Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The recent concern about ethical issues in research with human subjects has fostered an interest in learning more through empirical methods. The present study provides information from potential participants regarding (1) their perception of the likelihood of physical or emotional harm from various experimental procedures and (2) their willingness to participate in experiments using such procedures. Responses were obtained from 1,586 students in introductory psychology classes and were analyzed on the basis of the respondents' age, sex, class standing, and academic major. Besides providing normative data from a typical subject pool, the present study suggests a method of using a research questionnaire as a way of minimizing the chances of offending individual subjects.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association. Ethical principles in the conduct of research with human participants. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Assn, 1973.

Farr

J. L.

Seaver

W. B.

Stress and discomfort in psychological research: Subject perceptions of experimental procedures. American Psychologist, 1975, 30, 770–773.

Graves

The effects of communication induced sexual arousal on investigation to aggression in a free choice paradigm. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of Toledo, 1976.

Mannucci

Potential subjects view psychology experiments: An ethical inquiry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, City Univer. of New York, 1977.

Milgram

Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1963, 67, 371–378.

Mitchell

Kaul

Pepinsky

The limited role of psychology in the role-playing controversy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1977, 3, 514–518.

Schlenker

Forsyth

On the ethics of psychological research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1977, 13, 369–396.

Schultz

The human subject in psychological research. Psychological Bulletin, 1969, 72, 214–228.

Simmons

D. D.

Client attitudes toward release of confidential information without consent. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1968, 24, 364–365.

10.

Sullivan

Dieker

T. E.

Subject-experimenter perceptions of ethical issues in human research. American Psychologist, 1973, 28, 587–591.

11.

West

Gunn

Some issues of ethics and social psychology. American Psychologist, 1978, 33, 30–38.

Participants' Perceptions of Ethical Issues in Research with Humans

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References