Social Sensitivity in Psychological Research (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

Ethical implications of research studies & theory

• Researchers must be mindful of the impact their research has on the participants involved in the research at the time of the research taking place, and when the research is published

• Researchers face some dilemmas when conducting research, e.g.,

  • How much do they tell their participants (to satisfy the ethical guideline of informed consent) and how much do they conceal to ensure their findings are valid?

  • To what extent can participants be put under stressful conditions without it becoming physically or psychologically harmful?

• The British Psychological Society (BPS) and American Psychological Association (APA) oversee psychological research and ensure that both participants and researchers are protected by ethical guidelines

• Once research has been published there is very little that can be done by researchers in terms of how the media will interpret and present the findings of that research, e.g.,

  • A research study may find that people born with a specific gene lack the ability to control their anger

    • This in turn may be reported by the media as 'X gene means you're a psychopath!'

  • A theory may be suggested which claims that schizophrenia can follow after PTSD

    • This theory may then lead to war veterans, survivors of abuse and others with PTSD being discriminated against - their symptoms of PTSD may be viewed as 'evidence' of schizophrenia developing

• Researchers must then, be mindful of the impact of their published findings and be careful when it comes to how their findings might be interpreted

Social sensitivity

• Socially sensitive research deals with topics that, if handled badly by the researcher, could have negative consequences for the groups involved due to how the findings could be interpreted or even manipulated by external sources such as the media, e.g.,

  • research into drug addiction in a population of homeless people

  • research into the stereotyping of women aged 18-25

  • research into the experience of refugees who have entered a country seeking asylum

• Research into 'hot topics' such as criminality, addiction, sexual preference, gender and race tend to be particularly prone to media scrutiny (both mass media such as TV news and social media platforms)

• When conducting socially sensitive research, researchers must exercise reflexivity 

  • This involves the researcher examining their assumptions, beliefs, and prejudices about the topic they are investigating

  • Researchers must consider carefully how these could influence them and be critical about the choices they make before, during and after the research process

Evaluation of socially sensitive research

Strengths

• Minority or underrepresented social groups can be given the ‘spotlight’

  • A higher profile allows perspectives, attitudes and experiences that are not those of the dominant group to be heard

  • This is a strength, as it widens the social and cultural landscape and highlights the richness of human experience on a broader scale

• Socially sensitive research can help to highlight inadequacies in the care of vulnerable people, e.g.,

  • Rosenhan’s (1973) study on the de-humanising treatment of patients in mental hospitals in the USA led to a review of how such institutions were run and their potential for labelling people according to their illness

Limitations

• Some socially sensitive studies have been conducted in ways which are far from ethical and have in turn led to the perpetuation of bias and discrimination, e.g.,

  • Burt (1955) invented data that led to the implementation of the 11+ examinations in the UK

  • The results of this exam segregated children according to their IQ, which could act as a self-fulfilling prophecy

• Researchers who conduct socially sensitive research must take care not to exploit their participants, particularly if those participants are vulnerable, e.g.,

  • Griffiths' (1994) study into gambling addiction used regular gamblers who were asked to play on slot machines, which could reinforce their need to gamble

  • This is a limitation as it pushes the boundaries of what is ethical in research

Implications for the research process

• Socially sensitive research can be difficult for researchers to negotiate and manage but this does not mean that it should be avoided

• Many socially sensitive research topics may bring with them hugely beneficial consequences, e.g.,

  • Challenging stereotypes, preconceived ideas and prejudice

  • Policy changes and additional funding for underrepresented groups

  • Refuting ‘scientific justifications’ which have been determined based on discrimination

    • e.g., Murray & Herrnstein's (1994) book 'The Bell Curve,' which pushed what was thought to be a racist agenda under the guise of research into IQ

• Socially sensitive research can encourage the public to develop a greater understanding of minority groups

• Socially sensitive research has in the past been used as ‘scientific justification’ for discriminatory practices, e.g. ,

  • the USA in the 1920s and 30s offered voluntary sterilisation programmes to those who were labelled as ‘unfit to breed’

    • These groups included disabled people, those with mental illness and drug addicts

    • The programme was based on fraudulent research and fake findings

    • Thus, socially sensitive research can and has been used for malicious and unscrupulous motives