HSP3M – Ethics in Psychology

HSP3M Grade 11 Anthropology – Ethics in Psychology Ethical Issues in Psychology Unethical Experiments David Reimer ● at 8 months, Bruce Reimer had his circumcision and it went wrong— his penis was destroyed ● John Money recommended that his parents raise him as a female named “Brenda” ○ Money failed to inform the mother that there was no evidence to support his belief that gender was a product of socialization. ● after years of feeling “wrong” Brenda discovered the truth ● Brenda began living as David ● David Reimer faced deep psychological issues (and depression), eventually committing suicide Issues in Unethical Testing Studying the Unsuitable—Genie ● Genie was a 12 year old isolate ● Since she began learning and speaking languages at such a late age due to isolation, parental negligence, and being kept in a room, many psychologists were interested in studying her learning and language acquisition abilities. ● while she stayed in the hospital, her psychologist became her surrogate parent ● a year later, she moved in with her teacher Jean Butler, who kept Genie away from the other members studying Genie ● when Genie began to hoard items in her room, she was moved again to live with her new foster parents of her therapist David Rigler and teacher Marilyn Rigler (they were married) ● all of her foster parents cared for Genie, but they also studied her and hoped to gain recognition for their results ○ possible conflict of interest when those who studied her also took care of her Should We Change People Based on Psychological Beliefs? ● Psychology study provides a lot of knowledge about human behavior, which can affect policy and how people regard one another. ● historically, decisions were made without enough evidence to support them—they were based on beliefs rather than evidence Left Is Not Right ● for centuries, left-handedness was considered strange and something to be discouraged ● people believed left was associated with evil ● teachers would tie children’s left arms and force them to become right handed (popular in 1900s) Homosexuality ● in 1950s and 1960s, normal meant being heterosexual (not homosexual) ● In those days, gays were considered deviants, weak, and vulnerable to influences like communism, a threat to national security, immorality, and weakness. ● in 1948, Alfred Kinsey conducted the largest study on sexuality—he concluded that sexuality couldn’t be defined as gay or straight ○ believed that sexuality was a continuum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual; in the middle were things like predominantly heterosexual, incidentally homosexual, equally homo and hetero ● the medical community thought homosexuality to be a psychiatric disorder ○ it was defined as a mental illness until 1973 ○ believed to be caused by an event in childhood or by domineering mothers and weak fathers ● in 1961, Canadian military hired Robert Wake to create a test that would distinguish whether a person was gay or straight ○ Wake hooked participants to a machine that monitored pupil dilation, perspiration and other physiological signs as he said words and showed pictures related to homosexuality ○ his machine wasn’t successful—made it to only the pilot part ○ social damage occurred as a result—soldiers knew they had to keep sexuality a secret or else they might lose job, friends, and family ○ between 1959 and 1968, a committee of RCMP officers and representatives of National Defence, External Affairs, and Privy Council investigated 9000 men and women in civil service suspected of being gay—many were fired because of orientation ■ today, dismissal for reasons of sexuality is illegal Advertisements for Kids ● everything we see in an advertisement is carefully planned—they’re meant to stick in your head ● advertisement industry is targeting children (research shows children as young as 2 can develop brand loyalty) ● Employing psychologists as consultants helps advertisers achieve their objectives. The psychologists provide guidance on child development and insight into social and emotional requirements, allowing them to build advertising that successfully target youngsters. ○ ethics: are psychologists behaving ethically? ● even though many ads are geared towards kids, there are very specific standards in the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children ○ it states advertisers aren’t allowed to do certain things (use subliminal messaging or encourage children to purchase a product, or ask their parents to purchase a product) ○ they allow companies to make children buy things using creative strategies like “pester power”—have kids nag their parents to buy products