The assignment (2 pages):
· Choose two of the four studies below. For each of them explain: (1) whether or not you think the research is ethical from the APA standpoint; (2) how the research may have violated principles of APA ethical behavior; (3) what alternative research methods might have been used if you think APA ethical principles were violated.
o A researcher was studying initial interactions between people. While two students were supposedly waiting for an experiment to begin, the researcher covertly videotaped their actions and conversation. The researcher then told them about the research and gave them the opportunity to have the tape erased.
o A researcher worked for a time on the production line of a large manufacturing plant. His status as a researcher was unknown to his co-workers. It was not until he was about to leave that he revealed his purpose and identity to others.
o To study what types of people are most likely to give money to a stranger, people on city streets were asked for money by an individual who said he had just lost his wallet. No one was ever told that he or she was part of a research project.
o To study the effects of alcohol on decision making, a graduate student interviewed college students after they had left a campus bar. With a portable Breathalyzer, he registered their blood alcohol level. Although some of them were found to be intoxicated beyond the legal state limits, and many of them were going to be driving home, he did not inform them of their blood alcohol levels.
