Psychological Studies Considered Ethical Today

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Briefly describe two psychological research studies conducted in the past that would not be considered ethical today, and discuss why this would be the case.

Psychologists have conducted many psychological research studies throughout history without many limitations. Some studies were deemed immoral or inhumane as researchers went too far with their methods of experimentation. However it could be seen as a positive, as these studies initiated the establishment of our current ethical principles.
Ethics is the discipline of moral principles and rules of behaviour (Cardwell, 2008) Ethical standards were introduced to protect the welfare of humans and animals from harm in psychological research. The American Psychological Association (APA) is responsible for encouraging ethical behaviour among psychologists, (Michael W Passer, 2011) they require that their affiliates refer to the code of ethics and their principles. These ethical codes are revised often and consist of: ‘Beneficence, Responsibility, Integrity, Justice and
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Albert was removed from the hospital soon after the research was finished. Meaning that no desensitizing took place to remove the CS. Albert being a child was not able to give consent to being frightened during the experiment, any participant in today’s studies should not suffer any unnecessary distress, especially children. There has also been many debates into Albert’s true identity and his health during the time, Watson reported the child’s health as ‘healthy and normal’ however it has since been debated by Beck, Levinson, and Irons (2009) that Albert’s identity is that of Douglas Merritte (1919-1925) a child who died of hydrocephalus. (Fridlund, 2012) Which would question why Watson would use a child with a neurological impairment in his research, while further jeopardizing the conclusions obtained from his

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