Ethical Problems in Psychological Research

277 Pages·1982·4.104 MB·277\277

by  Heinz Schuler (Auth.)

Ethical Problems in
Psychological Research
HEINZ SCHULER
Institut für Psychologie
Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Federal Republic of Germany
Translated by
MARGARET S. WOODRUFF
Linguistics Research Center
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
ROBERT A. WICKLUND
Department of Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
ACADEMIC PRESS 1982
A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
NEW YORK LONDON
PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SÄO PAULO SYDNEY TOKYO TORONTO
COPYRIGHT © 1982, BY ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR
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ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.
Ill Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10003
United Kingdom Edition published by
ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. (LONDON) LTD.
24/28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Schuler, Heinz.
Ethical problems in psychological research.
Translation of: Ethische Probleme psychologischer
Forschung.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Psychological research—Moral and ethical aspects.
2. Human experimentation in psychology—Moral and ethical
aspects. I. Title.
BF76.5.S313 174».915 82-3886
ISBN 0-12-631250-8 AACR2
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
82 83 84 85 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Moral predigen ist leicht,
Moral begründen schwer.
Moralizing comes easily;
Justifying morality is hard.
—ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
Translators' Foreword
As discussions of ethics in psychological research have spiraled to an unan-
ticipated high in North America and more generally around the world, an
Austrian-born psychologist has assembled a book on this topic that is captivat-
ing in its depth. Dr. Schuler's Ethische Probleme Psychologischer Forschung
makes its first impression by showing the reader the historical path. Beginning
with early questions on the subject role in the psychological experiment and the
parallel ethical issues in even earlier medical research, the book moves to more
recent developments in both fields and ends with a detailed and sweeping look
at contemporary ethical and methodological questions in psychology. The book
stands alone in another, closely related aspect: It is the only existing book on
this topic with a genuine and informed international perspective. Not only are
historical trends examined from perspectives on both sides of the Atlantic, but
troublesome methodologies and resulting ethical rules are treated with a consis-
tent international flavor. For instance, not just the ethics codes of the Ameri-
can Psychological Association (APA), but also the codes of eight European
nations are found here.
One is accustomed to thinking that those with an eye toward history, and
especially with an eye toward international developments, are less attuned
to the details of the scientific process. With this expectation as a back-
ground, the reader will be very much surprised: Schüler currently conducts
field and laboratory research in Germany and shows a familiarity with
modern theories, methods, and findings that would usually be attributed to
someone less concerned with history and philosophy. For example, in discuss-
ing and criticizing role playing as an alternative to the deception experiment,
Schüler cites over 60 relevant studies or commentaries on the role-playing
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XII Translator's Foreword
issue. As another example, in a section on the voluntary nature of participation
in psychological research, he introduces over 20 relevant studies or commen-
taries, in addition to detailing out seven ways to reduce the negative impact of
coercing individuals into research participation. The detail is in large part
social psychological; it is the social psychologists who will be most impressed by
Schuler's sensitivity to the multimethodologies of the field.
Does the author take sides? This is a simple question to answer. Schüler
makes a convincing case of having researched the ethical issues to their roots; he
makes an equally convincing case of having explored the methodological re-
quirements for making progress in a science of psychology. The recom-
mendations resulting from the juxtaposition of ethical and scientific require-
ments come across as fair minded; the reader will not sense that Schüler has
axes to grind or favorite paradigms to defend.
The translation of German to English necessarily proceeds along the lines of
simplification. Einverständniserklärung and Gesetzmässigkeiten become "consent"
and "laws," respectively, and a 98-word sentence constituting a paragraph of its
own is dissected into three English sentences. Quite a different problem arises
in the course of conveying the precise meaning of terms. For instance, the
adjective kontrollierbar is normally translated as "controllable," sometimes as
"checkable" or "verifiable." It could also be translated as "accessible to supervi-
sion or inspection or examination" or "open to audit." In one context in
Schuler's book, the word appeared to us to have both English senses of "con-
trollable" and "checkable," so we used two phrases to capture its flavor. Kon-
trollierbar calls attention to the subtle challenges associated with translating
cognates and borrowed words from German to English. Institution remains
"institution," and experimentelles becomes "experimental," but kontrollierbar is
not always "controllable," and translating Potential as "potential" can lead to
some awkward results.
The reader will find the text to be Americanized, at the very least. The
expense of doing this, of course, is that of occasionally leaving aside the color
and complexity that would only be possible in the original version.
We appreciate the assistance of Irwin C. Lieb with the translation of techni-
cal terms from the field of philosophy; of Peggy Beauvois, Francis Bulhof,
and Elizabeth Daverman with the translation of the French and Swiss codes of
ethics from the original French; and of Rebecca Woodruff in proofreading at
various stages of production. Most of all, we are grateful to Heinz Schuler for
working closely with us on the translation, reading our first draft, and patiently
clarifying numerous questions. Collaboration with the author is the ideal con-
text for translation.
ROBERT A. WICKLUND
MARGARET S. WOODRUFF
Preface
For scientists, there is a close tie between involvement in research and
readiness to consider the ethical problems connected with their professional
actions. Expressed as a correlation coefficient, this connection is high and
negative. The most industrious and successful of our colleagues show the least
interest in seeing and discussing their scientific work from the standpoint of its
ethical implications, and vice versa. To reduce the main concern of this book to
the briefest common denominator: It is supposed to help transform that nega-
tive correlation into a positive one.
Attempts to impose values involving ethical reflection or even particular
philosophical or moral positions are not likely to be effective with those who are
not prepared to discuss ethical issues. In fact, such attempts would probably
make such a transformation even less likely. This volume is no argument in
favor of a particular moral system. At points, however, it is impossible merely to
report; rather, it is necessary to argue in favor of some position. At such points, I
will try to base these judgments on a minimum of moral values about which
there seems to be a consensus and to build on the values and basic moral princi-
ples that are a common basis for everyday actions.
The following discussion is intended, then, to inform and to awaken interest
rather than to persuade. To be sure, the standpoint from which the information
is presented is seldom explicit. But the perspective can be identified, although
this is not to suggest that the reader is not at liberty to take other points of view.
This study would be a failure if it registered a dogmatic moral credo.
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XIV Preface
The information presented here focuses on the relationship between experi-
menter and subject within investigations in the biomédical and social sciences.
If this relationship is understood as a social contract, we can weigh benefits and
costs against each other for the partners in this interaction, to use the terminol-
ogy of exchange theory. For this purpose, we need only refer to the general
principles of social justice, fairness, and responsibility that govern our conduct
in society. Ethical imperatives needing more justification than these principles
are not necessary. Studies of the experimental situation, the social psychology
of the psychological experiment, can be used in such a way that the respon-
sibilities of the partners are based on an understanding of their motives and
expectations in the interaction. The result of this analysis is that the ex-
perimenters' responsibility for the welfare of their subjects is determined by the
extent of their potential control of subjects' behavior. The extent of this con-
trol, in turn, depends on certain characteristics of the topic of investigation, as
well as the extent of stimulus control and reaction control and the a priori
power differential between experimenter and subject.
In this context, the book discusses problems that can arise in concrete
research situations, including deception and manipulation as well as mental
and physical harm and danger for subjects. Possible safeguards and compensa-
tions are mentioned, such as voluntary participation, information and consent
before the experiment, and debriefing. Empirical studies of the consequences
of experimental procedures are presented; however, up to now these results
must not be credited with far-reaching validity.
The root of the problem faced by experimental psychologists is the special
nature of the object of the research—that is, the human subject. It is difficult to
infer regularities from the behavior of humans in complex everyday situations.
Moreover, human behavior is changed by the act of observation. Thus it seems
obvious that we must carry out experiments with strictly controlled conditions
and considerably reduced complexity. In addition, it seems necessary to design
experiments so that they are nontransparent for the subjects. On the other
hand—and here the conflict arises—the behavior of researchers in the bioméd-
ical and social sciences toward their subjects is evaluated by the same or similar
moral principles as any other behavior of human beings toward each other.
Thus the experiment is the principal research method that leads to a con-
frontation of methodological and ethical claims. The possibility of reducing
complexity and of giving the best possible assurance that causal conclusions are
valid encourages the use of research procedures that seem ethically problema-
tic.
It is for this reason that the following discussion emphasizes experimental
research, even though the title Ethical Problems in Psychological Research is
considerably more general. To be sure, several methodological alternatives to
experiments are examined, evaluated, and compared with the laboratory exper-
Preface XV
iment, including role playing and various kinds of field research. The results of
this comparison can be summarized briefly: Role playing cannot be a genuine
alternative to the laboratory experiment, but at most a supplement, for method-
ological as well as epistemological reasons. On the other hand, one of the field
research approaches mentioned here—social experimentation—is seen as a
promising, progressive extension of laboratory experimentation.
In another sense, also, the title is perhaps too general, in that the focus of the
book is on social psychology. This is in part because social psychology is the
author's field and in part because of the particular danger of reactivity in
social-psychological research and the consequent impact this problem has had
on research designs. Thus we could have spoken of ''ethical problems of re-
search in social psychology" or even limited the field to experimental social
psychology. On the other hand, the examples are by no means intended to
define the problem area. It is no less necessary to consider problems with
research procedures in psychopharmacology or in educational psychology, for
example, than in social psychology. The ethical considerations in this volume
should claim validity beyond the area of psychology, well into a large part of
biomédical and social sciences. What is analyzed here as the social contract
between experimenter and subject is basically the same in medicine or an-
thropology. The parameters that define this contract are abstract enough to
apply to any research with human subjects. Research studies can overlap and
blur the boundaries between the sciences, particularly in the case of interdis-
ciplinary projects. Moreover, the same questions are often investigated by vari-
ous disciplines, perhaps under different titles. In such cases, whether the
research is considered sociology, social psychiatry, or clinical psychology some-
times depends more on the profession of the project leader than on the nature of
the investigation.
The research codes, of which the most important are introduced in the
last chapter and appear in the Appendix, should also be understood as applying
to more than just the field of psychology. Some refer explicitly to research with
human subjects in general; they all have common roots in scientific history—that
is, the rules of the World Health Organization, which was established in the
aftermath of the Nuremberg trials.
The discussion of ethical problems assumes a consciousness of ethical stan-
dards and usually originates in observed violations of these standards or in
discontent with the standards, as an impulse to change them. In this sense,
there are additional problems that could be called ethical and that have at-
tracted more attention than the problems discussed here: How can psychology
benefit humanity? Is psychology worth the money that is invested in research?
Can basic research be justified? Can applied research be justified? Which is
superior, not in terms of economic efficiency but in terms of moral efficiency?
Do psychologists have a particular social responsibility, and if so, how should
XVI Preface
research goals be formulated and research projects be chosen in order to fulfill
it? None of these questions is raised or answered here. Nowhere are the
products or consequences of psychological research discussed, but only the
research process. One section does raise the question of which research proce-
dures can be justified by the expected consequences. This section also warns
against steering research too much toward the consequences, given the diffi-
culty of predicting them. It is hard to justify a cost-benefit analysis that
balances the contributions and stresses of the subjects with the presumed
usefulness of the research project. Thus, except for this line of argument, the
discussion is restricted to that for which the researcher is the main person
responsible: the research process. An altogether accurate title for this book,
then, would have to read something like this: 'On the relationship of ethical
and methodological demands in the empirical research process for the biomédi-
cal and social sciences, presented primarily with examples from experimental
social psychology."
Acknowledgments
Even though the present volume seemed like a hermit's work to someone
who is accustomed to empirical team research, I was still dependent on the
advice, support, and suggestions of others. Much of this work would have
progressed more slowly and less adequately without their help. I owe thanks to
many people and institutions for their support and consideration, particularly
the following.
A fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Science
Foundation) freed me from everyday obligations for a year. This made it possi-
ble for me to pursue a topic that I had previously investigated more as a hobby
than a bread-and-butter job. The same society supported the German publica-
tion of the present work. I am also very thankful to Bernhard Otto, of the Hogrefe
Verlag, for directing the initial publication of this project.
The staff at the information service PASAR (Psychological Abstract Search
and Retrieval System) helped me collect material on this subject and turned out
to be well informed in the related area of medicine as well. A number of
manuscripts that could not be obtained through publishers were sent to me by
cooperative colleagues, primarily from the United States.
Vera Bauder, Wolfgang Deibl, and Ingeborg Schnörch helped me with the
many tasks that are necessary from the search for relevant literature at the
beginning to the creation of indexes at the end. This contributed greatly to the
speed with which the book was completed. Ingeborg Schnörch also typed the
manuscript diligently and carefully, assisted by Ursula Brutscher.
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