Informed Consent
A participant signs a consent form but doesn’t fully understand the study. What should the researcher do?
Ensure informed consent by thoroughly explaining the study, answering questions, and confirming participant understanding.
A researcher tells participants a task measures intelligence, but it actually measures stress response. Is this deception ethical?
Deception is ethical if participants are fully debriefed afterward and it is scientifically justified.
A study asks participants to recall stressful memories. Should the researcher assess participants’ distress before the study?
Participants should be screened for distress and offered support before recalling stressful memories.
A researcher collects participant emails to send follow-ups but doesn’t inform them. Is this ethical?
Participants must be informed of all data collection and use.
A company asks a psychologist to conduct employee personality tests without their consent. What ethical issues arise?
Informed consent must always be obtained before administering psychological tests.
A researcher discovers a participant has been coerced into joining the study. What are the ethical obligations?
Immediately withdraw the participant and report the coercion to the ethics board.
A study deceives participants about the true purpose but debriefs them afterward. What conditions must be met for this to be ethical?
Deception must be necessary, cause no lasting harm, and be disclosed during debriefing.
A clinical trial for a new drug shows early signs of potential harm. What should researchers do?
Researchers must halt the trial, reassess risks, and ensure participant safety before proceeding.
A researcher wants to publish data but realizes it could indirectly identify participants. What should they do?
Modify or anonymize data to protect participant identity before publishing.
A therapist conducting research notices signs of abuse in a participant. What ethical responsibilities do they have?
Therapists must follow mandatory reporting laws while maintaining research confidentiality as much as possible.
An experiment involves deception, but participants are debriefed afterward. Is this ethical?
Deception is ethical if necessary, participants are debriefed, and harm is minimized (APA guidelines).
In Milgram’s obedience study, participants believed they were harming others. Should such deception be allowed today?
Modern ethics standards prioritize minimizing psychological distress, making such extreme deception unethical today.
A study involves mild electric shocks. Participants were told there was minimal risk. How should risk be assessed?
Ensure full informed consent, assess potential distress, and provide an option to withdraw.
A participant requests to withdraw from a study and have all their data deleted. What must the researcher do?
Comply with the request and permanently delete the participant's data.
A social media company experiments on users’ emotions without informing them. Was this ethical?
Users did not provide informed consent, making this a violation of ethical standards.
A study requires participants to sign a waiver preventing them from withdrawing. Is this ethical?
Participants must always retain the right to withdraw without penalty.
A study investigating racial bias subtly primes participants without telling them. Does this cross ethical lines?
Ethical concerns arise if priming causes distress or misleads participants.
A researcher finds that study procedures could increase anxiety levels but decides the benefits outweigh the risks. Is this ethical?
Risks must always be minimized; benefits must not come at the cost of participant well-being.
A psychologist conducting research in a school is asked by administrators for student-specific data. What are the ethical concerns?
Providing identifiable data violates confidentiality unless explicit consent is obtained.
A university study offers large sums of money for low-risk but time-intensive participation. Is this coercion?
Offering large financial incentives could unduly influence participation decisions and may be coercive.
A researcher realizes mid-study that participation is causing undue distress. What must they do?
The study must be halted or modified to prevent harm, and participants should be offered support or counseling.
A research team debates whether the ends (valuable findings) justify the means (deception). Discuss.
Ethical guidelines prioritize participant welfare over research goals; the ends do not always justify the means.
A study on social rejection makes participants feel isolated for an extended period. At what point does this become unethical?
The study must be adjusted or halted if distress becomes excessive or persistent.
A researcher finds illegal activity in participant responses (e.g., drug use). Are they obligated to report it?
Ethical obligations depend on the research agreement, but mandatory reporting laws may apply.
A journalist posing as a researcher gathers psychological data for an exposé. Is this ethical?
This violates ethical standards of informed consent and researcher integrity.