A Psychologist Proposed an Experiment in Which He Would Tell

Multiple Choice

A psychologist proposed an experiment in which he would tell participants that their performance on an intelligence test was extremely low (regardless of actual performance) and then measure their self-esteem. What might an Institutional Review Board ethics committee say about such a proposal?

A) Deception is allowable only if it is revealed afterward and if the emotional distress that it causes is short-lived.
B) Deception is allowable only if participants give informed consent prior to the experiment.
C) Deception is never allowable.
D) Deception such as this would cause emotional discomfort, so it should not be done.