Ethical Issues

Definition

Ethical issues refer to problems or situations requiring a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical).

Related terms

Informed Consent: An ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

Deception in Research: Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or what will actually happen; this raises ethical considerations.

Confidentiality: Keeping private all information about someone who participates in psychological research, another key aspect of ethics in psychology studies.