Pretend that you and your lab group are members of the institutional review board (IRB). Read each of the following research proposals and evaluate the study for adherence to ethical principles of research conduct. Think about and answer the following questions to help you evaluate each study. Make suggestions, where possible, on how to improve the study to meet ethical guidelines.

Does the study have scientific merit? How will society or the subjects of the study benefit?

Does the study place subjects at risk for either physical or psychological harm? If it does, what aspects of the study cause this risk?

Can you suggest less risky procedures that would still provide the researcher with the same information?Will subjects read and sign a consent form? If not, is there enough information given to the subjects to provide informed consent?

Does the study use deception? If it does, will the subjects be fully debriefed?

Can you think of a way for the researchers to answer the research question without using deception?Can the participants reasonably refuse to participate or withdraw during the study?

If not, what part of the study appears to be coercive?Will the subjects' data be kept confidential?Do you have any other concerns about the study? If so, what are they?

Study 1. The current study will examine the idea that exercise will interfere with performance in an attention task. In the experiment, participants will be strapped to a treadmill while they also respond verbally to images on a computer screen. The experimenter will control the speed of the treadmill during the experiment. The participant will also be told that the experiment takes 1 hour and that they will receive $250 if they successfully complete the experiment. All participants will sign a consent form if they wish to participate. To avoid distractions during the experiment, the participants will run in a soundproof room and no communication between the participants and the experimenter will be allowed after the experiment has started. However, as a safety precaution, the experimenter will continuously monitor the participants' heart rates. After the participant is given instructions, the participant will be strapped to a restraining device that is connected to the treadmill. The participants' task will be to respond to target stimuli by verbally identifying the objects presented. The participants will be fully debriefed after the experiment.

Study 2. This study will examine conflict resolution behaviors between romantic couples. Participants will be romantic couples who have been dating at least 6 months. They will be asked to separately fill out questions about personal topics (e.g., sexual behaviors, drug and alcohol behaviors). Then the couple will be placed in a room together and asked to talk about an issue in their relationship. The session will be videotaped and later coded for conflict resolution behaviors by the experimenter. To be able to match the questionnaires with the tapes of the sessions, participants will be asked to put their name on the questionnaires when they complete them.

Study 3. In order to test the effects of control of eating behaviors on stress responses, rats will be run in pairs through an experiment. One rat in the pair will be presented with food whenever it makes the correct response in a discrimination task. A second rat will be presented with food at random times (i.e., not connected to its behavior). The rats and their food will be visible to each other during the experiment. Immediately after the experimental session, the rats will be removed from the test chambers and sacrificed. Their stomachs will be inspected for ulcers. The study will determine if the rats that lack control over the availability of food develop more stomach ulcers than the other rats. This information may have implications for health of humans with different eating habits. Therefore, the important information this study will provide justifies the use of shock treatments to the animals.

Study 4. In a simulation training study, undergraduate participants will be asked to help another participant learn a list of words. In reality, though, the participant learning the words will be an experimenter confederate who purposely gets some of the words wrong. The actual participants will be told that they have to scold the learner whenever the learner makes a mistake. Anytime the participants hesitate in scolding the learner for mistakes, the experimenter will tell them that they must scold the learner or they will not receive credit for the experiment. The number of times the participants scold the learners will be recorded. Each participant will sign a consent form before the experiment begins.