MFT-5106 Week 3

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Kent State University *

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May 17, 2024

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MFT-5106 Ethical Evaluation of a Research Study Article citation: Shepperd, J., & McNulty, J. (2002). The affective consequences of expected and unexpected outcomes. Psychological Science, 13 , 85-88. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00416 Name: Date: 1. Who are the participants in STUDY 3 of this research article? The study’s participants were introductory psychology students, 25 of these participants self identified as male and 65 as female. They were in groups of 1 to 3 in the same experimental condition. For their participation they received credits towards a college class requirement (Shepperd & McNulty, 2002). 2. Are the participants of this study considered to be part of a vulnerable population? Provide support for your response. As students can easily be coerced into being a participant by the fact that it is needed for their class and denial of this activity can lead to a lower grade. This study states that they are receiving a credit that is required, from this I would consider the participants as a vulnerable population. Some schools such as Chapman University write in their policy that when using students the credit toward the class must be extra credit or a non-research alternative must also be offered to get around this (Vulnerable Populations in Research Purpose, n.d.). 3. What compensation/incentives did the researchers offer for participation in the study? Was this appropriate compensation for participation or could this be considered excessively coercive? The researchers gave credit hours towards a mandatory course requirement for those students that participated in the study (Shepperd &
McNulty, 2002). Within many psychology programs especially those on a physical campus this mandatory requirement of participation in psychological studies is very common. I believe the compensation was appropriate given that most of the time they are operating out of college programs. Though it also could be considered exploitation due to the mandatory nature of the requirements and the relationships the professors have with the students and researchers. According to principles of ethical research the participants should be able to decide whether to participate in the study or not, without force or coercion (AAMFT 2021). 4. How was the purpose of the study presented to the participants? Participants were told that the purpose of the study was to assess the attitudes regarding a home testing procedure. The test was to determine the levels of thioamine acetylase (TAA) enzyme in their bodies, some people having higher amounts than others. When in low quantities may lead to problems involving the pancreas, this occuring in their early 20s. They would be able to test themselves and have their results at the end of the hour (Shepperd & McNulty, 2002). 5. Was the experimenter’s presentation of the study purpose accurate? (Hint: Were the researchers being wholly honest in their presentation of the study purpose)? The researchers were not being honest in their presentation of the purpose to the participants. They stated they were testing the attitudes toward the home testing procedure when in reality they were testing their reactions regarding the outcome of the results (Shepperd & McNulty, 2002). 6. Were the participants given sufficient information about the study purpose and procedure to give informed consent? Explain why you think this is or is not the case. I believe that they were given enough information about the procedure but not enough about the purpose as they did not present it accurately.
From what I understood about the study they lied about the existence of the medical pancreatic disease and the paricipants were given results that were formulated not by actual test results but that of what was needed for the study (Shepperd & McNulty). These participants may have truly believed that they were at risk based on their results and this could have led to emotional reactions. Even if the purpose was not sufficiently given the research team did debrief them afterwards, and from this I would imagine they would have told them the real purpose and that the test was fakticious. With all this said I would need to weigh the damage that the participants may have endured believing that they may have a disease, and whether the instructions of the study stated that “some of the features will not be revealed until the research is concluded”. If this is done it would be considered a valid incomplete disclosure, since I did not see this in the reading I would say that it was not valid consent (Office for Human Research Protections, 2016). 7. Why was the design of this study important for the “believability” of the study results and conclusions? The researchers needed the participants to believe that the testing procedure was real and that their results were medically backed in order to receive real reactions about the results. In order for this study to have validity the participants would have to believe this, if not they would have not truly cared about the outcome of their results. In order to be excited or disappointed in an outcome they needed to have some personal stake in the process. 8. Prior to starting a study, the research is proposed and needs to include both benefits and risks for participants. What benefits might the researchers have listed in their proposal for this research? What risks should they have listed in their proposal? The research study could have included benefits such as medical knowledge to create better and healthier habits, in order to lower the production of the TAA enzyme. Though this is technically not a real benefit due to the disease being made up, this might be a benefit that was presented. The potential risk to the study would be a allergic reaction to the testing kit if there was any solvents or materials that someone could be allergic too. The other relevant risk could have been mental as
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