Deck 3: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research

Question 1

When the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater than those encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine tests,we say that the risk is

A)minor risk.
B)daily risk.
C)static risk.
D)minimal risk.

Answer 1

minimal risk.

Question 2

Which of the following represents the basic question addressed by the risk/benefit ratio?

A)Are the risks in a study greater than minimal risk?
B)Are the benefits (to individual participants and society)of a study greater than the risks?
C)Will the researcher's reputation be enhanced or hurt by the study's findings?
D)Are the benefits gained by individuals greater than the risks posed to society?

Answer 2

Are the benefits (to individual participants and society)of a study greater than the risks?

Question 3

Ethical issues associated with Internet (online)research

A)include informed consent,debriefing,and confidentiality.
B)are not as serious as those associated with in-person research.
C)are not subject to the APA Code of Ethics.
D)all of these

Answer 3

include informed consent,debriefing,and confidentiality.

Question 4

The risk/benefit ratio that is used in ethical decision making represents a(n)

A)mathematical ratio with calculable components.
B)objective evaluation of risks and benefits.
C)subjective evaluation of risks and benefits.
D)definitive basis for making ethical decisions.

Question 5

Identify three risks associated with Internet research and the procedures researchers might follow to lessen the each risk.

Question 6

Describe how the use of deception can be justified on methodological grounds and describe the conditions under which the use of deception is always unethical.

Question 7

A student conducted a research project in which fake smoke entered the waiting area used by participants.This procedure was used to create a stressful situation and the student then tested participants' performance on complex reasoning tasks.One student waiting in a wheelchair experienced a panic attack when the smoke appeared.After this incident,the IRB stopped the research.This example demonstrates that

A)IRBs can be unreasonable.
B)the deception was described fully during the informed consent procedure.
C)characteristics of individuals must be considered when determining risk.
D)this research should have been conducted online.

Question 8

Identify the conditions under which participants are considered to be "at risk."

Question 9

Greater risk in a research study is acceptable when

A)clear and immediate benefits to the participants are expected.
B)the research has obvious scientific and social value.
C)valid and interpretable results will be produced.
D)all of these

Question 10

Distinguish between physical injury,psychological injury,and social injury as sources of risk in psychological research.

Question 11

When there is no way to connect a research participant's responses with that participant's identifying information (e.g. ,name,identification number),the responses are said to be

A)confidential.
B)anonymous.
C)informed.
D)debriefeD.

Question 12

Ethical problems can best be avoided by careful planning and by consulting appropriate individuals

A)only if a colleague raises a question.
B)prior to beginning the research.
C)after testing several participants.
D)after the research has been completeD.

Question 13

The ethical standards of the APA's ethics code

A)provide principles for conducting research that are never contradictory.
B)include clear rules for how research should be conducted in specific situations.
C)provide a set of specific rules for how to solve ethical dilemmas in psychological research.
D)are general ethical principles that researchers apply to their own research situation.

Question 14

Describe how the APA ethical standards for research with animals involve both the use and the care of animals.

Question 15

Which of the following is one type of risk that contributes to the determination of the risk/benefit ratio?

A)economic risk
B)statistical risk
C)failure risk
D)social risk

Question 16

Researchers must make use of special safeguards to protect human participants when

A)informed consent is not required.
B)more than minimal risk is present.
C)behavior is observed in the public domain.
D)anonymous questionnaires are useD.

Question 17

If you want to conduct research at your college or university,you should inquire about the appropriate procedure for institutional review of your research

A)before starting your research project.
B)before you have completed your research project.
C)at any time during your research project.
D)no earlier than when you submit your findings for publication.

Question 18

Identify two ways in which debriefing benefits the participant and one way in which it benefits the researcher.

Question 19

If a psychology student wants to do research involving human participants,which of the following has the ultimate authority to approve,disapprove,or require modifications prior to the approval of the student's research?

A)department chairperson
B)faculty sponsor of the research
C)Institutional Review Board (IRB)
D)the university's IACUC

Question 20

Failure to protect the confidentiality of a participant's responses may increase the risk in a research study by increasing the possibility of

A)social injury.
B)psychological injury.
C)physical injury.
D)psychosocial injury.

Question 21

Researchers who conduct research with individuals who have limited ability to understand the nature of the research and the possible risks

A)must obtain informed consent from the parents or legal guardians and should strive,when feasible,to get assent from the participants themselves.
B)must obtain informed consent from both the parents or legal guardian and from the participants themselves.
C)need not obtain informed consent from the parents or legal guardians and should strive,when feasible,to get assent from the participants themselves.
D)need not obtain informed consent from the parents or legal guardian nor get assent from the participants themselves.

Question 22

For a class research project,students conceal themselves in bathroom stalls in order to observe conversational behavior of individuals at sinks in the washroom.They count the number of words spoken by women and men in their respective washrooms.An important ethical issue in this research is

A)debriefing.
B)privacy.
C)informed consent.
D)deception.

Question 23

Whenever deception is used,the researcher has the responsibility to

A)inform the participant of the deception before the experiment begins.
B)withhold information from the participant concerning the reasons for having used deception.
C)avoid telling the participant about the deception before,during,and after the experiment.
D)debrief the participant.

Question 24

Which of the following is not an important consideration for a researcher who is designing an experiment that will involve deception?

A)the availability of alternative,deception-free methods for carrying out the research
B)the importance of the study to scientific knowledge
C)how many people will participate in the research
D)the degree of deception involved and the possibility of injury to the participants

Question 25

Which of the following procedures is essential after an experiment involving the use of deception?

A)debriefing
B)IRB proposal
C)research evaluation form
D)legal disclaimer statement

Question 26

In which of the following situations may it not be necessary for a researcher to obtain informed consent?

A)when doing research with children
B)when doing research that involves more than minimal risk
C)when asking participants to complete questionnaires on the Internet
D)when observing behavior in public settings with no intervention

Question 27

Which of the following has been used in the argument for the use of deception in psychological research?

A)Deception is not a necessary component of most psychological research.
B)Participants frequently react very negatively to deception.
C)General moral principles are sometimes suspended in other areas of life,such as in legal and medical practice.
D)There would be too few consequences for psychological research to consider banning the use of deception.

Question 28

Which of the following terms describes the ethical issue that arises when information is withheld from research participants or when they are given misinformation?

A)deception
B)minimal risk
C)distortion
D)plagiarism

Question 29

According to the APA Ethical Standards,psychologists must inform participants of the nature of the research and that participants are free to participate or to decline to participate or to withdraw from the research.These requirements (among others)are necessary to ensure the participants'

A)anonymity and confidentiality.
B)informed consent.
C)risk level.
D)debriefing.

Question 30

Which of the following ethical principles is contradicted when deception is used in research?

A)risk/benefit ratio
B)informed consent
C)minimal risk
D)privacy

Question 31

Debriefing individuals following their participation in research follows directly from the moral principles of

A)beneficence and respect.
B)malfeasance and dignity.
C)human interest and gratitude.
D)confidentiality and privacy.

Question 32

Which of the following uses of deception is always unethical?

A)deceiving participants to get them to adopt certain attitudes or behaviors
B)deceiving participants to gain access to a particular group or setting
C)deceiving participants to be able to implement a specific independent variable
D)deceiving participants to get them to take part in research that involves serious risk

Question 33

Final responsibility for conducting research in an ethical manner rests with the

A)Institutional Review Board (IRB).
B)United States Department of Research.
C)investigator.
D)department chairperson.

Question 34

The right of individuals to decide how information about them is to be communicated to others is referred to as

A)confidentiality.
B)anonymity.
C)privacy.
D)self-determination.

Question 35

In which of the following situations could individuals be vulnerable to excessive inducement or pressure to participate in research?

A)paying college students $2 an hour to be in a psychology experiment
B)asking college students to participate in research to fulfill a class requirement and giving them an alternative method to meet the requirement
C)requiring prisoners to participate in a psychology experiment
D)all of these

Question 36

Which of the following is not one of the dimensions that Deiner and Crandall suggest a researcher should consider when deciding what information is private and what safeguards should be employed?

A)sensitivity of the information
B)setting in which behavior is observed
C)how the information will be disseminated
D)source of the information

Question 37

Which of the following has not been used in the argument against the use of deception in psychological research?

A)Deception is a "technical illusion" that violates the interests of scientific inquiry.
B)Deception causes people to believe psychologists are "tricksters" or liars.
C)Deception violates the moral principles of beneficence and respect for individuals.
D)The use of deception causes participants to lose trust in themselves and others.

Question 38

Researchers can avoid the potential of social injury or risk for the participants in their research project if the researchers

A)protect the confidentiality of participants' responses.
B)ensure the internal consistency of their study.
C)obtain informed consent from each participant.
D)avoid using deception in their research.

Question 39

When researchers seek ways that will increase the likelihood that participants and society will benefit from research activities,the researchers are following the moral principle of

A)reciprocity.
B)authority.
C)fiduciary responsibility.
D)beneficence.

Question 40

Which of the following is not required of researchers in an informed consent procedure?

A)reasons for why deception is used in the research
B)description of the nature of the research
C)information that might influence participants' willingness to participate
D)all of these are required

Question 41

The overriding goal of regulations that guide research with animals is

A)making sure that animal rights groups do not sabotage research projects.
B)making sure the research has direct application to humans.
C)helping people to understand humans' dominion over animals.
D)protecting the welfare of the animals.

Question 42

Debriefing participants at the end of a research session is beneficial for

A)neither the participant nor the researcher.
B)only the participant.
C)only the researcher.
D)both the participant and the researcher.

Question 43

When completing the steps for ethical decision making,the "correctness" of an ethical decision should be judged according to whether

A)everyone is subjectively happy with the decision.
B)the rights of the researcher were given prominence.
C)a fair and ethical process was followed for making the decision.
D)the financial support for the research is not jeopardized by the decision.

Question 44

A major goal of debriefing participants at the end of a research session is to

A)make sure participants have returned all of their research materials.
B)learn about any errors in the research procedure.
C)make sure individuals feel good about their participation.
D)ask participants for their ideas regarding future research.

Question 45

A student researcher learns during a debriefing procedure that participants misunderstood the instructions for the research task.This clearly demonstrates that

A)the research project should have used deception.
B)the study likely involved more than minimal risk.
C)researchers also can benefit from the debriefing procedure.
D)the order of publication credit should be reviseD.

Question 46

A final step when researchers submit a manuscript for publication in an APA-sponsored journal is to

A)release all informed consent forms completed by participants.
B)complete an Ethical Compliance Checklist.
C)submit a revised proposal to their university IRB.
D)seek the permission of individual research participants.

Question 47

Psychologists seek to publish their research findings

A)to communicate the results to the scientific community and society.
B)to enhance their reputation and that of the sponsoring institution.
C)to demonstrate competence and motivation in their scientific field.
D)all of these

Question 48

Debriefing following the use of deception should include all of the following except

A)an explanation for the use of deception.
B)a report of the number of people who were tricked by the deception,and the number who figured it out.
C)an attempt to address any misconceptions participants may have about the research.
D)an effort to remove any harmful effects resulting from the deception.

Question 49

A faculty member adds a student's name to the list of authors for a research manuscript in order to help that student get into graduate school.The student's contribution to the research project was to enter responses to survey questions into the computer.This is an example of

A)unethical assignment of authorship credit.
B)ethical recognition of the student's contribution to the research project.
C)deceiving participants to get them to adopt a certain attitude.
D)failure to credit a secondary source.

Question 50

When citing another person's thinking or ideas,a "substantial element" refers to

A)phrases that are at least 10 or more words.
B)any key idea or concept,even a single word.
C)anything that requires quotation marks in the citation.
D)concepts that are cited in a secondary source.

Question 51

When writing a report describing a class research project,a student paraphrased some material from a psychology journal article.In order to avoid a charge of plagiarism,the student should

A)identify the author and publication year of the journal article in the same sentence as the paraphrased material.
B)list the article in a bibliography at the end of the report,but not identify it in the text of the report.
C)include quotation marks around the paraphrased material.
D)identify the author of the journal article at the end of the paragraph in which the material was citeD.

Question 52

Which of the following is not one of the areas that Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC)are charged to review?

A)adequacy of housing for the animals
B)procedures for controlling pain
C)budget for the proposed research
D)procedures for training personnel who will work with the animals

Question 53

Which of the following statements concerning the use of animals in research is true?

A)Animals may never be subjected to pain or discomfort in research.
B)Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort only when no alternative procedure is available and when the goals of the research are judged to justify such procedures.
C)Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort whenever an alternative procedure is not available.
D)Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort whenever the researcher's goals justify such procedures.

Question 54

There is a general consensus among research psychologists that authorship of a scientific paper should be based mainly on the

A)time a person has spent on the project.
B)scholarly importance of the person's contribution.
C)effort a person has expended on the project.
D)person's status in terms of advanced degrees and academic position.

Question 55

Making an ethical decision involves

A)simply applying a clear and definitive set of guidelines for ethical research.
B)deciding that an ethical decision is good if it makes everyone happy.
C)identifying what ethical guidelines are relevant in a situation and what is at stake for all parties involved.
D)maintaining the anonymity of the researchers who are conducting the research.

Question 56

Presenting substantial portions of another person's work as your own is called

A)misappropriation.
B)paraphrasing.
C)plagiarism.
D)fallacious bibliography.

Question 57

When making reference in your paper to an original source that you have not read but learned about it in a secondary source (such as a textbook),you should

A)not mention any source at all so as not to confuse the reader.
B)cite the secondary source in which you found the original source,and say,"as cited in..."
C)cite the original source of the information,not the source you read.
D)omit the information entirely until you read the original source.

Question 58

With respect to animal research,the philosophical position of utilitarianism suggests that

A)the moral status of humans is greater than that of animals.
B)human welfare should always be considered ahead of the suffering of animals.
C)humans should appeal to religious viewpoints when making ethical decisions.
D)the best choice among alternatives is one that produces the best overall consequences for all.

Question 59

When the exact words from a source are used in a manuscript,which of the following is required?

A)the source must be properly identified
B)the page number from the source
C)quotation marks
D)all of these

Question 60

The suggestion that animals be used in research only when the results of the research have direct,apparent application to humans is most threatening to

A)basic research.
B)funding programs for applied research.
C)research animals.
D)all of these