This essay will examine two psychological research studies which were carried out in the past with particular focus on the ethical principles of each study with relation to the ethical principles administered by the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics and conduct. These studies will be briefly outlined before an analysis of each is made with regards to some practices which would not be considered ethical today.
The first study was conducted by Milgram (1963) in order to explain why so many people blindly followed orders within Nazi Germany within the World War II period. To accomplish this, Milgram recruited 40 students for an apparent study into memory. These students were labelled “teachers” and their role was to ask another participant questions and to provide an electric …show more content…
This study demonstrates a severe risk to the participant’s health with one participant being removed after only 36 hours into the 14 day study due to uncontrollable screaming, crying and anger. It was also reported that many of the participants suffered severe distress due to the study although it is unclear if there were any permanent issues. It is also of concern that, as the guards became increasingly sadistic, there were no real plans in place which could deal with the rioting of prisoners against the guards or any retaliation that could have occurred. Although both prisoners and guards were permitted to withdraw from the study, the roles adopted by the prisoners caused a change of thinking which meant that they no longer had the capability to decide to leave the prison. Despite Zimbardo’s claim that participants signed consent forms prior to the experiment, informed consent for such an unpredictable study seems highly unlikely as even Zimbardo himself could not know what would
The first study was conducted by Milgram (1963) in order to explain why so many people blindly followed orders within Nazi Germany within the World War II period. To accomplish this, Milgram recruited 40 students for an apparent study into memory. These students were labelled “teachers” and their role was to ask another participant questions and to provide an electric …show more content…
This study demonstrates a severe risk to the participant’s health with one participant being removed after only 36 hours into the 14 day study due to uncontrollable screaming, crying and anger. It was also reported that many of the participants suffered severe distress due to the study although it is unclear if there were any permanent issues. It is also of concern that, as the guards became increasingly sadistic, there were no real plans in place which could deal with the rioting of prisoners against the guards or any retaliation that could have occurred. Although both prisoners and guards were permitted to withdraw from the study, the roles adopted by the prisoners caused a change of thinking which meant that they no longer had the capability to decide to leave the prison. Despite Zimbardo’s claim that participants signed consent forms prior to the experiment, informed consent for such an unpredictable study seems highly unlikely as even Zimbardo himself could not know what would