essay on 12 marker assessing ethical issues in social and cognitive psychology, covering issues and debates.
2 PEEL paragraphs and a conclusion for top band marks
Assess how far research from social and cognitive psychology
could be considered ethical. (8 marks)
Research from social and cognitive psychology could be considered ethical
to some extent by maintaining the autonomy of the participants. Autonomy is
the ability of the participants to make their own decisions. The researcher
must respect their decisions and should not manipulate or persuade them
through payment. Sherif et al. (1954/1961) investigated intergroup conflict in
22 11-year old boys from America. Although the field experiment may have
been unethical by deliberately creating opportunities for conflict between
the boys, they had the right to withdraw. In fact, 2 of them went home in the
first week due to home sickness. Similarly, Loftus and Palmer (1974)
investigated reconstructive memory in students by using leading questions.
The participants had the right to withdraw and informed consent. This shows
that research into social and cognitive psychology maintains the
participants’ autonomy by allowing them to leave the study and withdraw
their data at any time. This is a strength as this means that this research is
ethical to some extent. On the other hand, this research may not respect the
integrity and dignity of the participants. This is because some research such
as Milgram’s (1963) does not obtain informed consent from the participants
since they were not aware of the true aims of the study. For example, the
participants were told that this study was about memory and learning and
not about obedience. This means that the participants were not able to give
informed consent because they were not aware of everything that was
going on in the study. They were deceived about the electric shocks not
being real. Similarly, case studies in cognitive psychology may be argued to
fail to respect the subjects’ integrity and autonomy. For example, HM might
not have been medically competent to give consent due to his brain
damage. This implies that research into social and cognitive psychology may
not always meet all the ethical principles of integrity and autonomy.
Research from social and cognitive psychology could not be considered
very ethical due to the potential for harm to the participants. Researchers
should consider the different risks a participant may be exposed to, since not
only does the procedures of the study may create physical or psychological
risks, but also the result of publishing data which may involve social risks to the
participant and the groups they represent. Sherif et al. might have exposed
the boys to psychological harm due to the events rigged by the researchers
which created opportunities for intergroup conflicts. There were food fights,
theft and raid skirmishes which might have psychologically harmed the boys.
Similarly, Loftus and Palmer (1974) have exposed participants to film clips of
car crashes which may have distressed them possibly due to previous
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