Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis

1. Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis Alli Cales and Sara Nur

2. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research • What is acceptable? Balancing what we want to find out with respect for the rights of the participant.

3. Examples of Ethics theory • What will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach) • What best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach) • Which treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach) • What best serves the community as a whole, not just some members? (The Common Good Approach) • What leads me to act as the sort of person I want to be? (The Virtue Approach)

4. The utilitarian approach • Focuses on the consequences that actions or policies have on the well-being ("utility") of all persons directly or indirectly affected by the action or policy. • The principle states: "Of any two actions, the more ethical one will produce the greatest balance of benefits over harms."

5. The rights approach • Each human being has dignity and is worthy of respect. Human dignity gives rise to fundamental moral rights. • Rights are legitimate claims persons have on others and our society. There are two kinds: the first protects human freedom and imposes on others the duty not to interfere with that freedom (e.g., the right to free speech); the second entitles a person to what is necessary for a minimum level of well-being (e.g., the right to food) and imposes on others the duty to sustain that well being. • The principle states: "An action or policy is ethical if it protects or advances moral rights."

6. The justice Approach • Focuses on how fairly or unfairly our actions distribute benefits and burdens among the members of a group. Benefits and burdens may be distributed based on what a person needs, deserves, contributes, etc., or may be distributed equally to all. • The principle states: "In distributing benefits and burdens, treat people the same unless there are morally relevant differences between them."

7. The common good approach • Presents a vision of society as a community whose members are joined in the shared pursuit of values and goals they hold in common. • This community is comprised of individuals whose own good is inextricably bound to the good of the whole. • The principle states: "What is ethical is what advances the common good."

8. The virtue approach • Focuses on attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop our human potential. Examples: compassion, honesty, courage, faithfulness, trustworthiness, integrity, etc. • The principle states: "What is ethical is what develops moral virtues." http://www.ee.scu.edu/eefac/healy/approach.html

9. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research • Informed consent • Use of deception • Protection from harm • The right to withdraw • Confidentiality • Privacy • Debriefing Source: Daniel Hansson, IB Psychology Website, http://mrhansson.weebly.com/biological-level-of-analysis.html

10. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Informed Consent • Required in all studies and research using human participants. The consent to participate should clearly outline the purpose of the study and what the information gathered will be used for.

11. Yellow fever experimentation Dr. Walter Reed 1900 • Dr. Reed experimented on 22 Spanish immigrant workers to verify that yellow fever can develop from mosquito bites. He introduces the practice of using healthy test subjects, and also the concept of a written contract to confirm informed consent of these subjects. While doing this study, Dr. Reed clearly tells the subjects that, though he will do everything he can to help them, they may die as a result of the experiment. He pays them $100 in gold for their participation, and an extra $100 if they contract yellow fever.

12. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Protection From Harm • Harms resulting from participating in research may be physical, social, psychological, emotional, financial or legal. • Ethics Review Boards are a good resource for conducting safe research.

13. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research The Right to Withdraw • An ethical research study includes a ‘right to withdraw’ clause; this protects the participant that may experience some harm from the study. Participants may feel the need to leave but stay with study out of guilt, causing more harm.

14. vesicovaginal fistula Dr J Marion Sims 1845 - 1849 • Dr. J Marion Sims also known as the “Father of Gynecology” conducted experiments on enslaved women. He attempted to fix vesicovaginal fistulas and did so without using anesthesia. One girl underwent 30 surgeries before for he was a able to close the holes in her bladder and rectum.

15. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Use of Deception • Deception may be used but should be stated in the informed consent; example: in a drug study, participant will be informed that they are getting either a specific drug or a placebo. • Deception should not cause harm or build mistrust of good research.

16. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Confidentiality • Confidentiality must be maintained; misused or unprotected information may result in harm to the participant. Example: may affect people’s ability to get jobs or insurance. • In human subjects, use anonymous information instead of actual names.

17. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Privacy • Do not acknowledge that a person is participating in a particular study. • Observation of a participant should only be done within the study environment as listed in the informed consent (example, no data collected at a random public meeting). • Privacy often confused with confidentiality.

18. Biological level of analysis: Ethical considerations in research Debriefing • Evaluate if participant is harmed in anyway by the research. • Care needs to be taken into the use and interpretation of research findings. Did the participant perceive some deception within the study that altered their response or behavior?

19. Cancer cell experimentation Cornelius Rhoads 1931 • Cornelius Rhoads, a pathologist from the infected human test subjects in Puerto Rico with cancer cells; 13 of them die. A Puerto Rican doctor later discovers that Rhoads purposely covered up some of details of his experiment and Rhoads himself gives a written testimony stating he believes that all Puerto Ricans should be killed.

20. Case studies Dr. Harry Harlow is most well-known for the experiments he conducted on rhesus monkeys concerning social isolation. Dr. Harlow took infant rhesus monkeys who had already bonded with their mothers and placed them in a stainless steel vertical chamber device alone with no contact in order to sever those bonds. They were kept in the chambers for up to one year. Many of these monkeys came out of the chamber psychotic, and many did not recover. Dr. Harlow concluded that even a happy, normal childhood was no defense against depression, while science writer Deborah Blum called these, “common sense results.” A woman in Florida is expecting baby number 3. She appears at a public health department for prenatal care and agrees to participate in a study for drug use and pregnancy. She confesses that she has an addiction to cocaine. She also answers yes to one of the questions asking if she would accept rehabilitative services if they were available. The information is passed on to the local authorities, her existing children are turned over to the state, and her in uteri child is taken upon birth and placed in foster care while the mother is forced into treatment so she can get her children back. Would this study ever be done on humans? Was it unethical research even for animals? Should this woman be punished for her honest participation in the study?