Colorado Christian University Ethical Violations Discussion
For the following scenario, think about the ethical ramifications of such research. What are the ethical violations, if any? How does the design of the study impact the possible results as well as impact the ethics code? Is there a right or wrong answer to this scenario?
Scenario:
The participants were informed correctly regarding the basic procedures that would be used, but they were misinformed about the purpose of the experiment. They were told the experiment was designed to test the speed of the visual system. Actually, the experimenter was interested in testing long-term memory. The participants were not told the real purpose because the investigator was afraid this knowledge would influence their performance. The experimenter reasoned that a participant who would participate for the stated reason would also participate for the real reason? Is this procedure acceptable?