Describe the four issues addressed by the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The four issues that are addressed by the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines are: informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, and deception. Informed consent: All participants must know what their participation will involve and what risks might develop. Participants also should be informed that in some instances a discussion of the issues might improve their relationships but that in others it might worsen the relationships and possibly end them. Even after informed consent is given, participants must retain the right to withdraw from the study at any time and for any reason. Confidentiality: Researchers are responsible for keeping all of the data they gather on individuals completely confidential and, when possible, completely anonymous. Confidential data are not the same as anonymous. When data are confidential, it is possible to link a participant's identity to his or her data. Debriefing: After the study has been completed, the researchers should inform the participants of its purpose and the methods they used. In most cases, the experimenters also can inform participants in a general manner beforehand about the purpose of the research without leading the participants to behave in a way that they think that the experimenters are expecting. Deception: This is an ethical issue that psychologists debate extensively. In some circumstances, telling the participants beforehand what the research study is about substantially alters the participants' behavior and invalidates the researcher's data. In all cases of deception, however, the psychologist must ensure that the deception will not harm the participants and that the participants will be told the true nature of the study (will be debriefed) as soon as possible after the study is completed.