The world is filled with questions. People always search for answers by reading, exploring, and investigating in a bid to find answers. Professionals and Researchers are tasked with seeking the answers but are however governed by the setup policies and regulations on ways to set up studies and derive solutions. Ethics refer to the standards or guidelines guide researchers in the course of their studies. An ethical research study abides by the rules formulated by the American Psychological Association (APA). As such, the researchers while conducting their investigations, need to understand the theory of risk-benefit approach. This paper explores the ethical guideline of informed consent and its impact in psychological research.
Informed Consent
Informed consent guides researches who work with human respondents to describe the nature of their research projects and consequently obtain the approval of the participants to take part in the study based on the respondent’s understanding the research’s techniques and goals (Kim " Miller, 2015). The APA code of conduct and ethical guidelines for psychologists under section 8.02 define informed consent as the process where psychologists advise the subjects, first, the objective of the of the study, expected length, and the procedures to be utilized in seeking information from them (APA, 2014). Second, the researcher should provide the participant with the right to refuse and ultimately withdraw from the study even after it has begun.
Next, the researcher explains any foreseeable consequences to the respondent as a result of declining and withdrawing from the process. Fourth, informed consent should constitute a researcher explaining to the potential subject any foreseeable aspects that are expected to inspire their willingness of participating in the study for instance potential risks, adverse effects or discomfort. Besides, the APA code of conduct provides for researchers to explain to the respondents the any prospective benefits of the research, confidentiality limits, incentives that come with participating in the study, and lastly who the respondents should contact about any question regarding the study and their rights. Informed consent should give the participants an opportunity to raise questions and ultimately receive answers.
The relationship between Informed Consent and Psychological Theory
Informed consent is an integral part of the field of psychology because psychologists need to adhere to the set-out rules by APA while in the course of their work while helping patients. This paper identifies five psychological theories-namely cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioral, cultural, and humanities- and ultimately tries to draw a relationship with the aspect of informed consent.
Cognitive Theory
The cognitive theory explains how children construct a mental mode of the world around them. The approach departs from an earlier understanding that intelligence is a fixed trait and inborn. According to this theory, cognitive development involves a process where the biological process of maturation interacts with the environment for mental growth. The cognitive development theory was developed by Piaget in 1936, during his work at Binet institute, he became intrigued with how children gave justifications for their wrong answers to quizzes that required them to provide logical thinking (Harvey, 2017). For this reason, he argued that such incorrect answers provided by the children reveal an important difference between them and adults.
Analyzing the concept of cognitive theory, it is evident it has strong links with the principle of informed consent in psychology (Harvey, 2017). From the explanation of cognitive development, it is imperative to note that children cannot make informed decisions as adults. Besides, cognitive development is a combination of an individual's biological processes and interaction with the environment around them. Researchers while seeking responses from participants, need to ensure that the individuals fully comprehend the aim of the research and their consequences.
As explained earlier, researchers require voluntary consent from the individuals, therefore part from only being considered as adults, the respondent should be of mental soundness. This principle allows not only for the exclusion of minors in research but also those not in proper mental form. In cases, where the study is vital the researcher should acknowledge the state of the individual and obtain necessary approvals.
Psychodynamic
The psychodynamic theory includes all the psychological approaches that view the functioning of a human being based on the interactions of forces and drives within an individual. More specifically the unconscious mind and the various structures that define personality. The psychodynamic approach attempts to explain the reasons behind different human behaviors. In regards to informed consent, psychodynamic approach aids in the understanding why a particular respondent might agree to take part in a study McCracken, L. M., " Morley, S. (2014). Besides, it is very critical during the evaluation of subjects who take part in a study for a legitimate reason or the sheer personal reason. Other respondents may part take part in a survey only because of the perceived benefits they believe they will receive. The psychodynamic approach enables researchers to understand the inner drives apart from contributing to the overall goal of the survey that an individual may have. Therefore, helping in eliminating unsuitable respondents.
Behavioral
Behavioral approach rests on the notion the human behaviors can be learned and unlearned through interaction with the environment. This theory is particularly helpful for researchers when dealing with respondents from diverse backgrounds. The situation in which a person lives in significantly shapes their thoughts, behavior and mental abilities. This theory holds that our actions are primarily shaped by our experiences that might influence our abilities to agree to take part in a study or not. Therefore, as a researcher, one needs to pay particular attention to the past events that might shape the respondent's ability to agree to informed consent.
Cultural
According to this approach, cultural elements such as language, social structures and norms, and art shape a person's cognitive abilities. A researcher should comprehend an individual's cognitive skills in regards to the cultural factors that shape them (McCracken " Morley, 2014). Some respondents might come from more advanced cultural settings that easily enables them to understand the parameter of the informed consent. However, other subjects may not easily understand the aspects of the research and can easily decline or agree without understanding the consequences.
Humanistic
This approach studies an individual as a whole and the uniqueness that they possess (Lombardi, 2018). The humanistic approach enables researchers to discover innate characters that may or not influence an individual's drive to take part in research.
Conclusion
Though informed consent is a critical aspect in psychological research, it is hampered by various factors stemming from the individuals themselves to the society as a whole. Matching all the parameters of informed consent- individual, cultural and environmental constraints-can prove challenging for the researcher. That is perhaps why there are numerous cases of breach of informed consent regulations by various researchers.
References
APA. (2014, June 30). APA: Psychologists Should Obtain Informed Consent From Research Participants. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/06/informed-consent.aspx
Harvey, D. (2017). Conceptual and measurement problems in the cognitive-behavioral approach to location theory. In Routledge Revivals: Behavioral Problems in Geography (1969) (pp. 35-67). Routledge.
Kim, S. Y., " Miller, F. G. (2015). Informed consent for pragmatic trials: the integrated consent Model.
Lombardi, M. (2018). The cognitive approach to the study of local production systems. In Evolutionary Patterns of Local Industrial Systems (pp. 71-87). Routledge.
McCracken, L. M., " Morley, S. (2014). The psychological flexibility model: a basis for integration and progress in psychological approaches to chronic pain management. The Journal of Pain, 15(3), 221-234.
