Institute of Human Development, Berkeley, CA.

Baumrind, D. (1975a). Metaethical and normative considerations governing the treatment of human subjects in the behavioral sciences. In E. C. Kennedy (Ed.), Human rights and psychological research: A debate on psychology and ethics (pp. 37-68). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.

Baumrind, D. (1975b). It neither is nor ought to be: A reply to Wallwork. In E. C. Kennedy (Ed.), Human rights and psychological research: A debate on psychology and ethics (pp. 83-102). New York: Thomas Crowell.

Baumrind, D. (1985). Research using intentional deception: Ethical issues revisited. American Psychologist, 40, 164-174.

Baumrind, D. (1990). Doing good well. In C. B. Fisher and W. W. Tryon (Eds.), Ethical issues in applied developmental psychology (pp. 17-28). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

I summarize Baumrind's position in

Vande Kemp, H. (1999). Diana Baumrind: Researcher and critical humanist. In D. Moss (Ed.), Humanistic and transpersonal psychology: Historical and biographical sourcebook (pp. 249-259). New York: Greenwood Press.

The research ethics questions are closely related to questions of deception in psychotherapy, which you'll find discussed in

Doherty, W. J., & Boss, P. G. (1991). Values and ethics in family therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy. Vol. II (pp. 606-637). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

In essence the issue is "is it ever OK to lie"? Lies harm both the teller and the receiver. You'll find nice outlines for how to approach this in Baumrind's later work and in the Doherty & Boss chapter.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), October 20, 2003.


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