(Ethics in Researchs) Providing Freedom of Choice
The second goal of ethical research is to guarantee that participants have free choice regarding whether they wish to participate in research. In an ideal situation each individual has the opportunity to learn about the research and to choose to participate or not participate without considering any other factors. In reality, freedom of choice is more diffi cult to attain. An individual who is in fi nancial need of the money being offered for participation by a researcher is less able to decline to participate than one who is not in such need, and a college student who has trekked across campus to a laboratory is likely to choose to participate rather than having to return later for another study.
Conducting Research Outside the Laboratory
Although threats to freedom of choice may occur in experiments conducted in scientific laboratories, they are even more common in research conducted in real-world settings, particularly in naturalistic observational studies where the behavior of individuals is observed without their knowledge. In lab studies, the individual volunteers to participate and knows that an experiment is occurring. But in observational research, the participant may not even know that research is being conducted. We can ask whether it is ethical to create situations that infringe on passersby, such as research designed to see who helps in a situation created by the researchers (Piliavin, Rodin, & Piliavin, 1969), particularly because the individuals who were the “participants” in the experiment were never informed that the helping situation was staged.
Concerns with free choice also occur in institutional settings, such as schools, psychiatric hospitals, corporations, and prisons, when individuals are required by the institutions to take certain tests, or when employees are assigned to or asked by their supervisors to participate in research. Such issues are often debated in colleges and universities in which all students enrolled in introductory psychology are required either to participate in research or to perform other potentially less-interesting tasks, such as writing papers about research reports.
University scientists and instructors argue that participation in psychological research teaches students about the conduct of research and that if there were no research participants, there would be no psychology to study. They also argue that it is more scientifi cally valid to require students to participate, rather than to have a volunteer system, because volunteer participants react differently from nonvolunteers (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1975). The students, however, may argue that the time they spend going to these research sessions
might be better used studying, that the specifi c experiments are sometimes not related to the subject matter of their course or are not well explained to them, and thus that the requirement seems more motivated to serve the convenience of researchers.
There are, again, no easy answers to these questions. However, keep in mind that there are potential gains for the participants in the form of knowledge about behavior and the practice of behavioral research. Furthermore, this research can be expected to benefi t society at large. However, benefit to the participants occurs only when the researchers fully explain the purposes and expected results of research to participants when the research has ended. It is the duty of the experimenter to do so. Students should make a point to use their participation in research projects to learn something about how and why research is conducted. They should ask questions and attempt to fi nd out what the research is designed to test and how their data will be used.
Securing Informed Consent
The most important tool for providing freedom of choice and reducing psychological stress from participation in behavioral science research is the use of informed consent. According to guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001), informed consent must include
(1) a statement that the study involves research and the expected duration of the participation; a description of the procedures to be followed, and identification of any procedures which are experimental;
(2) a description of any reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts to the participant;
(3) a description of any benefi ts to the participant or to others which may reasonably be expected from the research;
(4) a disclosure of appropriate alternative procedures or courses of treatment, if any, that might be advantageous to the participant;
(5) a statement describing the extent, if any, to which confi dentiality of records identifying the participant will be maintained;
(6) for research involving more than minimal risk, an explanation as to whether any compensation is to be made and an explanation as to whether any medical treatments are available if injury occurs and, if so, what they consist of, or where further information may be obtained;
(7) an explanation of whom to contact for answers to pertinent questions about the research and research participants’ rights, and whom to contact in the event of a research-related injury to the participant; and
(8) a statement that participation is voluntary, refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefi ts to which the participant is otherwise entitled, and the participant may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefi ts to which the participant is otherwise entitled.
A sample informed consent form is shown in Table 3.2. Informed consent involves several aspects, each of which is designed to reduce the possibility of ethical problems. First, the potential participant is presented with a sheet of paper on which to record demographic information, including age. This information assures the experimenter that the research participant is old enough to make her or his own decision about whether or not to participate. When children are used in research, the corresponding ethical safeguards are even more rigorous. In this case, a parent or guardian must give approval for the individual to participate in research. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) have developed guidelines for research with children as well as adults.
Second, the potential participant is given an informed consent form explaining the procedure of the research, who is conducting it, how the results of the research will be used, and what is going to happen during the research session. Third, the potential participant is informed of her or his rights during the research. These rights include the freedom to leave the research project at any point without penalty and the knowledge that the data will be kept confi dential. After carefully reading this information, the individual is given the opportunity to ask any questions. At this point, the participant signs the form to indicate that she or he has read and (the researcher hopes) understood the information.
It is rare that an individual declines to participate in or continue a behavioral research project. This is perhaps because of the use of informed consent and the determination by the researcher that the research project is not ethically problematic, but it may also be due to social factors that reduce the likelihood of quitting. Once a participant has arrived at the research session (and even more so when the project has begun), it becomes diffi cult for him or her to express a desire to leave. As a result, the researcher must continually keep in mind that he or she has great control over the behaviors of the research participant, must continually be on the lookout for signs that the participant is uncomfortable, and must be prepared to stop the research if any problems surface.
Because many students participate in research projects to earn credit in behavioral science courses, one issue that sometimes arises concerns how to treat a student who decides not to participate. When this decision is made before the research begins, it seems reasonable not to give credit because the student can usually find another experiment to participate in with which he or she is more comfortable. However, for a person who has already begun the procedure under the good faith of fi nishing but later decides to quit, it is usually better to award full credit.
Weighing Informed Consent Versus the Research Goals
Although informed consent has obvious advantages from the point of view of the participant, it has disadvantages from the point of view of the researcher. Consider what might have happened if Milgram had told his research participants that his experiment was about obedience to authority, rather than telling them that he was studying learning. In that case, the participants would probably have carefully monitored their behavior to avoid being seen as “obedient” types, and he would have obtained very different results. However, the participants’ behavior in that case would seem to refl ect more a reaction to the informed consent form than what might be expected if the participants had not been alerted. In such cases, the preferred strategy is to tell participants as much as possible about the true nature of the study, particularly everything that might be expected to infl uence their willingness to participate, while still withholding the pieces of information that allow the study to work. Often creative uses of informed consent may allow researchers to provide accurate information to participants and still enable the research to continue. For instance, participants may be told that they may or may not be given alcohol or that their behavior may or may not be videotaped at some point. In these cases, the individuals are informed of the procedures and potential risks and give their consent to participate in any or all of the procedures they might encounter, but the research is not jeopardized.
