If you were participating in an experiment, would you object to being deceived? How concerned would you be about invasion of privacy? Under what circumstances, if any, would you regard it as ethical to use animals in medical experiments? Psychology

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Subject: If you were participating in an experiment, would you object to being deceived? How concerned would you be about invasion of privacy? Under what circumstances, if any, would you regard it as ethical to use animals in medical experiments? Psychology experiments? Teaching laboratories? Product testing? Entertainment?

‘Ever since the Gulf War, an estimated 20.000 returning U.S. soldiers have been experiencing a series of mysterious illnesses, such as severe joint pain, chronic fatigue, rashes, hair loss, memory loss, lack of bowel control and even brain damage. Recently, disturbing reports of miscarriages, stillbirths, deaths, and birt defects among the babies conceived by the returning soldiers have also emerged. And now, evidence is mounting that the Desert Storm Syndrome may be contagious….It has been learned that the American soldiers were exposed to experimental vaccines, drugs, and pesticides’.(Supress) Ethics have become increasingly more important during recent

years since they apply to the treatment of participants and since humans are more educated about their rights.  All research exposes an individual to some degree of risk, even if this risk is minimal, that is, time spent away from activities during data collection or high risk – the possibility of adverse health effects while engaged in experimentally controlled physical exertion.  

Being a participant in an experiment I would definitely object to deception.  Deception, or manipulation is disrespectful towards participants.  They are self-determined to take part in an experiment to help in the advancement of science. In my point of view self-determination is the right of the participant and deception jeopardizes this.  Participants have the right to know exactly what they are helping to achieve.  Negative effects due to deception may also cause distress or discomfort to participants or psychological “damage”.  For instance the “Little Albert” experiment conducted by Watson and Rayner in 1920.  Little Albert was left with a phobia of rats, which then expanded to include other creatures of a similar nature. (Myers, 2000,p298).

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        Another factor of personal concern in participating in a research is the invasion of privacy.  Most definitely not all researchers follow their professional Code of Ethics. Unethical examples of research are the Nazi’s experiments during the Second World War, the human radiation experiments. Upholding of individual confidentiality and the careful use of non-intrusive, inoffensive and tactful methods may not be completely assured.  Values between the participant and the researcher may conflict due to differences in culture, religion etc.  But even the most ethical of scientists will be biased towards seeing their own research as ethical.  When conducting a research, researchers ...

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