Reflect upon the Merits and Ethical Dilemmas of Three Classic Psychology Experiments

Activity Description

Begin by selecting three classic psychology experiments from the provided list below. All of these were conducted prior to the establishment of Institutional Review Boards. Conduct a search for scholarly resources that provide an overview of the experiment and the identified

controversy.

Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments

Johnson’s The Monster Study

Landis’ Facial Expressions Experiment

Money’s David Reimer Experiment

Seligman’s Learned Helplessness Experiment

Sherif’s Robber Cave Experiment

Watson’s Little Albert Experiment

Weigh the merits of the three classic psychology experiments that you selected from this list. Briefly, summarize the three experiments.

Explain the intent of each experiment and its key findings. Then, determine how each experiment contributes to your understanding of human behavior. What influence does or could this experiment have on psychology today?

Drawing on the skill builders for this week, identify at least three major ethical issues that exist in each experiment. Assess whether the experiment could be conducted today as it was originally presented. Explain what changes would be required to ensure that the research would be conducted according to today’s professional standards.

Support your paper with reference to five research articles published in peer-reviewed journals or other scholarly sources. You are encouraged to dig a bit deeper to locate seminal articles that are older and critical to your paper. Use your judgment to determine the appropriate resources that best support your paper.

Length: 7 pages