Developmental psychology.pdf

22 Background and Methods
'Sitting in a room full of adults,
the conversation was spinning
about me. I was quite detached
until a familiar topic arose—Uncle
Charlie, my favorite uncle.
Everyone seemed to agree with
Uncle Tom when he said Charlie
was very dishonest. When I
inquired why he thought this was
true about Uncle Charlie, he
groaned as if explaining to an
x
eight-year-old was a great difficulty.
He finally said, "Well, Charlie never
looks anyone straight in the eye, so
there can't be much honesty in
him."
After this important information
was given to me, I set out to see
just who was honest and who
wasn't. My older brother was
definitely looking in my eyes while
he talked, but when I turned my
back he cheated at cards. My
grandmother hardly ever looked at
my eyes unless she was sitting,
perhaps because her back hurt to
bend over. I concluded that most of
my friends at school were
dishonest, even my teacher. The
most hurting thing was to discover
that Tiny, my dog, was dishonest. I
explained this misfortune to my
mother and she set me
straight. . . .
Problem of Research Ethics Confronting the men with the news items and
appointing them to the Flora and Fauna Commission raises an ethical question that
has been implicit throughout this research. To what extent do these tactics, including
the special living arrangements and rotating chairmanship, constitute infringements
of patients' rights? Is it ethical to alter the lives of Clyde, Joseph, and Leon in these
untested ways? These issues undoubtedly have been in your mind, and various
psychologists have questioned them. Prominent attention to such matters also has
appeared in the ethical guidelines for research, published by the American Psychological
Association (АРА, 1974).
Such questions, of course, are not unique to psychology—they occur in all
disciplines. For some people the entire field of nuclear physics is an ethical issue. In
biology animals are confined to cages and subjected to surgery solely for research purposes.
Ethical principles arise in legal research over the issue of clients' rights. Even
research in educational intervention involves ethical considerations, for the intervention
procedure imposes the researchers' values on the subjects.
The basic ethical question in such instances seems to be this: Does any possible
discomfort that all subjects incur in this research collectively outweigh the potential
gain in alleviation of human problems? This question at times is exceedingly difficult
to answer, but for many investigators it represents the crux of the problem. The three
Christs had been delusional for years, and it was anticipated that through this research
there was relatively little to lose and much to gain. Also, the results might be applied
to others. Earlier, these same investigators had abandoned a proposed study of identity
in children on these grounds. It appeared that the children, still forming their identities,
might experience significant adjustment problems.
The ethical issue also can be considered from the opposite viewpoint. Not to
do certain research may leave millions of human beings to cope unaided with difficult
physical, psychological, and social problems (Seligman, 1975).
For these reasons an interdisciplinary ethics committee from the sponsoring
institution now must evaluate all psychological research, following established guidelines.
The goal is to permit continuation of the most useful and productive research
without endangering the subjects or other persons in any way. The ideal solution, however,
and one toward which many psychologists are working, is the development of
research techniques that rely upon the subject's normal behavior and naturally occurring
events rather than upon contrived situations and misleading information (Kelman,
1967; Huntingford, 1984).
Problem of Fraud Similarly, all practicing psychologists also must demonstrate a
certain degree of competence, usually by obtaining a license, certification, or the
sponsorship of an accredited institution. The reason for this precaution is clear.
Unqualified people sometimes take advantage of a gullible public by promoting
themselves as "psychologists," studying a person's head, date of birth, handwriting, or
some other characteristic, and then, in accordance with their own particular theories,
telling the person how to solve his problems, whom to marry, or what he should plan
for his future (Figure 1.15).*
Such practices are considerably more common than one might expect. A graduate
student in psychology, under the guidance of a professor of clinical psychology,
visited 14 persons in New York City who listed themselves in the telephone directory
as qualified to render psychological services. Posing a. series of realistic symptoms, this
student had 23 consultations with 14 alleged psychologists, and it was discovered that
more than half were frauds or charlatans. Six had good intentions, but they were unqualified.
Only one member .of this random sample appeared fully qualified to give
currently available psychological treatment, and he was the only one who did not guarantee
a quick cure (Kursh, 1964).