WK 2 DB

Course: Research Method for the Behavior Science

There have been numerous research studies done over the years that have been unethical.

Thoughts, opinions, questioning (simple) on numbered responses. Please number and separate to not confuse.

Note: You will need toprovide citations for all your responses. You express interest into what you classmates have shared. When responding, my goal is for you to learn from your responses as well. This means providing new information that you have found, and expanding on what you found interesting in your classmates' posts. For example, you discussed the book and Evans et al.'s study.

**Provide the full reference and why it is a point of reference.

1. The study I chose was the Standford Prison Experiment, which happened in 1971, and was funded by The U.S. Office of Naval Research.

The study was intended to simulate real life in a prison, as well as creating a bubble of oppresion that they could observe. 12 guards and 12 prisoners were randomly chosen from the group of 70 young men applicants. Within the first 2 days the prisoners tried to stage a jail break. This led to the guards working together to create a punishment system meant to keep them in control. 4 days into the study, multiple prisoners became depressed an delirious and were allowed to leave the experiment. Eventually an outside observer caught a glimpse of the study and expressed their shock to the researcher. Less than a week after the study began, it had to be shut down because so many prisoners were being mentally abused by the guards.

1. The study was unethical because people experienced actual abuse and mistreatment during the study. Studies tend to become unethical if your participants are getting injured during the study.

2. 24 applicants were chosen, all of them young men. They were distributed randomly, yet evenly as guards and prisoners. The prisoner group was adversely impacted because they had no control over what happened to them.

3. Well this study isn't even a well thoughtout study in the first place. All studies should consider the safety of the participants as one of the top priorities. The research is not worth the death of even a single human. I honestly can't imagine a study similar to this being allowed in today's America. A contract would have to be signed by every participant outlining the dangers/threats of the study. EVen then, I can't imagine the study would even be allowed. The original advertising for applicants would have been very attractive to individuals who like the feeling of power over others. This is an error in the method of the study. The researcher had already created a situation of power versus powerless before the study had even begun. He did not allow for room for varied responses from prisoners, or different authority styles of guards because he set up his study to be about one group oppressing the other. This study was actually redone in 2001 by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), and they found that the prisoners were way more assertive in their study. They attribute this to the lazy and tyranical set up style of the original experiment.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, May 16). Stanford Prison Experiment. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Stanford-Prison-Experiment

2.

I chose the case of "Radioactive Materials in Pregnant Women at Vanderbilt University". I find this experiment sad and totally unethical. The experiment refers to a controversial medical study conducted in the mid-20th century. In this study, pregnant women at Vanderbilt University were unknowingly exposed to radioactive materials as part of a scientific experiment. The main goal of the study was to investigate the effects of radioactive substances on the metabolism of pregnant women and the transfer of these substances to their unborn children. Just reading this study makes me feel sad, knowing that the mothers had no idea of the study, nor did they consent.

The study was unethical for several reasons, One, the mothers involved in the study were not adequately informed about the nature of the experiment, the potential risks involved, or the fact that they were being exposed to radioactive materials. They never understood what implication the study would have on their children. Second, the study involved vulnerable members of the population, pregnant mothers. The study also used the credentials of the medical professionals to win the mothers to participate. Worse, the study put to risk innocent fetuses. Exposing the fetuses to radioactive materials was beyond unethical it was criminal. The study was also unethical considering it never took into consideration the impact of the radioactive material on the mother and the child in the long term.

The groups of individuals adversely impacted by the study included the mothers, who were subjected to the radioactive material, the children born to the mothers, and the entire generation of these children. According to The Washington Post. (1993), three of the children born to the women likely died from radiation exposure, an 11-year-old girl died of a tumor, an 11-year-old boy died of cancer and a 5-year-old boy died of lymphatic leukemia.

I think this study should not have been done in the first place. However, the researcher should have obtained informed consent from the pregnant women involved in the study. The researchers would also have looked for other alternative methods that do not place the participants at risk.

References

The Washington Post. (1993, December 21). Radiation tests on women confirmed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/12/21/radiation-tests-on-women-confirmed/f89e5521-cabf-45c3-83b4-5bae3ee0cdb3/

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (1998). Craft v. Vanderbilt University.Federal supplement,18, 786-798.

3. During World War II, the American military conducted experiments with chemical weapons, including mustard gas. These experiments were part of their research and development efforts related to chemical warfare. On military bases and universities, in at least nine projects, 60,000 American soldiers were part of race-based human experimentation to find out the impact of mustard gas exposure to the body (Smith, 2008, p. 517). According to Smith, "Their studies built on a conceptualization of four racialized groups: African Americans, Japanese Americans, Puerto Ricans, and as the control group, whites" (2008, p. 517). To evaluate the quality of gas masks and clothing they would run three types of mustard gas programs. The first was the drop test or patch test where the mustard agent was put on bare skin or skin with ointment on it. The second was a field test where airplanes would spray soldiers with mustard gas while they had various levels of protective clothing. Last, the "man-break test", where the soldiers were in gas chambers and mustard gas was released so the scientists could determine the amount of time before incapacitated. After exposing many soldiers to harmful chemical agents, it was determined that, "race matters were less significant than they had anticipated" (Smith, 2008, p.517).

These experiments were highly unethical. Starting with the lack of real consent from the soldiers. Many of them stated that they felt like they had to volunteer, or they were encouraged to volunteer out of patriotism. What is worse is that the soldiers said they had no idea how much suffering, pain, and humiliation they would endure. Burns and blisters all over their bodies without any follow up care left them to suffer with long term health consequences. The groups that were adversely impacted were the soldiers that were subjected to the mustard gas, especially the African American soldiers, Japanese Americans, and Puerto Ricans. To make this study more ethical, the participants should have been fully informed about the nature of the study, the risks involved, and their rights. Next, they should have taken volunteers only without any form of pressure. If there was a clear scientific purpose for a study such as this, researchers should have made an effort to minimize harm. There was no medical oversight, no long-term care, and no alternative methods considering they used human participants. Overall, this experiment was devastating and preventable had there been adequate medical treatment.

Reference

Smith, S. L. (2008). Mustard gas and American race-based human experimentation in World War II. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics: A Journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 36(3), 517-521. https://doi-org.umassglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.299.x