Ethical Decision Making and Research Deception in the Behavioral Sciences: An Application of Social Contract Theory
58 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2010
Date Written: September 9, 2010
Abstract
Despite significant ethical advances in recent years, including professional developments in ethical review and codification, research deception continues to be a pervasive practice and contentious focus of debate in the behavioral sciences. Given the disciplines’ generally-stated ethical standards regarding the use of deceptive procedures, researchers have little practical guidance as to their ethical acceptability in specific research contexts. We use social contract theory to identify the conditions under which deception may or may not be morally permissible, and formulate practical recommendations to guide researchers on the ethical employment of deception in behavioral science research.
Keywords: Deception in Research, Ethical Decision Making, Social Contract Theory
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Anchoring Effects on Consumers' Willingness-to-Pay and Willingness-to-Accept
By Itamar Simonson and Aimee Drolet
-
Placebo Effects of Marketing Actions: Consumers May Get What They Pay for
By Baba Shiv, Ziv Carmon, ...
-
In Defense of Consciousness: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Inputs in Consumer Choice
-
Will I Like a 'Medium' Pillow? Another Look at Constructed and Inherent Preferences
-
Appraising the Appraisal-Tendency Framework
By Lisa A. Cavanaugh, James R. Bettman, ...
-
Incidental and Task-Related Affect: A Re-Inquiry and Extension of the Influence of Affect on Choice
By Nitika Garg, Jeffrey Inman, ...
-
Social Contract Theory and the Ethics of Deception in Consumer Research
By N. Craig Smith, Allan J. Kimmel, ...
-
By Joseph P. Simmons, Robyn A. Leboeuf, ...
-
What Helps Women Ask for More?: The Role of Discrete Emotions on the Initiation of Negotiation
By Heajung Jung, Maia J. Young, ...