Active learning ideas
Ethics are the moral compass of psychological research. This topic covers the essential guidelines that protect the rights and wellbeing of participants, including informed consent, voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, confidentiality, and debriefing. Students also explore the ethical considerations for animal research and the role of Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) in Australia.
Activity 01
Students are given a proposal for a controversial study. They must act as an ethics committee, using the National Statement on Ethical Conduct to decide whether to approve, modify, or reject the study.
Why are ethical guidelines essential in psychological research?
Activity 02
In pairs, one student plays a researcher and the other a potential participant. The researcher must explain the study and the participant's rights, ensuring they truly understand what they are signing up for.
What are the roles of informed consent and debriefing?
Activity 03
Posters of famous unethical studies (e.g., Little Albert, the Stolen Generations 'intelligence' testing) are displayed. Students identify which modern ethical guidelines were broken in each case.
How do ethics committees evaluate proposed research?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Deception is never allowed in psychology.
Students often think any lie is a breach. Teachers should explain that deception is sometimes necessary to prevent 'demand characteristics', but it must be justified and followed by a thorough debriefing.
Ethics are only about preventing physical pain.
Students often overlook psychological harm. Using case studies of 'stressful' experiments helps them see that protecting a participant's self-esteem and mental wellbeing is just as important as physical safety.
Methods used in this brief
Research Methodologies and Designs
A comprehensive review of experimental and non-experimental research designs used in psychology, including observational studies and self-reports.
8 methodologies
Data Analysis and Evaluation
An introduction to organising, summarising, and interpreting psychological data, including the use of descriptive statistics and evaluating research validity.
8 methodologies