1. Ethical issues in research design
Chapter 2:3
Ethical issues in research design

2. Lesson # 7
Objective: Explain the ethical obligations of researchers toward their research participants. Descrive both sides of the debate on the use of animals as research objects.
Agenda: Bellwork, 2.3 notes, discussion
Bellwork: Read, think, reflect
Is there an instance where testing on humans is ethical? What about animals?

3. Case study: Tuskegee
Performed by an extinct government agency, the U.S. Public Health Service ( )
Natural course of syphilis
399 African-American men in rural Alabama who were previously diagnosed
Did not inform the men of their disease, nor that there was a treatment, or that they were subjects.
Withheld all important medical information and treatment options.
28 men died, 100 died of complications, 40 wives infected, 19 children born
Clinton Apology

4. Ethical guidelines for human research
IRB (Institutional Review Boards)
Informed Consent-informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate, participants should enter voluntarily,
Challenges include medical or psychological issues such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Deception-deliberately misleading the design or purpose
Confederate-a research assistant who plays a part of the participant
Is there an instance when deception is justified?
Protection from Harm and Discomfort-must take reasonable steps to avoid harm to participants
Debriefing-participants should be informed of the deception by debriefing as soon as possible after the deception takes place.

5. Ethical issues in animal research
Invasive Research-often takes the form of producing lesions in animals brains, usually by means of surgery, and observing the effects on animal behavior.
7-8% of psychological research
Mostly rodents and birds
Goal is to generate ideas of how the brain relates to behavior in animals, and how the findings generalize to humans, without having to inflict harm upon humans.
100 million lab animal deaths per year in medical and psychological research
Questions:
How well do animal models translate to human conditions?
Is research on aggression, fear, learning, memory, and related topics useful?
Problem-often there are few, or no, good alternatives to using animals.
What are potential benefits and costs of using animals in research?