Psychological Ethics

Labelling – is a form of prejudice and discrimination. Can happen on basis of gender, ethnicity etc. People do label others to identify and differ groups of our community.

There are many research studies conducted in the past that would not be considered ethical today. This essay will review two research methods, whilst taking into account the ethical standards of modern psychology. The focus of this essay will be; ‘Landis’ Facial Expressions Experiment 1924’ carried out by Carney Landis and ‘’Milgram’s Obedience Experiment’ carried out by Stanley Milgram. Both experiments were carried out under immoral circumstances and perhaps should never have been allowed to take place. Nowadays, neither would be considered acceptable.

Labeling is not the right thing to do, but it is necessary in order for people to find out who they are. Labeling is necessary for people to make friendships. The basis of friendships are to find people that have the same ideologies and personality types as you do. This would not be as easy to identify if it wasn’t for society putting labels on people. Even though labeling isn’t right, people are accustomed and comfortable with it because it allows people to be in their comfort zone. Labeling people also gives people a sense of

Labeling theory holds that individuals come to identify and act as per their labels. The major tenet of this theory is that the behavior and self-identity of individuals is affected by the way they are described by other people (Vold, Bernard, Snipes, & Gerould, 2016). According to this theory, the act of deviance is not implicit in a particular act, but is hedged on the inclination of the majority to ascribe labels to minorities in society who deviate from standard behavior. Labeling leads to dramatization of a particular act – which propagates the behavioral clash between the individual and the community. Through ascribing labels, the individuals acquire a negative self-image. The individuals accept themselves as labeled by the

The first is the informed consent and self determination on behalf of the participants of the research study. Participants must be willing to participate in the research and aware of of any benefits and costs. It is required that all participants are notified of the reasoning of the research, the risks within the conduction of the research and how collected data will be used. Usually plain statements will be given, in plain language that can be understood by the participants outlining what there involvement requires and the aims of the research. Following, participants will be required to sign a consent document outlining that they are aware of the details of the research and agree on

Psychologists are committed to increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behaviour and people's understanding of themselves and others and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organisations, and society (APA, 2010). The PSI preamble (2010) states “the authority of psychologists derives from the scientific methods of investigation on which their knowledge is based, and the ethics which govern all their professional activity. They accept that codes of ethics are necessary to protect the interest of clients and prevent misuse of psychological knowledge. The Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. The following is a rough and general summary of the principles that are addressed by the APA, PSI and BPS;

There have been labels placed upon me throughout my life. Some have stayed with me while others have dropped off. Without these labels ruling how people see me I feel like I would be more free to do things than I am now.

Dalton Conley describes labeling theory in Chapter 6 of You May Ask Yourself as “the belief that individuals subconsciously notice how others see or label them, and their reactions to those labels over time form the basis of their self-identity” (Conley, 2011:203). In other words, over time, a person’s self-identity changes to fit the character other people impose upon them. An action itself isn’t necessarily deviant unless society decides it is. Labeling theory can go either way, either positive or negative.

In your own words, describe the two negative effects of labeling and the result of each of them.

Informed consent most closely interrelates to the guideline of deception. Deception is possibly the most controversial and also the most important aspects of research in psychology. Deception occurs when the experimenter withholds information about the study or the true aim of the study. In psychological research, it is important to use the least amount of deception possible. In all cases the researcher must take careful consideration to the benefits of any deception. If deception is carried out the participant is likely to experience: a feeling of being uncomfortable, negative feelings towards the research, and suspicion of the research. However, sometimes deception is necessary for the researcher because if the participants understand the aim of the study they could act differently according to the aim of the study. For instance, in memory research the researcher can inform the aim of the study because the participants do not know what they will be asked to remember.

Labels We live in a world where everyone seems to label themselves. Usually, we like these labels, and we often use them to validate ourselves and appear more legitimate in front of others. However, there are also categories of labels into which people fall without necessarily asking for it. This type of labeling is complementary and often creates a cyclic pattern of labeling.

Labels... what are they? They allow us to know what everything is. That’s a pencil, a paper, a person, black, white. However, there are also hidden labels. These labels hide within the the first labels and are made by us to associate something or someone with a thought. These hidden labels are called stereotypes. Stereotypes are thoughts people have about a certain group or person solely based on that group’s or person’s past. “

Labelling theory refers to the ability to attach a label to a person or group of people and in so doing the label becomes more important than the individual. The label becomes the dominant form of identify and takes on ‘Master Status’ (Becker 1963; Lemert 1967) so that the person can no longer be seen other than through the lens of the label. Words, just like labels, are containers of meaning. In this case, the label and the meaning attached to it becomes all that the person is rather than a temporary feature of something that they have done or a way that they have behaved.

“A label is a name or a descriptive word or phrase” (Rothwell 106). The performance showed how Darius Simpson was labeled due to his skin color. Scout Bostley explains her struggles, such as living in a society that does not support equal rights for women. They both have experienced the negative impacts of labeling in our world today. I have had my fair share experiences of being labeled. One time at work I was labeled as a girl who was stuck up. I felt as though I was unfairly labeled because the people who were saying those things never got the opportunity to fully meet me. They were just kind of making assumptions about me that were not true. Labels can create false perceptions of others and they can be immensely offensive. I was very offended when I was labeled at work because I felt as though the person who was labeling was not giving me a fair chance. In conclusion, labeling is something that causes ineffective communication and it can be perceived as very

Labels can lose their primary potency connotations if they are cognitively processed before being made. Heinrich identifies labeling as, “the rhetorical practice of attaching a pejorative term to a person or concept.”(111) Labeling magnifies one attribute out of all proportion to its true significance, and masks other important attributes. Also, it can cause people to become accustomed to the label use, with or without conscious pejorative intent, to describe or characterize certain ideals. This generally provokes an adverse reaction on part of these groups as most individuals rebel at being labeled, especially if the label is uncomplimentary.