Question 1

One goal when conducting research is nonmaleficence. This is an ethical objective to:

Accepted Answer

Nonmaleficence means to do no harm. Therefore, the ethical objective of nonmaleficence when conducting research is to minimize or eliminate risks to study participants. Thus, choice A is the correct answer. Choice B goes against the principle of nonmaleficence, while choices C and D are related to other ethical objectives such as justice and autonomy.

Question 2

Which study as the most obvious beneficence?

Accepted Answer

The health psychology study aimed at minimizing the risk of cancer has the most obvious beneficence because it directly benefits the participants by potentially reducing their chances of developing cancer. The other studies may have indirect benefits, but they do not have as clear and immediate benefits as the health psychology study.

Question 3

After collecting the data for her thesis project, Rae places the master list of participants' names in a locked filing cabinet separate from where she keeps her data. Rae stores her information in this way to maintain:

Accepted Answer

Rae storing the master list of participants' names in a locked filing cabinet separate from where she keeps her data ensures that their identities are kept confidential. This is an important ethical consideration in research, as participants have the right to privacy and protection of their personal information.

Question 4

What is beneficence?

Accepted Answer

Beneficence is the ethical principle that requires researchers to maximize benefits and minimize harm to research participants. It is based on the obligation to improve the well-being of others as much as possible.

Question 5

Jasper has proposed a study in which best friends are led to believe that there are hurt feelings and unspoken animosity in the relationship. If you were evaluating his study for adherence to the ethical principle of beneficence, which would you be most concerned about?

Accepted Answer

The ethical principle of beneficence emphasizes the need to ensure the well-being of research participants. In this study, there is a risk of psychological harm to the participants if they are led to believe that there are hurt feelings and animosity in their friendship. This could potentially cause emotional distress or strain on the relationship between the best friends. Therefore, the most significant concern in terms of the principle of beneficence would be psychological harm.

Question 6

Which of the following includes distress, concern, and lowered self-esteem?

Accepted Answer

Distress, concern, and lowered self-esteem are all characteristics of psychological harm. Physical harm (A) involves bodily injury, while legal harm (B) is related to legal consequences such as fines or imprisonment. Economic harm (D) refers to financial losses.

Question 7

Which of the following caused the most physical harm to participants?

Accepted Answer

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study caused the most physical harm as it involved withholding treatment from African American men with syphilis, leading to severe health consequences and deaths.

Question 8

Anonymity is:

Accepted Answer

Anonymity refers to the guarantee that individual responses cannot be linked to individual participants. This is achieved by creating a situation where no identifying information is collected or where identifiers are removed from the data collected. This helps to protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants and can encourage more honest and open responses.

Question 9

Each of the following is a benefit that counts toward the cost-benefit analysis, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

The personal gain of the researcher is not considered a benefit that counts toward the cost-benefit analysis because it does not directly benefit the participants or society.

Question 10

When conducting a cost-benefit analysis, each of the following is a potential cost that must be considered, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Beneficence is not a cost, but rather a consideration of the potential benefits to be gained from the analysis. The other options listed are all potential costs that must be taken into account.

Question 11

During the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, researchers never told the participants they had syphilis, nor did they treat any participants for their illness. In this example, the researchers ignored the cost of:

Accepted Answer

The researchers ignored the cost of physical harm by not treating the participants for syphilis, which led to severe health consequences.

Question 12

Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study, in which participants acting as guards began to abuse other participants who were role-playing as prisoners, could not be replicated today, because it caused too much:

Accepted Answer

Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study caused both physical and psychological harm to the participants, with some prisoners experiencing extreme emotional distress and some guards engaging in abusive behavior. Therefore, choice C best describes the type of harm that was caused by the study. While the study was conducted in a different time period, it is unlikely that it would be approved by an ethics committee today due to the potential harm that could result from such a study.

Question 13

Imagine that you are a participant in a research study. Which of the following would you have the right to expect?

Accepted Answer

Confidentiality is the right to have your personal information kept private.

Question 14

The greatest ethical cost of Milgram's classical work on obedience, in which participants were erroneously led to believe they were delivering harmful shocks to the confederate, is that it caused _____ to the participant.

Accepted Answer

Milgram's work caused psychological harm to the participants as they were led to believe that they were delivering harmful shocks to another person, which could cause feelings of guilt, anxiety, and stress.

Question 15

Nabil is examining whether taking the medicine, Lactaid, will make people more tolerant of lactose in dairy products. In order to do this, he assigns the participants in the control condition to eat dairy, knowing that they will not receive medication to help their digestive systems handle the lactose. In this case, which of the following should be of greatest concern to Nabil?

Accepted Answer

The greatest concern should be physical harm to the participants in the control condition, as they are being asked to consume dairy products without medication even though they may be lactose intolerant, leading to discomfort or digestive issues. It is important for Nabil to monitor the participants closely and ensure that their health and safety are not compromised during the study. While other concerns such as psychological harm or economic harm should also be monitored, they are of lesser importance in this particular case. Legal harm may be a concern if Nabil fails to obtain informed consent or violates any ethical guidelines.

Question 16

If a research question requires the researcher to induce stress in participants:

Accepted Answer

Ethical research requires that participants be returned to the same or better physical and psychological state. Therefore, inducing stress must be done with care and precautions should be taken to ensure that participants are not harmed or left with residual stress after the study.

Question 17

Which of the following is the hardest to recognize, given the personal and emotional nature of the impact?

Accepted Answer

Psychological harm is the hardest to recognize, given that its impact is personal and emotional, which may not be visible or measurable like physical, legal, or economic harm. It may manifest in various ways, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, making it challenging to identify and address. Moreover, individuals affected by psychological harm may struggle to communicate their experiences, further complicating recognition and response efforts.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the principles outlined in the Belmont Report?

Accepted Answer

The Belmont Report outlines three principles: beneficence, respect, and justice. Integrity is not one of the principles outlined in the report.

Question 19

Researchers can assure _____, but cannot guarantee _____.

Accepted Answer

Anonymity refers to not revealing the identity of research participants, while confidentiality refers to protecting the privacy of the information participants share with researchers. While researchers can assure anonymity and confidentiality to the best of their ability, they cannot guarantee anonymity as there is always a potential risk of identification, but they can guarantee confidentiality by taking measures to protect the privacy of participants' information. Therefore, the correct choice is C, confidentiality is the only term that can be guaranteed by researchers.

Question 20

Which of the following ethical principles is the most central to the utilitarian perspective of ethical understanding?

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory which states that the moral worth of an action is determined by its ability to maximize happiness or pleasure and minimize pain or suffering. The most central ethical principle to the utilitarian perspective is beneficence, which refers to the obligation to act in a way that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It emphasizes the importance of producing outcomes that benefit people and enhance their well-being. While other ethical principles such as integrity, respect and justice are also important, they are not as central to the utilitarian perspective as beneficence.

Quiz 3: Ethics: Making Ethical Decisions in Research