Deception plays a key and controversial role in the ethics of psychological research. In psychology, deception occurs either when information is withheld from participants (omission) or when participants are intentionally misinformed about an aspect of the research (commission). This essay will explore whether participants in psychological experiments should ever be deceived regarding the true nature of the experiment. This will be analysed by discussing the arguments for and against deception using some controversial case studies in research.
Non deceptive methods of research do not always allow researchers to explore true findings. Deception gives researchers the opportunities to investigate individuals’ natural behaviour and mental processes …show more content…
The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo (1972) gave us notable understandings into human behaviour, even though considered an unethical study. In the scandalous experiment, a group of participants completed a study in a mock prison environment. Some of the participants took on the role of prisoner, and others acted as the guards. The guards behaved in an inhumane and demeaning way towards the participants acting as prisoners. They were not given full details e.g. on what to expect and how to behave. The prisoners were deceived as they were unexpectedly arrested at their homes, partly because the researchers wanted the arrests to come as a surprise. Due to the fact that the prisoners were caused distress, emotional depression and physical harm, the experiment was eventually terminated. The results, however, were very useful whilst some of the participants suffered. The study demonstrated the strong effect that roles can have on peoples’ behaviours, which shows that sometimes deception can be useful in making discoveries though not always …show more content…
Milgram’s experiments, for example, were the only one true way of making true findings and it did explore controversial findings. The BPS ‘Code of Human Research Ethics’ also states it should not influence the individuals’ decision to participate. It is important to ensure that participants are deceived as little as possible and that no harm or distress is caused. The true nature of the research should also be revealed in debriefing such as Milgram’s experiment, where he also ensured that the teachers and learners had a reconciliation with each
Non deceptive methods of research do not always allow researchers to explore true findings. Deception gives researchers the opportunities to investigate individuals’ natural behaviour and mental processes …show more content…
The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo (1972) gave us notable understandings into human behaviour, even though considered an unethical study. In the scandalous experiment, a group of participants completed a study in a mock prison environment. Some of the participants took on the role of prisoner, and others acted as the guards. The guards behaved in an inhumane and demeaning way towards the participants acting as prisoners. They were not given full details e.g. on what to expect and how to behave. The prisoners were deceived as they were unexpectedly arrested at their homes, partly because the researchers wanted the arrests to come as a surprise. Due to the fact that the prisoners were caused distress, emotional depression and physical harm, the experiment was eventually terminated. The results, however, were very useful whilst some of the participants suffered. The study demonstrated the strong effect that roles can have on peoples’ behaviours, which shows that sometimes deception can be useful in making discoveries though not always …show more content…
Milgram’s experiments, for example, were the only one true way of making true findings and it did explore controversial findings. The BPS ‘Code of Human Research Ethics’ also states it should not influence the individuals’ decision to participate. It is important to ensure that participants are deceived as little as possible and that no harm or distress is caused. The true nature of the research should also be revealed in debriefing such as Milgram’s experiment, where he also ensured that the teachers and learners had a reconciliation with each