Ethical considerations
IB Psychology· Research methodology· 11 min read
1. Core concept
Ethical considerations both protect participants and shape what research is possible. Core requirements for human studies include informed consent, the right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality, anonymity where appropriate, avoiding undue deception, and debriefing afterwards. They are not a formality: they rule some studies out, force others to be redesigned, and can limit how far a question can be investigated. Evaluating a study includes asking whether its ethics were adequate and whether ethical limits constrained its conclusions.
2. Key studies
IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:
Watson & Rayner (1920)
'Little Albert', a nine-month-old infant, was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise, and the fear generalised to similar objects. — A study whose ethics would now bar it — no meaningful consent from an infant, deliberate induction of fear (harm), and no deconditioning — showing how ethical standards constrain research.
3. Evaluation (AO3)
Strength — protects people and trust — Ethical safeguards protect participants from harm and maintain the public trust that makes future research possible.
Limitation — can limit knowledge — The most ethically constrained questions (deprivation, harm, deception) are sometimes the most informative, so ethics and knowledge can pull against each other.
4. Scope
5. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Confidentiality and anonymity are the same thing, and a 'debrief' is the briefing given before a study.
Why:
A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
Correct move:
Confidentiality = keeping identifiable data private; anonymity = collecting no identifying data at all — they are distinct. A debrief comes AFTER the study (explaining aims, offering withdrawal), not before, and cannot present final results that take time to analyse.
Going deeper
- Choosing the right methodethics is part of choosing a feasible method (RM_12).
- Types of research methodsome methods raise sharper ethical issues than others (RM_11).