Lesson 3.1.4.8.1

3.1.4.8.1 BPS ethical issues in psychological research and ways of dealing with them Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 4

20 questions

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Lesson 3.1.4.8.1, BPS ethical issues in psychological research and ways of dealing with them: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Psychology (8182), Unit 4: Research methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which BPS guideline requires participants to know what they are agreeing to before taking part?

    • Debriefing after the study
    • Informed consent
    • Confidentiality of data
    • Right to withdraw

  2. What is deception in research?

    • Telling participants the study will take less time than planned
    • Giving participants a reward for completing the task
    • Withholding or misrepresenting the true purpose of a study from participants
    • Recording data without any names attached

  3. What is the purpose of debriefing?

    • To explain the true purpose of the study and address any concerns after participation
    • To pay participants for their time in the study and to thank them for their help
    • To prepare participants for the first task in the study and explain the instructions clearly
    • To ask participants to sign a consent form before the study starts and before any testing

  4. Which right allows participants to stop taking part at any time without penalty?

    • Right to informed consent
    • Right to protection from harm
    • Right to confidentiality
    • Right to withdraw

  5. How should researchers protect participants' confidentiality?

    • Publishing participants' names alongside their results
    • Keeping names on the data but locked in the researcher's desk
    • Storing data anonymously, using codes instead of names
    • Sharing the data with the press for publicity

  6. Why is psychological harm considered an ethical issue?

    • Participants must be told their scores in advance of the study and given copies of results
    • Participants should always be paid more for longer studies and for any extra tasks
    • Participants should not experience lasting distress or humiliation as a result of the study
    • Participants must always receive physical exercise during tasks to keep them alert

  7. What is a way of dealing with the ethical issue of deception?

    • Debrief participants fully afterwards and let them withdraw their data
    • Use deception only for studies with adult participants
    • Hide the debrief so participants do not become aware of the deception
    • Tell participants the deception was intended to amuse them

  8. Which guideline requires that the wellbeing of participants is prioritised?

    • Right to withdraw
    • Protection from harm
    • Confidentiality
    • Informed consent

  9. A researcher tells participants they are doing a memory test, but the real aim is to study conformity. Which ethical issue applies?

    • Right to withdraw, because participants could not leave
    • Deception, because the true purpose was not disclosed
    • Confidentiality, because names were recorded in the study
    • Protection from harm, because participants were paid

  10. After a study, a participant asks to have their data removed. What should the researcher do?

    • Ask the participant to pay the cost of the study
    • Keep the data because it has already been collected and analysed
    • Remove their data from the study, respecting the right to withdraw
    • Publish the data without the participant's name instead

  11. A school study records children's answers but publishes their names in the report. Which ethical issue is breached?

    • Right to withdraw
    • Confidentiality
    • Informed consent
    • Debriefing

  12. A researcher gives participants a very long consent form in technical language. Why is this an ethical problem?

    • Participants may not truly understand what they agree to
    • Participants will automatically withdraw from the study when the form is long
    • Long forms are always illegal under the BPS guidelines
    • The study is invalid because participants read more than one page

  13. Which ethical issue is most likely in a study where participants are shown a distressing video?

    • Confidentiality of names
    • Deception about the study length
    • Protection from harm
    • Right to withdraw from the sample

  14. Why might deception be justified in a study, according to a researcher's argument?

    • Deception saves money because participants do not need to give consent
    • Knowing the true purpose could change behaviour
    • Deception is always justified because it increases the number of participants
    • Deception is justified only when the study is run by a university

  15. Which ethical requirement applies to research with children?

    • Children must not be told that a study has finished until all the data is collected
    • Consent from a parent or guardian as well as the child's agreement
    • Children must be tested alone with no adult present so they can speak freely
    • Children must sign a legally binding contract before any data is collected from them

  16. A researcher pays participants a large sum that may pressure them to take part. Which concern is this?

    • Deception, because participants think they are being paid for testing
    • Coercion, because the reward may stop participants from freely refusing
    • Debriefing, because payment is given before the study
    • Confidentiality, because the payment creates a permanent record

  17. Which statement best evaluates the BPS ethical guidelines in psychological research?

    • They protect participants, but researchers must still weigh ethical costs against the study's value
    • They are optional for researchers who publish in journals and receive research funding
    • They apply only to laboratory experiments, not to surveys and other field research methods
    • They remove all ethical issues from research, so no review by an ethics committee is needed

  18. Why should participants be told they can stop at any point during a study?

    • So the study finishes faster than originally planned
    • So participants can read the whole report before the study begins
    • So the researcher can record more data from each participant
    • So that taking part is voluntary and they do not feel pressured to continue

  19. A study tests children after a parent has refused consent. What is the main ethical problem?

    • Consent is not valid
    • The right to withdraw is removed for children
    • The study must be debriefed before it begins
    • Confidentiality is breached because the parent knows the results

  20. Why must researchers consider ethics before they begin collecting data?

    • To make sure the study can be published without any changes to the original design
    • To reduce risk to participants and make sure the study is approved and conducted responsibly
    • To decide which statistical test to use after the data is collected and checked
    • To avoid having to recruit a sample at all by using existing published data sets

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