Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans Historical example

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans • Historical example of poor consent – Tuskegee syphilis study (1932 -1972) aka Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male • • • – MK-ULTRA (CIA & LSD) • • • N=622 poor African American men; N=431 had Syphilis Told they had “bad blood”; given meals, vitamins 1940 s Penicillin established as treatment for Syphilis 1953 set of experiments conducted by the CIA to investigate mind-control Administered LSD to unwitting individuals; mostly military Consent with special populations – Children • – assent also needed Children and other special groups (e. g. , prisoners) • Special care to avoid feelings of coercion

Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans • Treating participants well – Debriefing • Dehoaxing • Desensitizing • Participant crosstalk – Code allows partial debriefing followed by full report at completion of the study Research ethics and the Internet • Problems with ensuring consent • Problems with conducting effective debriefing

RESEARCH WITH ANIMALS • The issue of animal rights: animals can never consent • Using animals in psychological research • Aids both humans and animals • Sometimes there is no alternative (tissue, simulation/computer model) • Most research animals are sacrificed after use in a research study. Why? • The APA Code for animal research / The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) • Justifying the study: Cost-benefit analysis, No plausible alternatives • Caring for the animals • e. g. , expertise with species, upkeep of animal health • Using animals for educational purposes

SCIENTIFIC FRAUD • • Plagiarism Data falsification – Varying degrees (all unethical) – Reasons • Range from individual weakness to societal moral standards • Publish or perish climate in academia