Ethics in Psychological Research

You will often be asked to identify ethical issues in a given study and asked how they can be addressed - remember to refer to the source to look at possible issues in the methodology such as deception and failure to protect participants from harm.


Black: AO1 - Description of an ethical issue.
Red: AO2/3 - Way of dealing with an ethical issue.


Informed consent – participants should agree to be in an experiment after being made aware of the aim of the experiment and their role in it. Before giving their consent, they must be made aware how data are collected, what exactly they’re doing in the experiment, and, in an independent groups design, they must be made aware what those in the other condition are doing. The research must fully explain the experiment's duration and methodology, as well as the expected benefits to society of the research and any potential risks and discomforts to the participant.

Deception - participants should not be deceived as to their role in the experiment. This includes active deception through lying to them,  and passive deception through just withholding information and not being outright with everything they’re entitled to be told.

However, in some areas of research it is not always possible to get informed consent, and necessary to deceive participants - in certain studies into social influence, the participant must be unaware that they are in a study, so that demand characteristics don't invalidate the results. In this scenario, there are other ways in which consent can be obtained:

• Prior general consent - asking for consent beforehand when explaining the general area of research, asking if they feel comfortable and consent to taking part to research in that area and possibly being deceived - without mentioning a specific form of deception.

• Presumptive consent - take another sample from the target population and ask them if they'd consent to the study - if they all would, presume that your experimental sample would too.

• Colleague consent - ask other professionals if they thought participants would give informed consent to the study - if they think so, carry out the research presuming consent from this.

• Ethics committees - talk a committee of psychologists and non-psychologists through your methodology, outlining any issues that may arise, the purpose and procedure of the research, and seek approval from them before seeking general consent.

Debriefing - after the study has concluded, address any questions and concerns participants may have towards the purpose and procedure of the research, reassure participants that their results will be kept confidential, remind them of their right to withdraw and remind them of everything covered under informed consent regulations.

Confidentiality – the data should not allow readers to identify individual participants – all names, addresses, dates of birth and other identifying information should be removed so that the remaining data is completely anonymous.

Right to withdraw – participants should be told at the start of the experiment that they can withdraw whenever they want to, their results will not be published, and they can take any money that they are entitled to. They must be reminded of this right throughout, at the end of the experiment, and during the debriefing. Participants should not be pressured to continue if the study is causing them distress, as was the case in Milgram's famous study of obedience.


Protection: The participant should not experience any more harm or distress over the course of the study than they might reasonably expect carrying out day-to-day activities. The researchers should ensure that the participants do not leave the experiment in a worse psychological or physical state than when they started.