History of Ethics in psychology

By MStephens2020
  • 6500 BCE

    Trephination

    Mental disorders were once viewed as a result of demonic possession. A medicine man would drill holes in a persons hole to release demons. These in humane treatments were often done without the permission of the participant who may have perished after the experiment. I chose this event because I was very shocked to find out that people actually drilled holes into human heads as a way to “release” demons in hopes of curing a person with mental illness.

  • Tuskeegee Syphilis Studies

    In Alabama, over 600 impoverished black sharecroppers were studied by the U.S. Public Health Service to document disease in blacks and racial differences in the clinical manifestation of Syphilis. The men were unaware of the disease and other information regarding exposure. Penicillin was never given to the participants and they were closed off from receiving it elsewhere. The disease were carried on to their spouses and their offspring as a result. I chose this event due to the inhumanity.

  • Nazi Concentration Camp Experiments

    In Germany, eugenic psychologist conducted horrendous experiments on homosexuals, Jews, Negroes, and others not born of pure Aryan lineage. Among these experiments were sleep deprivation, starvation, unnecessary surgery without anesthesia, submission to physical, psychological, and emotional torture. All of which was seen as premeditated murder masqueraded as research. I chose this event because I had prior knowledge but the video helped me visually understand the severity of it.

  • Stanley Milgram

    Stanley Milgram used electrical shock on human participants and this caused many people to become outraged. I chose this event because I couldn’t believe Milgram would subject his participants to harm as extreme as that. I can imagine how people reacted to such treatment.

  • Zimbardo Prison Experiment

    A team of researchers led by Philip Zimbardo selected 24 male students from Stanford University to participate in a 6 day experiment funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. A mock prison was set up at the college and participants were randomly assigned roles as either prisoners or guards. The prisoners experienced the complete experience of incarceration. The study was to reveal how reasonable people could become unreasonable. I chose this due to role play being used.