nan Test Bank Chapter.11 Mixing And Comparing Methods

Chapter 3: Research Ethics

TEST BANK

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following comes closest to describing the purpose of an IRB? (3-6)
2. to determine if adequate safeguards for protection of subjects is in place
3. to determine if the proposed research is worthy of study
4. to turn violators of ethical principles over to the police
5. to make it difficult for any social science research to be completed

ANS [A]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO4]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. According to federal regulations, which of the following represents a special population for purposes of criminal justice research? (3-17)
   1. police officers
   2. children
   3. corrections officers
   4. judges

ANS [B]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research with Children

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Research that uses human subjects is: (3-5)
2. subject to international review board review
3. considered to be unethical
4. considered unreliable
5. subject to institutional review board review

ANS [D]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Belmont Report

[LO 4]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. When information is gathered by researchers and there are no identifying characteristics which would allow the researchers to match up results to individual subjects, this illustrates: (3-15)
2. confidentiality
3. the absence of deception
4. anonymity
5. assurance of voluntary participation

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Maintain Privacy and Confidentiality

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Of the following violations to general ethical rules, which is the most common and most acceptable, if properly addressed? (3-14)
2. Deception of the subjects
3. Harming the subjects
4. Breaking confidentiality
5. It is never acceptable to violate ethical rules

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Deception in Research, Except in Limited Circumstances

[LO 5]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Medium]

1. What famous prison simulation raised questions about the ethical treatment of subjects? (3-1)
2. Harvard University Jail Study
3. Milgram's obedience study
4. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Study
5. Humphreys Tearoom Trade

ANS [C]

LOC: What Do We Have in Mind?

TIP: Would You Pretend to Be a Prisoner?

[LO 2]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. The _________ Report (1979) from the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare established three basic ethical principles for the protection of human subjects. (3-5)
2. Milgram
3. Nuremberg
4. Belmont
5. Humphreys

ANS [C]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Belmont Report

[LO 3]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. After a research project is completed, a vital element in maintaining openness and honesty is that the information should be (3-8)
2. Kept in the researcher’s file because of concerns about harm to participants.
3. Open for review by the larger research community so that questions about aspects of the research be submitted for public discourse.
4. Kept secret because the researcher did all the work and shouldn’t be forced to allow others to plagiarize the work.
5. None of the above

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Honesty and Openness

[LO 5]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. The ACJS Code of Ethics stipulates that (3-6)
2. Research should expose participants to no more than minimal risk of harm.
3. Researchers should fully disclose the purposes of their research.
4. Confidentiality must be maintained for individual research participants unless it is voluntarily and explicitly waived
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. Milgram’s experimenters dealt with “harm” to participants through after the fact (3-11)
2. Tense emotional manipulation of individuals
3. Debriefing of participants
4. Friendships cultivated with participants
5. Avoidance

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Harming Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Consent may only be given by a person who is (3-11)
2. Competent to consent
3. Fully informed about the research
4. Able to comprehend what they have been told
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 5]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Medium]

1. When a subject is misled about research procedures in an effort to determine how they would react to the treatment if they were not in a research study, this has occurred (3-14)
   • 1. Participation
     2. Honesty
     3. Deception
     4. None of the above

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Deception in Research, Except in Limited Circumstances

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Milgram was concerned about the phenomenon of obedience because of its implications for (3-16)
2. His reputation
3. Explaining past atrocities
4. People’s welfare
5. All of the above

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 1]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Zimbardo was concerned about the phenomenon of (3-16)
2. Abusive spouses
3. Police conflict
4. Situational influence on behavior
5. Uses of science

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 2]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Sherman and Berk’s research on police response to domestic violence was (3-16)
2. Exploratory research
3. Explanatory research
4. Descriptive research
5. Evaluation research

ANS [D]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 5]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Hard]

1. There are special protections for certain segments of the population including (3-17)
2. Children
3. Wives
4. Prisoners
5. Both A and C

ANS [D]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research with Children

[LO 6]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Easy]

1. Before research may be conducted on children, what must happen? (3-17)
2. Written parental consent must be given
3. Oral parental consent must be given
4. Assent by the child involved must be given
5. None of the above

ANS [A]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research with Children

[LO 6]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. “Individuals involuntarily confined or detained in a penal institution” includes individuals who are (3-19)
2. sentenced to such institution under criminal statute
3. detained in other facilities by virtue of commitment procedures as an alternative to criminal prosecution or incarceration
4. detained pending arraignment, trial or sentencing
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research With Prisoners

[LO 4]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Easy]

1. Results of research regarding child sexuality indicated that (3-20)
2. Adult males were more likely to engage in sexual conversation
3. Face-to-face meetings were more likely suggested for impersonators 16 or older
4. Almost half of the adult males stopped the conversation after they learned the impersonator was 10 or 12
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Case Studies: Sexual Solicitation of Adolescents and Milgram Revisited

[LO 6]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. In the 2006 replication of the Milgram obedience experiment, obedience rates (3-20)
2. Were the same as in the original experiment
3. Were much higher than in the original experiment
4. Were much lower than in the original experiment
5. Were slightly lower than in the original experiment

ANS [D]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Case Studies: Sexual Solicitation of Adolescents and Milgram Revisited

[LO 1]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Medium]

1. Between 1946 and 1948, the United States conducted studies to determine the efficacy of drugs such as penicillin to treat and prevent syphilis. This research was conducted in (3-20)
2. China
3. Russia
4. Guatemala
5. Mexico

ANS [C]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Syphilis Experiments in Guatemala

[LO 2]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. Zimbardo devised his experiment to that the situation would seem very realistic to participants and yet allow (3-7)
2. Careful measurement of important variables
3. Careful observation of behavior at all times
4. Interviews with participants as the research proceeded
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Achieving Valid Results

[LO 2]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. The scientific concern with ________ requires that scientists openly disclose their methods. (3-8)
2. Reliability
3. Validity
4. Observation
5. None of the above

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Achieving Valid Results

[LO 5]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Medium]

1. The authors of your text argue that a commitment to achieving valid results is necessary because (3-7)
2. Researchers approach their research subjectively.
3. Without out it researchers cannot show reliability in research which is vital.
4. Without it we cannot represent our actions as contributing to the advancement of knowledge.
5. All of the above

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Achieving Valid Results

[LO 5]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Easy]

1. Zimbardo’s devised his Stanford prison experiment so that (3-7)
2. It would show the effects of being a prison guard around the world realistically
3. Very similar to a college dorm experience and therefore not groundbreaking at all
4. It would seem realistic to the participants and yet allow careful measurement of variables
5. None of the above

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Achieving Valid Results

[LO 2]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. The scientific concern with validity requires that (3-8)
2. The political distortion doesn’t find particular outcomes or most marketable results
3. Scientists openly disclose their methods
4. The honest presentation of findings by scientists occurs
5. Both B and C

ANS [D]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Honesty and Openness

[LO 5]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. When the researcher informs subjects after an experiment about his/her purposes and methods, and evaluates subjects’ personal reactions to the experiment is known as (3-9)
2. Reaction statements
3. Debriefing
4. Experiential check-in
5. None of the above

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 5]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Easy]

1. Milgram believed that (3-9)
2. The obedience experiments he conducted would only apply with regard to WWII
3. His controversial experiments on obedience were entirely ethical
4. Most of his work showing obedience applied only to higher-ups in a situation, but not to those of lower status
5. His obedience experiments were very straightforward

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Difficult]

1. Baumrind (1985) dismissed Milgram’s findings in the obedience experiments because (3-10)
2. Of the value of the self-reported “lack of harm” of subjects who had been willing participants in the experiment
3. The research indicated that most students who have participated in a deception experiment report a decreased level of trust in authorities
4. Both A and B are true
5. None of the above

ANS [C]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Harming Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Hard]

1. Obtaining informed consent may create challenges for the researcher, such as (3-11)
2. The language of the consent form must be clear and understandable
3. The person must be competent to consent
4. The person must comprehend what they have been told
5. All of the above

ANS [D]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Obtain Informed Consent

[LO 5]

COG [Synthesis]

DIF [Hard]

TRUE/FALSE

1. Ethical considerations in criminal justice research are always apparent. (3-6)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 4]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Medium]

1. Social research may cause psychological harm or embarrassment in people who are asked to reveal information about themselves. (3-10)
   • 1. TRUE
     2. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Harming Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Application]

DIF [Hard]

1. In order to conduct research involving human subjects a university must send research through an institutional review board (IRB). (3-6)

A) TRUE

B) FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Belmont Report Principles

[LO 4]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Deceptions of human subjects is never appropriate. (3-14)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Avoid Deception in Research, Except in Limited Circumstances

[LO 5]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Hard]

1. Formal procedures regarding the protection of research participants emerged only after the revelation of several very questionable and damaging research practices exposed during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. (3-4)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO 2]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Federal regulations established in 1991 that are based on the principles of the Belmont Report. (3-5)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Belmont Report

[LO 3]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) and the American Society of Criminology (ASC), like most professional social science organizations, have adopted ethical guidelines for practicing criminologists. (3-6)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO 3]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Research relying on children and prisoners usually require a full review by an institutional review board (IRB). (3-17)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research with Children

[LO 6]

COG [Application]

DIF [Easy]

1. A few IRBs have allowed both Milgram’s obedience experiment and Zimbardo’s prison experiment to be replicated. (3-16)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 1]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. In the updated replication of Milgram’s obedience experiment, participants were told at two times that they could withdraw from the study at any time. (3-20)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Case Studies: Sexual Solicitation of Adolescents and Milgram Revisited

[LO 1]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Hard]

1. Informed consent for a child can be given by an adult friend if the parent is unavailable. (3-14)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [B]

LOC: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

TIP: Research with Children

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. In the Milgram study, experimental researchers withheld information before the experiment began but debriefed subjects at the end of the experiment. (3-9)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Comprehension]

DIF [Easy]

1. The process and even possibility of obtaining informed consent must take into account the capacity of prospective participants to give informed consent. (3-14)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Obtaining Informed Consent

[LO 5]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Hard]

1. Deception occurs when subjects are misled about research procedures in order to make sure they answer the way the researchers want them to answer. (3-14)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [B]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. Milgram argued that his findings shed light on conduct during the Vietnam War, slavery, the destruction of the American Indian population, as well as the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII. (3-16)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 1]

COG [Application]

DIF [Medium]

1. Consent may only be given by people who are competent to give consent. (3-11)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Obtain Informed Consent

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. The Belmont Report established four basic ethical principles for the protection of human subjects. (3-5)

A) TRUE

B) FALSE

ANS [B]

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO 3]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Research ethics encourages us to understand rather than to judge it from a moral standpoint. (3-16)

A) TRUE

B) FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Experimental researchers whose research designs require some sort of deception should debrief subjects at the end. (3-14)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Achieving Valid Results

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. The researcher’s commitment to maintaining privacy and confidentiality does not apply to observations in public places. (3-15)
2. TRUE
3. FALSE

ANS [A]

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

ESSAY

1. Choose any one of the research studies from the text’s discussion on ethics, and 1) describe the research, and 2) briefly discuss the ethical issues involved.

A simulated prison was established somewhere in the vicinity of Palo Alto, Stanford, to study a number of problems of psychological and sociological relevance. Paid volunteers were randomly assigned to play the roles of either prisoners and guards [sic] for the duration of the study. This time period will vary somewhat from about five days to two weeks for any one volunteer—depending upon several factors, such as the “sentence” for the prisoner or the work effectiveness of the guards. Payment will be $80 a day for performing various activities and work associated with the operation of our prison. Each volunteer must enter a contractual arrangement with the principal investigator (Dr. P. G. Zimbardo) agreeing to participate for the full duration of the study. It is obviously essential that no prisoner can leave once jailed, except through established procedures. In addition, guards must report for their 8-hour work shifts promptly and regularly since surveillance by the guards will be around-the-clock—three work shifts will be rotated or guards will be assigned a regular shift—day, evening, or early morning. Failure to fulfil this contract will result in a partial loss of salary accumulated—according to a prearranged schedule to be agreed upon. Food and accommodations for the prisoners will be provided which will meet minimal standard nutrition, health, and sanitation requirements. A warden and several prison staff will be housed in adjacent cell blocks, meals and bedding also provided for them. Medical and psychiatric facilities will be accessible should any of the participants desire or require such services. All participants will agree to having their behavior observed and to be interviewed and perhaps also taking psychological tests. Films of parts of the study will be taken, participants agreeing to allow them to be shown, assuming their content has information of scientific value.

By the fifth day of the actual Stanford Prison Experiment, five student prisoners had to be released due to evident extreme stress (Zimbardo, 2008)

Guards became abusive (surprisingly so, even to themselves). And prisoners became passive (again, surprisingly so, even to themselves).

LOC: Would You Pretend to be a Prisoner?

TIP: Prison Life Study: General Information

[LO 2]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Describe the design of the Milgram obedience experiments and some of the controversies surrounding its methods and results. (3-9)

Milgram recruited community members to participate in his experiment at Yale University. His research was prompted by the ability of Germany’s Nazi regime of the 1930s and 1940s to enlist the participation of ordinary citizens in unconscionable acts of terror and genocide. Milgram set out to identify through laboratory experiments the conditions under which ordinary citizens will be obedient to authority figures’ instructions to inflict pain on others. He operationalized this obedience by asking subjects to deliver electric shocks (fake, of course) to students supposedly learning a memory task.

The experimental procedure had four simple steps: (1) A series of word pairs were read by the research subject, such as blue box, nice day, wild duck, and so on. (2) One of the first words from those pairs and a set of four words, one of which contained the original paired word were then read. For example, “blue: sky ink box lamp” might be read. (3) The “pretend” learner stated the word that he though was paired with the first word read (“blue”). If he gave a correct response, he was complimented and the game continues. If he made a mistake, a switch was flipped on the console. The research subject assumed that this caused the learner to feel a shock on his wrist. (4) After each mistake, the next switch was flipped on the console, progressing from left to right. There was a label corresponding to every fifth mark on the dial, with the first mark labeled slight shock, the fifth mark labeled moderate shock, the tenth strong shock, and so on through very strong shock, intense shock, extreme intensity shock, and danger: severe shock. Subjects were told to increase the shocks over time and many did so, even after the supposed “students,” behind a partition, began to cry out in (simulated) pain (Exhibit 3.5). The participants became very tense and some resisted as the shocks increased to the (supposedly) lethal range, but many still complied with the authority in that situation and increased the shocks. Like Zimbardo, Milgram debriefed participants afterward and followed up later to check on their well-being. It seemed that none had suffered long-term harm.

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Identify three other research projects that helped to motivate the establishment of human subjects’ protections. (3-19)

Tuskegee Syphilis experiment

Pillavin and Pillavin

Sherman and Berk

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

[LO 2]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Hard]

1. Define the Belmont Report’s three ethical standards for the protection of human subjects. (3-5)

Belmont Report (from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) established three basic ethical principles for the protection of human subjects (Exhibit 3.4):

• Respect for persons: Treating persons as autonomous agents and protecting those with diminished autonomy
• Beneficence: Minimizing possible harms and maximizing benefits
• Justice: Distributing benefits and risks of research fairly

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Historical Background

[LO 3]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. Explain how an institutional review board (IRB) operates and how it classifies research.

LOC: Historical Background

TIP: Office of Human Subjects Research, National Institutes of Health

[LO 4]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Hard]

1. List current standards for the protection of human subjects in research.

• Research should expose participants to no more than minimal risk of personal harm. (#16)
• Researchers should fully disclose the purposes of their research. (#13)
• Participation in research should be voluntary and, therefore, subjects must give their informed consent to participate in the research. (#16)
• Confidentiality must be maintained for individual research participants unless it is voluntarily and explicitly waived. (#14, #18, #19)

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Medium]

1. Describe the ethical issues related to conducting research with children and prisoners. (3-

Research with Children: By regulatory definition, any person under 18 years old is considered to be a child and, as such, has not attained the legal age for consent to treatments and procedures involved in research. Generally, IRBs analyze the same considerations as they would for other research participants, including whether the research benefits gained are worth the risks involved. The issue of informed consent, however, must be handled differently as children cannot legal provide their own consent to participate in a study. To conduct research on children, active parental consent usually is required before the child can be approached directly about the research. In active consent, parents or guardians of a child being asked to participate in a study must sign a consent form. As you might imagine, adding this requirement to a research project can dramatically reduce participation because many parents simply do not bother to respond to mailed consent forms. For example, Sloboda and colleagues (2009) used an active consent procedure for gaining parental consent along with student assent: Parents and students both had to sign forms before the student could participate. The result was that only 58% of the 34,000 eligible seventh-grade students were enrolled in the study.

When Tricia Leakey and her colleagues (2004) were conducting research on a smoking prevention effort for middle school students, they were creative in getting parental consent forms returned. When the project began in the seventh grade, the researchers gave students project information and a consent card to take home to their parents. A pizza party was then held in every class where at least 90% of the students returned a signed consent card. In subsequent follow-ups in the eighth grade, a reminder letter was sent to parents whose children had previously participated. Classes with high participation rates also received a candy thank you. As you can see in Exhibit 3.9, the result was a very high rate of participation.

IRBs sometimes allow the use of a passive consent procedure—students can participate as long as their parents do not return a form indicating their lack of consent—which can result in much higher rates of participation. In fact, based on Article 12 of the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), which acknowledged that children are people who have a right to be heard, there has been an increased push for children to have their voices heard in research. Janis Carroll-Lind and her colleagues (2011) in New Zealand attempted just that when they surveyed children aged 9 to 13 years about their experiences with violence. They utilized a passive consent procedure that facilitated the right of children to report on their experiences of violence. To defend their use of this method, they stated,

The Ethics Committee carefully weighed and gave credence to the issue of children’s rights to protection and acknowledged and confirmed Article 12 of the UNCROC that grants children the right to speak on matters that concern them. Active consent could have compromised both of these rights. The view was held that protecting the rights of children was more important than parental rights to privacy regarding abuse in the home. (p. 7)

Research With Prisoners: Because individuals under the supervision of a correctional system are under constraints that could affect their ability to voluntarily consent to participate in research, there are also special protections for these populations. The U.S. DHHS has imposed strict limits on the involvement of prisoners as research subjects unless the research is material to their lives as prisoners. The term prisoner as defined by DHHS (Kiefer, 2015, p. 2) is as follows:

A prisoner means any individual involuntarily confined or detained in a penal institution. The term is intended to encompass individuals sentenced to such an institution under criminal or civil statue, individuals detained in other facilities by virtue of statues or commitment procedures which provide alternatives to criminal prosecution or incarceration in a penal institution, and individuals detained pending arraignment, trial, or sentencing.

Included are those in hospitals or alcohol and drug treatment facilities under court order. Individuals in work-release programs and in at-home detention programs also qualify as prisoners. The definition applies to minors as well as to adults.

Although regulations restrict participation of prisoners to research that is material to their lives, this actually includes a great deal of research. For example, they can participate in research examining many issues including but not limited to the following: the possible causes, effects, and processes of incarceration and of criminal behavior; research on conditions particularly affecting prisoners as a class, such as research on diseases such as hepatitis and substance abuse; and all research that has the intent of improving their health and well-being.

Voluntary consent is an important issue with research involving prisoners. IRBs ensure that the decision to take part in research can have no effect on an inmate’s future treatment and/or parole decision. The use of incentives for prisoners is also judged differently compared to incentives for the general population. For example, while a $10 incentive to participate may not seem like a lot to someone not in prison, the maximum wage in many state prisons is only $1 per day, so a $10 incentive is a great deal indeed! In research one of the authors just completed on examining the factors related to desistance from substance abuse and crime, former inmates who were not currently under correctional supervision were given $100 to travel to the research office for a three-hour interview and those who were still in prison were provided $20 in their prison spending accounts (Bachman, Kerrison, O’Connell, & Paternoster, 2013). The IRB in this case deemed that the $100 would serve to unduly influence inmates to participate in the study, since it was comparable to five months’ pay in prison.

In sum, both research involving children and prisoners represent special cases for IRBs to consider when evaluating the benefits and potential harms of a study. Typically, when proposals come before IRBs that involve these special populations, there are special representatives in place who ensure their rights are protected.

LOC: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

TIP: Research Involving Special Populations: Children and Prisoners

[LO 6]

COG [Synthesis]

DIF [Hard]

1. Describe the Zimbardo experiment. Do you agree with Zimbardo’s assumption that the effects of being a prisoner or guard could fruitfully be studied in a mock prison with pretend prisoners? Do you find merit in the criticisms?

First, you are asked to complete a long questionnaire about your family background, physical and mental health history, and prior criminal involvement. Next, you are interviewed by someone, and then, you finally sign a consent form. A few days later, you are informed that you and 20 other young men have been selected to participate in the experiment. You return to the university to complete a battery of “psychological tests” and are told you will be picked up for the study the next day (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973, p. 73).

The next morning, you hear a siren just before a squad car stops in front of your house. A police officer charges you with assault and battery, warns you of your constitutional rights, searches and handcuffs you, and drives you off to the police station. After fingerprinting and a short stay in a detention cell, you are blindfolded and driven to the “Stanford County Prison.” Upon arrival, your blindfold is removed and you are stripped naked, skin-searched, deloused, and issued a uniform (a loosely fitting smock with an ID number printed on it), bedding, soap, and a towel. You don’t recognize anyone, but you notice that the other “prisoners” and the “guards” are college age, apparently almost all middle-class white men (except for one Asian) like you (Haney et al., 1973; Zimbardo, 1973).

The prison warden welcomes you:

As you probably know, I’m your warden. All of you have shown that you are unable to function outside in the real world for one reason or another—that somehow you lack the responsibility of good citizens of this great country. We of this prison, your correctional staff, are going to help you learn what your responsibilities as citizens of this country are. . . . If you follow all of these rules and keep your hands clean, repent for your misdeeds and show a proper attitude of penitence, you and I will get along just fine. (Zimbardo, 2008)

Among other behavioral restrictions, the rules stipulate that prisoners must remain silent during rest periods, during meals, and after lights out. They must address each other only by their assigned ID numbers, they are to address guards as “Mr. Correctional Officer,” and everyone is warned that punishment will follow any rule violation (Zimbardo, 1973).

You look around and can tell that you are in the basement of a building. You are led down a corridor to a small cell (6 x 9 feet) with three cots, where you are locked behind a steel-barred black door with two other prisoners (Exhibit 3.1). Located across the hall, there is a small solitary confinement room (2 x 2 x 7 feet) for those who misbehave. There is little privacy, since you realize that the uniformed guards, behind the mirrored lenses of their sunglasses, can always observe the prisoners. After you go to sleep, you are awakened by a whistle summoning you and the others for a roll call periodically through the night.

The next morning, you and the other eight prisoners must stand in line outside your cells and recite the rules until you remember all 17 of them. Prisoners must chant, “It’s a wonderful day, Mr. Correctional Officer.” Two prisoners who get out of line are put in the solitary confinement unit. After a bit, the prisoners in Cell 1 decide to resist: They barricade their cell door and call on the prisoners in other cells to join in their resistance. The guards respond by pulling the beds out from the other cells and spraying several of the inmates with a fire extinguisher. The guards succeed in enforcing control and become more authoritarian, while the prisoners become increasingly docile. Punishments are regularly meted out for infractions of rules and sometimes for seemingly no reason at all; punishments include doing push-ups, being stripped naked, having legs chained, and being repeatedly wakened during the night. If this were you, would you join in the resistance? How would you react to this deprivation of your liberty by these authoritarian guards? How would you respond, given that you signed a consent form allowing you to be subjected to this kind of treatment?

By the fifth day of the actual Stanford Prison Experiment, five student prisoners had to be released due to evident extreme stress (Zimbardo, 2008). On the sixth day, Philip Zimbardo terminated the experiment. A prisoner subsequently reported,

The way we were made to degrade ourselves really brought us down and that’s why we all sat docile towards the end of the experiment. (Haney et al., 1973, p. 88)

One guard later recounted his experience:

I was surprised at myself. . . . I made them call each other names and clean the toilets out with their bare hands. I practically considered the prisoners cattle, and I kept thinking: “I have to watch out for them in case they try something.” (Zimbardo, 2008)

Exhibit 3.2 gives some idea of the difference in how the prisoners and guards behaved. What is most striking about this result is that all the guards and prisoners had been screened before the study began to ensure that they were physically and mentally healthy. The roles of guard and prisoner had been assigned randomly, by the toss of a coin, so the two groups were very similar when the study began. Something about the situation appears to have led to the deterioration of the prisoners’ mental states and the different behavior of the guards. Being a guard or a prisoner, with rules and physical arrangements reinforcing distinctive roles, changed their behavior.

LOC: Would You Pretend to be a Prisoner?

TIP: Prison Life Study: General Information

[LO 2]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Medium]

1. Philip Zimbardo (2008) himself decided that his Stanford Prison Experiment was unethical because it violated the first two of the principles outlined by the ACJS Code of Ethics. What were they? (3-8)

• Research should expose participants to no more than minimal risk of personal harm. (#16)
• Researchers should fully disclose the purposes of their research. (#13)

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 5]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. .What was Milgram’s obedience research prompted by? Describe the research. Do you agree with his conclusion that the experiment was entirely ethical? Why or why not?

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. One of the issues with Milgram’s research was that it appeared to participants that they were harming another (the learner) by delivering an electric shock. Do you agree that participants were harmed – psychologically or physically? Should participants be allowed to feel NO anxiety or distress as a result of a study, or does that undermine the purpose of the research? (3-9)

As we discuss how the ACJS Code of Ethics standards apply to Milgram’s experiments, you will begin to realize that there is no simple answer to the question “What is (or isn’t) ethical research practice?” The issues are just too complicated and the relevant principles too subject to different interpretations. But we do promise that by the end of this chapter, you will be aware of the major issues in research ethics and be able to make informed, defensible decisions about the ethical conduct of social science research.

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 1]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Medium]

1. What does it mean to have “informed consent”? What challenges may a researcher face with this issue?

Obtaining informed consent creates additional challenges for researchers. The language of the consent form must be clear and understandable to the research participants yet sufficiently long and detailed to explain what will actually happen in the research.

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Obtain Informed Consent

[LO 5]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Medium]

1. What are the two exceptions to the constraints on maintaining privacy and confidentiality of research participants? (3-15)

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Maintain Privacy and Confidentiality

[LO 5]

COG [Knowledge]

DIF [Easy]

1. Do you agree with Zimbardo’s conclusion that his experiment was not ethical? Why or why not? Should it have been prevented from happening in the first place? (3-8)

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Protecting Research Participants

[LO 5]

COG [Evaluation]

DIF [Medium]

1. Milgram argued that his research on obedience has implications for people’s welfare. He cites examples regarding atrocities committed under the US government throughout American history, including those committed at My Lai during the Vietnam War, slavery, the destruction of the American Indian population and the internment of Japanese during WWII. Explain what he meant by this, and how convincing was his argument?

LOC: Ethical Principles

TIP: Consider Uses of Research So That Benefits Outweigh Risks

[LO 5]

COG [Analysis]

DIF [Hard]