Psychology Assignment – Ethical Issues in Psychological Research


Scenario

This assignment will involve the understanding and application of ethics to three landmark studies in the field of psychology. First, you will need to review the American Psychological Association’s Code of Ethics (i.e., principles and standards). Then, you will watch a video that discusses the three studies:

  • Solomon Asch’s group think study,
  • Stanley Milgram’s obedience study, and
  • Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison study.

Finally, you’ll discuss possible ethical concerns for each study while also citing the relevant principles and standards of the ethics code.

Instructions

Code of Ethics: Briefly describe the five general principles:

  • beneficence and nonmaleficence,
  • fidelity and responsibility,
  • integrity,
  • justice,
  • respect for people’s rights and dignity

Standards: Briefly describe two (2) of the ethical standards from the list below:

  • resolving ethical issues
  • competence
  • human relations
  • informed consent
  • torture
  • confidentiality
  • advertising
  • record-keeping and fees
  • education and training
  • research and publication
  • deception
  • assessment
  • therapy

Ethical concerns: Cite how the ethical principles and standards apply to EACH of the three studies. For each study, analyze the ethical nature by applying all five (5) ethical principles and two (2) ethical standards. Use the ethical principles and standards to discuss the ways in which each study is unethical or ethical.

Each study must be analyzed with at least one fully developed paragraph.