Psychology / Unit 1: Introduction and Research Methods
1.6 Research Ethics and Bias
Notes
Psychologists follow ethical rules to protect participants.
- Informed consent: participants agree after learning what will happen and what risks exist.
- Voluntary participation: people can leave at any time.
- Confidentiality: personal information is kept private.
- Debriefing: after the study, participants are told the true purpose, especially if deception was used.
- Studies are reviewed by an institutional review board (IRB) before they start. Researchers must protect participants from harm.
- Bias to watch for: confirmation bias (favoring evidence that supports what you already believe) and sampling bias (a sample that does not represent the population).
Practice
After a study that used mild deception, researchers explain the true purpose to participants. This step is called:
Debriefing reveals the real purpose and answers questions after the study.
A teen in a study feels uncomfortable and asks to stop. Under ethical rules, the researcher should:
Participation is voluntary and people may withdraw at any time.
A researcher only reads articles that support her theory and ignores those that do not. This is:
Favoring evidence that fits existing beliefs is confirmation bias.
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