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Problematic Experiments

You may have heard of many psychological experiments that are quite shocking to you. For example, the Milgram’s Obedience Experiment where participants were tricked to think that they are conducting electrical shocks to an innocent person. As you could imagine, the study has caused a lot of psychological distress to the participant during the experiment and could have long-lasting effect on their mental health.

It is important that we protect our participants’s rights and follow ethical standards when we conduct psychological studies.

Video 3.7.1. video demonstrating Milgram’s experiment

Institutional Review Board

The Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) was founded to review and approve all research projects that are conducted at universities, hospitals, and other institutions (each broad discipline or field, such as psychology or social work, often has its own code of ethics that must also be followed, regardless of institutional affiliation). An IRB is typically a panel of experts who read and evaluate proposals for research. IRB members want to ensure that the proposed research will be carried out ethically. For example, are the participants’ privacy protected and can we maintain confidentiality of the data? Is the participation of the study voluntary?  IRB members also want to ensure that the potential benefits of the research outweigh the risks and potential harm (psychological as well as physical harm) for participants.

What you may not know though, is that the IRB considers some groups of participants to be more vulnerable or at-risk than others. Whereas university students are generally not viewed as vulnerable or at-risk, infants and young children commonly fall into this category. What makes infants and young children more vulnerable during research than young adults? One reason infants and young children are perceived as being at increased risk is due to their limited cognitive capabilities, which makes them unable to state their willingness to participate in research or tell researchers when they would like to drop out of a study. For these reasons, infants and young children require special accommodations as they participate in the research process. Similar issues and accommodations would apply to adults who are deemed to be of limited cognitive capabilities.

When thinking about special accommodations in developmental research, consider the informed consent process. If you have ever participated in scientific research, you may know through your own experience that adults commonly sign an informed consent statement (a contract stating that they agree to participate in research) after learning about a study. As part of this process, participants are informed of the procedures to be used in the research, along with any expected risks or benefits.

Infants and young children cannot verbally indicate their willingness to participate, much less understand the balance of potential risks and benefits. As such, researchers are oftentimes required to obtain written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian of the child participant, an adult who is almost always present as the study is conducted. In fact, children are not asked to indicate whether they would like to be involved in a study at all (a process known as assent) until they are approximately seven years old.  Because infants and young children cannot easily indicate if they would like to discontinue their participation in a study, researchers must be sensitive to changes in the state of the participant (determining whether a child is too tired or upset to continue) as well as to parent desires (in some cases, parents might want to discontinue their involvement in the research). Even for older children, for them to participate in a research study, both the child and their parent or legal guardian must provide consent—typically, the parent gives informed consent, while the child provides assent, indicating their willingness to participate.As in adult studies, researchers must always strive to protect the rights and well-being of the minor participants and their parents when conducting developmental research.

Video 3.7.2. How IRBs Protect Human Research Participants explains the purpose of IRBs in assuring the health and safety of participants in research.