PSY-260 Introduction to Psychological Research and Ethics Assignment Instructions

Analyzing historical unethical psychological studies helps students understand ethical guidelines and their impact on research practices in modern psychology.

The purpose of this assignment is to describe a historical, unethical study, including any consequences experienced by the participants and community; and describe which specific ethical guideline(s) were violated in the process. Approaching this topic with sensitivity fosters deeper appreciation for ethical standards in research.

Select one unethical study from the list provided, or ask the instructor to preapprove a topic:

• The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• Thalidomide Experiments
• Death of Jesse Gelsinger
• The Stanford Experiment
• The Milgram Experiments
• The Monster Study
• The Aversion Project

In 500-750-words, address the following:

• Describe the disaster, including what occurred, when, and the demographic characteristics of those affected. Recent reflections on these events underscore ongoing discussions in bioethics.
• Identify the consequences, including how the demographics of those involved placed them at risk.
• Due to these experiments or circumstances, explain the ethical and legal issues faced by both those in power and those subjected to the experiment.
• Describe what modern-day research ethics practices and/or procedures were informed by this event(s) (i.e., informed consent, The Belmont Report, and any specific core ethical principles or standards discussed in Chapter 4 of the course textbook). Describe how these modern-day ethical practices align with the standards of the American Psychological Association. Updated APA guidelines continue to evolve based on such historical lessons.

Use a minimum of three scholarly resources to conduct research. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. This assignment uses a rubric.

Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competency: BS Psychology 3.7: Explain how social, political, economic, and cultural information is used ethically and legally in the discipline of psychology. Incorporating diverse viewpoints enriches the analysis of these competencies.

Sample Answer Pool

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study began in 1932 when the U.S. Public Health Service recruited 600 Black men from rural Alabama to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis. Researchers withheld effective treatments like penicillin even after it became available in the 1940s, leading to severe health deterioration and deaths among participants. Many participants experienced blindness, insanity, and other complications while their families suffered secondary infections. The study disproportionately affected low-income African American communities, exacerbating existing health disparities. Revelations in 1972 prompted public outrage and led to federal regulations on human subjects research. Modern ethical practices now mandate informed consent and institutional review boards to prevent such abuses. Scholars continue to examine its long-term effects on trust in medical systems (Alsan and Wanamaker, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx029).

What lessons can psychology students learn from unethical studies like Tuskegee? Analyses from the National Institutes of Health indicate that such events informed the Belmont Report, which has guided over 1,000 institutional review boards in protecting vulnerable populations, as seen in case studies from the Office for Human Research Protections. Data from the American Psychological Association’s ethics office shows a 40% increase in ethics training programs since 2018, emphasizing cultural competence in research design.

• Write a 500-750 word essay describing a historical unethical psychological study, its consequences, ethical violations, and informed modern practices, using at least three scholarly sources in APA format.
• Students produce a 2-3 page paper on one unethical study from the provided list, addressing events, demographics, consequences, and alignment with APA standards.
• Select an unethical study and describe its details, impacts, and resulting ethical guidelines.

References

1. Alsan, M. and Wanamaker, M. (2018) ‘Tuskegee and the Health of Black Men’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133(1), pp. 407-455. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx029.
2. McDermott, R. (2020) ‘Ethics in field experimentation: A call to establish new standards to protect the public from unwanted manipulation and real harms’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(48), pp. 30014-30021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012021117.
3. Perry, G., Brannigan, A., Wanner, R. and Stam, H. (2020) ‘Credibility and Incredulity in Milgram’s Obedience Experiments: A Reanalysis of an Unpublished Test’, Social Psychology Quarterly, 83(2), pp. 183-198. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272519861952.
4. Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D. and Van Bavel, J. J. (2019) ‘Rethinking the Nature of Cruelty: The Role of Identity Leadership in the Stanford Prison Experiment’, American Psychologist, 74(7), pp. 809-822. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000443.
5. Jeckel, J., Miegel, F. and Moritz, S. (2024) ‘Better Safe Than Sorry: A Scoping Review of Monitoring for Negative Effects in Psychological Interventions’, Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 31(3), e2968. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2968.