Ethical controversies

Ethical controversies

1. Milgram’s obedience study

   • Investigate what happens when the demands of authority clash with demands of conscience
     • Accusation by critics
       • Milgram’s experiment stressed the participants against their will participants’ self-esteem are affected
     • Defense by Milgram
       • controversy was “terribly overblown” No harm done to participant

2. Zimbardo’s prison experiment

3. Ethics & research participants

   • Origins of research participant protection; Physical harm; Psychological abuse, stress; loss of self-esteem; Legal harm; Other harm to participants
     • Deception; Principle of voluntary consent; Informed consent; Covert observation
     • Special populations & coercion & Creating new inequalities
       • Privacy, anonymity & confidentiality; Participants’ info as private property; Mandated protections of research participants