5 Controversial Psychology Experiments That Would Never Happen Today

SciShow
11 Sept 201610:55
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThis SciShow episode delves into the ethical evolution of psychological research. It outlines the Belmont Report's three key principles—respect for persons, beneficence, and justice—crucial for protecting human subjects. The video highlights historically controversial experiments, such as Watson's conditioning of 'Little Albert', the 'Monster Study', Milgram's obedience study, the Bystander Effect, and the Stanford Prison Experiment, illustrating the dark past that led to today's stringent ethical standards in science.

Takeaways
  • 🧠 The study of the human mind is complex and fraught with ethical considerations, especially when it comes to conducting experiments on human subjects.
  • 📜 The Belmont Report from the 1970s established three key ethical principles for human research: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
  • 🙅‍♂️ Informed consent is crucial; participants must understand the risks and benefits of an experiment before participating.
  • 🚫 Beneficence emphasizes the researcher's responsibility to avoid causing harm to participants.
  • 🤝 Justice ensures that the burdens and benefits of research are distributed fairly and that no group is exploited.
  • 🐁 The infamous 'Little Albert' experiment by John Watson demonstrated classical conditioning in humans but raised significant ethical concerns.
  • 🗣️ The 'Monster Study' conducted by Wendell Johnson and Mary Tudor showed the negative impact of negative feedback on children's self-esteem and speech.
  • 👨‍🏫 Stanley Milgram's obedience study revealed that people often obey authority even when it conflicts with their personal morals, but at the cost of participants' mental well-being.
  • 👥 The Bystander Effect, studied by John Darley and Bibb Latané, showed that individuals are less likely to act in a crisis when they believe others can intervene.
  • 🏫 The Stanford Prison Experiment by Philip Zimbardo demonstrated the rapid adoption of roles by participants, leading to abusive behavior, and was ended early due to ethical concerns.
  • 🛑 Ethical standards in psychology have evolved significantly, with a focus on protecting participants and ensuring the responsible conduct of research.
Q & A

  • What are the three key ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report?

    -The three key ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report are respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

  • What does 'respect for persons' mean in the context of the Belmont Report?

    -Respect for persons in the Belmont Report means that subjects must give informed consent, understanding the risks and benefits of the experiment before participating.

  • What is the principle of beneficence in human research?

    -Beneficence is the principle that researchers should not have any negative impact on the wellbeing of the participants and should adhere to the 'do no harm' rule.

  • What does the principle of justice in research entail?

    -The principle of justice ensures that subjects are not exploited and that the burdens and benefits of the study are distributed fairly among participants.

  • What was the ethical issue with John Watson's experiment involving Little Albert?

    -The ethical issues with Watson's experiment included the lack of informed consent, the failure to decondition Albert, and the permanent negative effects on Albert due to the experiment.

  • What was the purpose of Wendell Johnson and Mary Tudor's 'Monster Study'?

    -The purpose of the 'Monster Study' was to investigate how positive and negative feedback affected the way children learned language and their speech development.

  • What were the negative consequences of the feedback given to children in the 'Monster Study'?

    -The negative feedback led to decreased self-esteem, increased withdrawal, self-consciousness, and frustration in the children, regardless of whether they had a stutter.

  • What was the main finding of Stanley Milgram's obedience study?

    -Milgram's study found that 65% of subjects obeyed authority figures and administered maximum voltage shocks because they were told to do so, even in morally questionable circumstances.

  • What is the Bystander Effect, as demonstrated in John Darley and Bibb Latané's study?

    -The Bystander Effect is the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to take action in an emergency situation when there are more people present, assuming someone else will intervene.

  • What ethical concerns were raised by the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo?

    -The ethical concerns raised included the lack of impartiality by Zimbardo, the severe abuse of power by the 'guards,' and the potential for causing real, permanent harm to the subjects.

  • How has the history of questionable psychological experiments contributed to modern research?

    -The history of questionable experiments has led to the establishment of ethical standards, such as those outlined in the Belmont Report, to protect the public and research subjects in modern studies.

Outlines
00:00
🔬 Ethical Evolution in Psychological Research

This paragraph delves into the complexities of studying the human mind and the ethical considerations that have evolved over time. It highlights the Belmont Report from the 1970s, which established three key principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, to guide human research. The narrative also touches on historical experiments, such as John Watson's study on classical conditioning with baby Albert, which raised ethical concerns due to the lack of informed consent and potential long-term effects on the subject. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of ethical standards in protecting both the subjects and the integrity of psychological research.

05:02
🤔 The Dark Side of Psychological Experiments

This paragraph recounts several controversial psychological experiments that raised ethical red flags. It starts with the Milgram Experiment, which tested obedience to authority at the cost of subjects' moral discomfort. The paragraph then discusses the 'Monster Study' by Wendell Johnson and Mary Tudor, which impacted children's self-esteem through negative feedback, and the bystander effect experiment by John Darley and Bibb Latané, which manipulated subjects into believing they heard someone in distress. Lastly, it describes the Stanford Prison Experiment by Philip Zimbardo, which was terminated early due to the severe psychological impact on participants. Each of these studies exemplifies the need for stringent ethical oversight to safeguard the well-being of research subjects.

10:03
🛡 The Importance of Ethical Standards in Modern Research

The final paragraph emphasizes the significance of ethical standards in contemporary psychological research, drawing lessons from the field's darker past. It underscores the responsibility of scientists to protect both the public and research subjects, citing the Belmont Report's principles as a cornerstone of modern ethical practice. The paragraph concludes by acknowledging the role of Patreon supporters in enabling the production of educational content, and invites viewers to subscribe to SciShow on YouTube for more insightful videos.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ethical Standards
Ethical standards refer to the principles and guidelines that govern the conduct of research, especially when it involves human subjects. In the video, the ethical standards are exemplified by the Belmont Report, which outlines three key principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These principles aim to ensure the protection of participants' rights, their well-being, and fair distribution of research burdens and benefits, which is central to the video's theme of balancing scientific inquiry with human protection.
💡Respect for Persons
Respect for persons is one of the core ethical principles from the Belmont Report, emphasizing the importance of informed consent in research. It means that individuals participating in studies must be fully informed about the procedures, risks, and benefits involved before they agree to participate. In the context of the video, this principle is violated in historical experiments like the one involving Little Albert, where it's unclear if full consent was obtained.
💡Beneficence
Beneficence is an ethical principle that obliges researchers to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm of their studies to participants. The principle of 'do no harm' is central to this concept. In the video, beneficence is discussed in the context of historical experiments that had negative impacts on subjects, such as the 'Monster Study' where children were given negative feedback on their speech, affecting their self-esteem.
💡Justice
Justice in research ethics involves ensuring that the selection of participants and the distribution of research burdens and benefits are fair. The video points out that in early studies, subjects were often from disadvantaged groups, while the benefits of research accrued to wealthier individuals, which is an injustice that the principle of justice seeks to prevent.
💡Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a naturally occurring response. The video describes this concept through the experiment by John Watson with 'Little Albert,' where a baby was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud, startling noise, demonstrating the power of classical conditioning.
💡Informed Consent
Informed consent is a process where participants in research are given comprehensive information about the study and its potential risks and benefits, allowing them to make an educated decision about their participation. The video emphasizes the importance of informed consent as a key ethical principle, highlighting its absence or inadequacy in several historical studies.
💡Milgram Experiment
The Milgram Experiment, conducted by Stanley Milgram, is a famous study that explored the psychology of obedience to authority. In the video, it is mentioned as an example of a study with ethical concerns, where participants were led to believe they were administering electric shocks to others, raising questions about the psychological impact on subjects and the violation of their well-being.
💡Bystander Effect
The bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. The video discusses an experiment by John Darley and Bibb Latané that investigated this effect, where participants were slower to react to a simulated emergency when they believed others were also aware of the situation, illustrating the ethical dilemma of potentially distressing participants.
💡Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment, led by Philip Zimbardo, aimed to study the psychological effects of perceived power in a simulated prison environment. The video describes how the experiment had to be ended early due to the abusive behavior of the 'guards' towards the 'prisoners,' highlighting ethical issues related to participant protection and the researcher's role.
💡Debriefing
Debriefing is the process of informing participants about the true nature of a study after its completion, often to alleviate any misconceptions or distress caused during the experiment. The video points out that in some historical studies, such as the 'Monster Study,' debriefing was not conducted, leaving participants without a clear understanding of the research's purpose and potential impacts.
💡Psychological Experiments
Psychological experiments are scientific studies designed to test hypotheses and understand human behavior and mental processes. The video script discusses various historical psychological experiments, emphasizing the evolution of ethical considerations in their design and execution, and the importance of protecting participants' mental and emotional well-being.
Highlights

Studying the human mind is complex due to the many unknowns and the need to balance finding answers with protecting subjects.

Historical psychology experiments are often considered unethical by today's standards due to past negligence in protecting human subjects.

The Belmont Report from the 1970s established key ethical principles for human research, emphasizing respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Informed consent is a cornerstone of ethical research, ensuring participants understand the risks and benefits of an experiment.

Beneficence in research demands that researchers avoid causing harm to participants and aim to do good.

Justice in research ensures fair distribution of study burdens and benefits, avoiding exploitation of vulnerable subjects.

Early studies like John Watson's experiment with 'Little Albert' raised ethical concerns due to lack of informed consent and long-term effects on the subject.

The 'Monster Study' by Wendell Johnson and Mary Tudor demonstrated the negative impacts of negative feedback on children's self-esteem and speech.

Stanley Milgram's obedience study revealed people's tendency to obey authority even in morally dubious situations, but raised ethical issues regarding informed consent and participant distress.

The Bystander Effect study by John Darley and Bibb Latané showed that the presence of others can delay or prevent individual action in emergencies.

The Stanford Prison Experiment by Philip Zimbardo highlighted the rapid adoption of roles and the abuse of power, but was ethically flawed due to the researcher's involvement and the harm caused to participants.

Ethical concerns in past studies have led to the establishment of strict guidelines to protect research subjects and ensure the integrity of psychological research.

The Belmont Report's principles are crucial for maintaining ethical standards in modern psychological research.

Psychology's dark past has underscored the importance of protecting the minds of research subjects while seeking to understand the human mind.

Modern research emphasizes the responsibility of scientists to safeguard the well-being of participants and the public.

Transcripts

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Related Tags
Ethical StandardsHuman ResearchBelmont ReportInformed ConsentClassical ConditioningAlbert ExperimentMilgram ObedienceBystander EffectStanford PrisonPsychology Ethics