Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistoryInformed Consent in PsychologyHow Researchers Obtain ConsentWhen Informed Consent Is NecessaryDeception in ResearchTakeaway

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Table of Contents

History

Informed Consent in Psychology

How Researchers Obtain Consent

When Informed Consent Is Necessary

Deception in Research

Takeaway

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Informed consent is a voluntary agreement to participate in a study, experiment, intervention, or treatment. To give informed consent, participants must be aware of the nature of the procedure, the possible benefits, any available alternatives, and the potential risks.

Informed consent ensures that patients, clients, and research participants are aware of the important facts of research, including duration, purpose, and potential benefits and risks.

For informed consent to be considered valid, the participant must be physically or mentally able to decide to participate in research. A person’s consent must be given voluntarily, without coercion.

At a GlanceInformed consent is an essential ethical consideration in psychology research. It allows participants to understand the purpose of a study and the procedures that will be involved. It also ensures that they recognize both the potential benefits and risks, and are able to make an informed decision based on that information.

At a Glance

Informed consent is an essential ethical consideration in psychology research. It allows participants to understand the purpose of a study and the procedures that will be involved. It also ensures that they recognize both the potential benefits and risks, and are able to make an informed decision based on that information.

Several court cases involving medical procedures that were performed without a patient’s permission set the groundwork for establishing informed consent as a concept for both medical treatment and research.

Salgo v. Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees

However, the term informed consent wasn’t officially used in court documents until 1957 in the case Salgo v. Leland Stanford Jr. University Board of Trustees.

Martin Salgo underwent a procedure at a Stanford University medical center. The surgeon injected a contrast agent into Salgo’s aorta, causing paralysis of his lower limbs. Salgo sued the medical center and the chief surgeon for not informing him before the surgery of the potential risks. The court ruled in Salgo’s favor.

Salgo’s was the first legal ruling that determined doctors must provide patients with information about the benefits and risks of procedures.

The Nuremberg Code

A trial in 1947 investigating Nazi war crimes further cemented the idea of informed consent. Nazis conducted experiments on people held in concentration camps without their consent. The people who underwent the tests were exposed to freezing cold temperatures or even wounded intentionally so that experimental treatments could be tested on them. Many died as a result.

After the trial, American judges created the Nuremberg Code, which contains 10 basic rules for conducting human experiments. The rules stated that a person needs “sufficient knowledge and comprehension” of what they are agreeing to as part of the research.

Sufficient knowledge includes, among other elements, how long the research will last, what its purpose is, theresearch methods, all hazards of research, and what the possible outcomes are.

According to theAmerican Psychological Association(APA), researchers must follow several steps to obtain informed consent from participants in psychology research:

APA Code of Ethics: Principles, Purpose, and Guidelines

In most instances, researchers use a prewritten form that outlines all of the required information on the study. Participants sign and date the form to confirm that they have read and understood the information.

Informed consent is not as simple as getting a participant to sign a piece of paper, however. Informed consent means giving a potential subject time to ask questions and consider whether or not they want to participate in a study. Someone knowledgeable about the research should be available to answer questions and conduct a consent interview.

The consent process may even continue after the research is underway. The participants should always be given opportunities to ask questions and withdraw from a study if they wish.

There are a few instances when psychologists may do without informed consent.Such cases include when there is a reasonable assumption that the research would not cause anydistressor harm to participants. Another instance is when a study examines normal classroom curricula oreducational practices, in which interfering with observation would negatively affect the study.

Studies that involve anonymous questionnaires or archival data do not usually require informed consent as long as the research presents no risk to the participants’financial standing, employability, or reputation.

Researchers must make sure participants' confidentiality is protected at all times.

Even in cases where informed consent is not needed, participants can still withdraw at any time.

Informed consent is essential in research, but it is also an important part of psychotherapy practice. According to the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, clients should be provided with enough information so they can make informed decisions about their treatment.This not only promotes autonomy, but also benefits thetherapeutic alliance, which is essential for treatment outcomes.

What about cases where deception may be an integral part of the study? In some instances, informing participants about the nature of the experiment mightinfluence their behaviorand therefore the results.

Deception should only take place if the use of such techniques is justified given what might be gained from performing the study.It is often the duty of an institutional review board (IRB) to determine if the use of deception is acceptable and to grant permission for such studies to take place.

If researchers do use deception as part of an experiment,ethical guidelinessuggest that participants should be informed of the deception and the true nature of the experiment as soon as possible.

Once such deception has been revealed, participants should also be given the opportunity to withdraw their data if they so desire.

Types of Deception

There are two major types of deception that researchers may use: indirect and direct. Indirect deception may be considered more ethical than direct deception.

Direct deception is linked withnegative emotional statesand thelow self-esteemof participants.

Example of Research That Used Deception

Darley and Latané were testing whether or not and under what conditions someone would intervene and try to get help for another person who they believed was experiencing a life-threatening situation.

However, others argue that to attain the most accurate results possible, some level of deception in the researcher-participant relationship is required.

Potential Drawbacks of Deception

While some argue that there are benefits for the results of a study if participants aren’t aware of all of the facts, research shows that withholding information can be damaging to a study as well.

Participants who are deceived may know they are being lied to and withhold this knowledge from researchers.

Participants' distrust or suspicion of the researchers can lead to skewed study results as well as a negative reputation of the researchers.

More ResourcesThere are plenty of organizations you can turn to for support as you learn more about obtaining informed consent. Check out the below resources for more information:American Psychological Association’sStudy Participants and Informed Consent: This article goes into further detail about the ethical obligations of researchers to obtain informed consent.Food and Drug Administration’sInformation Sheet on Informed Consent: This includes a digital download of how to draft an informed consent sheet of your own.

More Resources

There are plenty of organizations you can turn to for support as you learn more about obtaining informed consent. Check out the below resources for more information:American Psychological Association’sStudy Participants and Informed Consent: This article goes into further detail about the ethical obligations of researchers to obtain informed consent.Food and Drug Administration’sInformation Sheet on Informed Consent: This includes a digital download of how to draft an informed consent sheet of your own.

There are plenty of organizations you can turn to for support as you learn more about obtaining informed consent. Check out the below resources for more information:

Understanding more about this process is essential, whether you are planning to conduct or participate in psychology research. Informed consent is an essential part of ethical research, which means it must be obtained voluntarily and fully inform the participant of anything they need to know before they decide to move forward as part of the research.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.APA ethics code addresses when obtaining informed consent from research participants is necessary.Amer AB.Informed consent in adult psychiatry.Oman Med J. 2013;28(4):228-231. doi:10.5001/omj.2013.67Bazzano LA, Durant J, Brantley PR.A modern history of informed consent and the role of key information.Ochsner J. 2021;21(1):81-85. doi:10.31486/toj.19.0105American Psychological Association.Ethical principles of psychologists.British Psychological Society.Obtaining informed consent. In:Practice Guidelines. 2017. doi:10.53841/bpsrep.2017.inf115.8U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Information sheet: Informed consent.Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.Informed consent in clinical practice.Oregon State University.Research involving deception.Boynton MH, Portnoy DB, Johnson BT.Exploring the ethics and psychological impact of deception in psychological research.IRB. 2013;35(2):7-13.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.APA ethics code addresses when obtaining informed consent from research participants is necessary.Amer AB.Informed consent in adult psychiatry.Oman Med J. 2013;28(4):228-231. doi:10.5001/omj.2013.67Bazzano LA, Durant J, Brantley PR.A modern history of informed consent and the role of key information.Ochsner J. 2021;21(1):81-85. doi:10.31486/toj.19.0105American Psychological Association.Ethical principles of psychologists.British Psychological Society.Obtaining informed consent. In:Practice Guidelines. 2017. doi:10.53841/bpsrep.2017.inf115.8U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Information sheet: Informed consent.Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.Informed consent in clinical practice.Oregon State University.Research involving deception.Boynton MH, Portnoy DB, Johnson BT.Exploring the ethics and psychological impact of deception in psychological research.IRB. 2013;35(2):7-13.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.APA ethics code addresses when obtaining informed consent from research participants is necessary.Amer AB.Informed consent in adult psychiatry.Oman Med J. 2013;28(4):228-231. doi:10.5001/omj.2013.67Bazzano LA, Durant J, Brantley PR.A modern history of informed consent and the role of key information.Ochsner J. 2021;21(1):81-85. doi:10.31486/toj.19.0105American Psychological Association.Ethical principles of psychologists.British Psychological Society.Obtaining informed consent. In:Practice Guidelines. 2017. doi:10.53841/bpsrep.2017.inf115.8U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Information sheet: Informed consent.Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.Informed consent in clinical practice.Oregon State University.Research involving deception.Boynton MH, Portnoy DB, Johnson BT.Exploring the ethics and psychological impact of deception in psychological research.IRB. 2013;35(2):7-13.

American Psychological Association.APA ethics code addresses when obtaining informed consent from research participants is necessary.

Amer AB.Informed consent in adult psychiatry.Oman Med J. 2013;28(4):228-231. doi:10.5001/omj.2013.67

Bazzano LA, Durant J, Brantley PR.A modern history of informed consent and the role of key information.Ochsner J. 2021;21(1):81-85. doi:10.31486/toj.19.0105

American Psychological Association.Ethical principles of psychologists.

British Psychological Society.Obtaining informed consent. In:Practice Guidelines. 2017. doi:10.53841/bpsrep.2017.inf115.8

U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Information sheet: Informed consent.

Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.Informed consent in clinical practice.

Oregon State University.Research involving deception.

Boynton MH, Portnoy DB, Johnson BT.Exploring the ethics and psychological impact of deception in psychological research.IRB. 2013;35(2):7-13.

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