Ethical Guidelines in Psychology

Psychological research involves studying human behaviour, which means researchers have a responsibility to protect the welfare and dignity of their participants. The British Psychological Society (BPS) publishes a Code of Ethics and Conduct that all psychologists in the UK must follow.

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Why Are Ethics Important?

• Participants in research are real people who can be harmed physically, psychologically, or emotionally
• Without ethical guidelines, researchers might cause distress, invade privacy, or exploit vulnerable individuals
• Ethical research maintains public trust in psychology as a discipline
• Historical examples of unethical research (e.g. Milgram's obedience study) led to the development of stricter guidelines

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The BPS Code of Ethics: Key Principles

1. Informed Consent

Participants must be given sufficient information about the study to make an informed decision about whether to take part. They must agree to participate voluntarily, without pressure or coercion.

• Participants should know: the purpose of the study, what they will be asked to do, any potential risks, and their right to withdraw
• For children under 16, consent must also be obtained from a parent or guardian
• Special considerations apply for participants who cannot give informed consent (e.g. people with cognitive impairments)

2. Deception

Researchers should not mislead participants about the nature of the study. However, some studies require an element of deception to avoid demand characteristics.

• Deception is only acceptable if the study cannot be carried out without it and the deception is unlikely to cause distress
• If deception is used, participants must be debriefed afterwards (told the true nature of the study)
• Participants must be given the opportunity to withdraw their data after being debriefed

3. Right to Withdraw

Participants must be informed that they have the right to leave the study at any time, without giving a reason, and without any negative consequences.

• They should also be able to withdraw their data after the study is complete
• This can be challenging in studies where payment or course credit is offered — participants should not feel pressured to stay

4. Protection from Harm

Participants should not be exposed to any greater risk of physical or psychological harm than they would encounter in their everyday lives.

• This includes physical pain, emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, and stress
• If unexpected harm occurs during a study, the researcher must stop the study immediately
• Researchers have a duty to detect and address any negative effects

5. Confidentiality

Participants' personal information and data must be kept confidential and not shared without their permission.

• Data should be stored securely and participants should not be identifiable in published reports
• Exception: if a participant reveals information about illegal activity or imminent harm to themselves or others, confidentiality may need to be broken

6. Privacy

Researchers should respect participants' privacy. People should not be observed or studied in situations where they would not expect to be observed.

• Observing behaviour in public places is generally acceptable because people expect to be seen
• Observing private behaviour without consent is not acceptable

flowchart TD
    A[BPS Code of Ethics] --> B[Informed consent]
    A --> C[Deception]
    A --> D[Right to withdraw]
    A --> E[Protection from harm]
    A --> F[Confidentiality]
    A --> G[Privacy]
    B --> B1[Voluntary agreement]
    B --> B2[Parental consent if under 16]
    C --> C1[Only if unavoidable]
    C --> C2[Debrief afterwards]
    D --> D1[Leave at any time]
    D --> D2[Withdraw data later]
    E --> E1[No greater risk than daily life]
    F --> F1[Anonymous data storage]
    G --> G1[Public vs private settings]

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The Role of Ethics Committees

Before any research is conducted, the study must be approved by an ethics committee (also called an Institutional Review Board or IRB). The ethics committee:

• Reviews the proposed study for potential ethical issues
• Ensures that participants will be adequately protected
• May require changes to the study design before granting approval
• Can refuse to approve studies that pose unacceptable ethical risks

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Applying Ethics to Key Studies

Study	Ethical Issue	How It Was Addressed (or Not)
Milgram (1963)	Deception, protection from harm (extreme distress)	Debriefed participants afterwards; but many experienced lasting distress
Asch (1951)	Deception (participants did not know the confederates were acting)	Debriefed after the study
Loftus and Palmer (1974)	Mild deception (different question wordings)	Low risk; debriefed
Piliavin et al. (1969)	No informed consent (participants were unsuspecting subway passengers)	Difficult to obtain consent in a field experiment

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Ethical Dilemmas

Sometimes ethical principles conflict with each other or with the aims of the research:

• Deception vs informed consent — some studies require deception to work, but deception prevents fully informed consent
• Right to withdraw vs natural behaviour — if participants know they can withdraw, they may not behave naturally
• Protection from harm vs valuable findings — some of the most important studies in psychology (e.g. Milgram) caused significant distress

Exam Tip: When evaluating a study ethically, identify the specific ethical principle involved (e.g. informed consent, protection from harm), explain how it was or was not followed, and discuss whether the potential harm was justified by the value of the findings.

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Key Points

• The BPS Code of Ethics protects participants in psychological research.
• Key principles: informed consent, deception, right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality, privacy.
• Ethics committees review studies before they are conducted.
• Ethical dilemmas arise when principles conflict with research aims.
• Many classic studies (Milgram, Asch) would face ethical scrutiny today.

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Why Ethics Goes Beyond Rules

Ethics in psychology is not just a checklist of rules to tick off. It is a way of thinking about the responsibility researchers have towards the people who take part in their studies. Every participant is a real person whose wellbeing, time and trust matter — and treating them well is both a moral obligation and a practical necessity. A study that damages participants loses public trust, discourages future participation and may prevent important research from being funded.

Modern ethical practice therefore goes beyond the written guidelines. It includes thinking carefully about the purpose of the research, the potential impact on participants' lives, and what the researcher would do if a participant became distressed or wished to withdraw. Experienced psychologists anticipate ethical issues in advance and build safeguards into the design, rather than reacting to problems as they arise.

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The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Ethics