Ethics in psychological research: WACE Year 12 Psychology
“Ethical guidelines and practices for psychological research: the role of ethics committee approval and monitoring of conduct; protection from harm (physical and psychological), informed consent, withdrawal rights, deception, confidentiality, privacy, voluntary participation and debriefing; use of animals in research (replacement, reduction, refinement)”
All psychological research must be approved and monitored by an ethics committee. With human participants you must apply eight guidelines: protection from harm (physical and psychological), informed consent, withdrawal rights, deception (only when justified), confidentiality, privacy, voluntary participation and debriefing. Research with animals follows the three Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement.
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What this dot point is asking
Ethics sits in the Science inquiry strand of both Unit 3 and Unit 4, so it can appear anywhere in the exam. Typical questions ask you to identify which guideline applies in a described study, explain why it matters, evaluate a designated study against modern guidelines, or suggest how a study could be made ethical.
The role of ethics committees
Before any research begins, the proposal must be approved by an ethics committee (in Australia, a Human Research Ethics Committee guided by the National Health and Medical Research Council's National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research; animal research is reviewed by an Animal Ethics Committee). The committee:
- weighs the potential benefits of the research against the risks to participants;
- checks that consent, confidentiality and the other guidelines are in place;
- can require changes, or refuse approval;
- monitors the conduct of the research while it runs, not just at the start.
Ethical guidelines for human participants
| Guideline | What it means | Example in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Protection from harm | Participants must not be exposed to physical or psychological harm beyond that of everyday life | Stopping a stress task if a participant becomes distressed |
| Informed consent | Participants agree to take part after being told the purpose, procedures and risks; a parent or guardian consents for people under 18 | A signed consent form after reading an information sheet |
| Withdrawal rights | Participants can leave at any time, and withdraw their data, without penalty | Telling participants they can stop and have their results destroyed |
| Deception | Misleading participants about the aim is used only when necessary, low risk and approved | A cover story about "reaction times" |
| Confidentiality | Personal information and results are kept secure and not linked to names in reports | Using participant codes instead of names |
| Privacy | Participants' personal lives are not intruded on and they control what information is collected | Not observing people where they expect to be private |
| Voluntary participation | Participation is free from pressure or coercion | A teacher does not require students to join and does not offer marks for joining |
| Debriefing | At the end, participants are told the true aim, any deception is explained, and support is offered | A debrief sheet with contact details for counselling |
Informed consent happens before the study; debriefing happens after it. When deception is used, full informed consent is not possible, which is exactly why debriefing becomes essential.
Research with animals: the three Rs
- Replacement: use methods that avoid animals where possible (computer models, cell cultures, human volunteers).
- Reduction: use the minimum number of animals needed to get valid results.
- Refinement: change procedures, housing and care to minimise pain and distress.
Applying the guidelines to the designated studies
The Unit 3 and Unit 4 designated studies are useful for ethics questions.
- Watson and Rayner (1920): deliberately caused fear in an infant (protection from harm); the fear was never removed and there was no effective debriefing; consent came only from the mother and the risks were not documented.
- Pavlov (1902) and Skinner (1948): involved surgery on dogs and food deprivation of pigeons, so the three Rs apply.
- Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961): exposed young children to aggressive models and deliberately frustrated them, raising protection from harm.
- He et al. (2020): a modern study where ethics approval was obtained from an ethics committee and written informed consent was collected from participants.
A school stress study
A Year 12 student wants to survey classmates about stress before exams.
- Approval and monitoring: in a school the plan is checked and approved by the teacher before it starts, and supervised while the survey runs; in professional research this is the ethics committee's job.
- Informed consent: an information sheet explains the purpose and what participants will do; students under 18 also need parent or guardian consent.
- Voluntary participation: no marks, rewards or pressure for taking part.
- Withdrawal rights: participants can skip questions or withdraw their answers.
- Confidentiality and privacy: surveys are anonymous and only ask what is needed.
- Protection from harm: questions avoid personal mental health details, and a list of support services is provided.
- Debriefing: participants receive a summary of the aim and the results.
Marker's note: name the guideline, then say exactly what the researcher would do.
- Saying a study was "unethical" without naming a guideline
- Marks come from the specific guideline and the evidence for it.
- Confusing confidentiality and privacy
- Confidentiality protects the information you collect; privacy protects people from having information collected in the first place.
- Forgetting animal ethics
- Replacement, reduction and refinement are in the syllabus and apply to Pavlov and Skinner.
- Treating deception as never allowed
- It is allowed when justified, low risk, approved and followed by debriefing.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of SCSA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
Original6 marksA researcher tells participants that a study is about 'reaction times' when it is really about how a confederate's rudeness affects mood. Identify the ethical guideline involved, explain when it can be acceptable, and describe what must happen at the end of the study.Show worked answer →
A 6 mark response needs the guideline (1 mark), the conditions under which it is acceptable (3 marks) and the required follow-up (2 marks).
- Guideline
- Deception: participants are misled about the true aim of the study.
- When it can be acceptable
- Only when knowing the true aim would change participants' behaviour and make the results invalid (demand characteristics), when there is no other way to answer the question, when the risk of harm is low, and when an ethics committee has approved it.
- At the end
- Participants must be debriefed: told the true aim and why deception was necessary, given the chance to ask questions, checked for any distress and offered support, and reminded they may withdraw their data.
Original6 marksExplain how the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement would apply to a new study replicating Pavlov's (1902) research with dogs.Show worked answer →
Two marks for each principle, explained and applied.
- Replacement
- Use non-animal methods, or humans who can consent, wherever possible. For example, classical conditioning of a simple response such as an eye blink could be studied in human volunteers instead of dogs.
- Reduction
- If animals must be used, use the smallest number needed for valid results, for example by careful design and statistical planning rather than testing many dogs.
- Refinement
- Minimise pain and distress, for example by measuring salivation without surgery, keeping sessions short and ensuring housing, handling and care meet welfare standards.
Practise this
Sources & how we know this
- Psychology ATAR course Year 12 syllabus (effective from 1 January 2024) — School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA)
- Psychology ATAR course: syllabus and support materials — SCSA
- Past ATAR course examinations — SCSA