Justifying Deception in Social Science Research

The use of deceptive techniques is common in social science research. It is argued that the use of such techniques is incompatible with the standard of informed consent, which is widely employed in the ethical evaluation of research involving human subjects. A number of proposals to justify the use of deceptions in social science research are examined, in the face of its apparent incompatibility with the standard of informed consent, and found to be inadequate. An alternative method of justification is outlined, which enables some deceived participants in social science research to rationally and autonomously choose to participate in that research. The alternative method of justification appeals to the idea of indirect consent , which is introduced. It is argued that research subjects who receive reliable testimony regarding research procedures can sometimes be placed in a position to rationally and autonomously consent indirectly to participation in experiments and studies, even if these involve significant deceptions.     

Good intentions and bad sociology: New age authenticity and social roles

Drawing on New Age biographies, this essay questions the assertion of New Agers that enlightenment and authentiáty improve personal and social relationships, and offers a sociological justification for the imposition of social order and for the use of roles in the mediation of relationships.     

The relative judgment theory of two choice response time

Choice reaction times and response probabilities are analyzed in terms of a random walk decision process. The theory of relative judgment which gives rise to this analysis assumes that a presented stimulus is compared by the subject to an internal psychological standard or referent. Discrepancies between the stimulus and the referent are accumulated until one or the other of two response thresholds is exceeded. Results from three experiments are examined in detail. In each experiment a particular feature of the theory is tested and shown to be supported by the data. Methods of estimating the two parameters of the theory are given and an appendix presents a summary of theoretical results.     

Appropriateness of anxiety and drive for affiliation

Anxiety was induced in first/only born and later born subjects by the threatened injection of a harmless drug. Perceived appropriateness of the induced anxiety was manipulated by the experimenter's suggestion that anxiety over an injection was either perfectly natural (appropriate condition) or to be found only in rather nervous and effeminate men (inappropriate condition). The results indicated that the anxiety induction was successful, but that the perceived appropriateness of the anxiety determined the tendency to affiliate. Subjects in the appropriate condition showed a significantly greater tendency to affiliate than did subjects in the inappropriate condition. Birth order was related to anxiety on one of two measures, but was not implicated in the determination of the affiliative tendency.     

Depth of Field: Using photographs and narratives to explore and reflect on ageing

The learning landscape of the higher education environment is changing, with an increased focus over the past decade on how educators might begin to cultivate reflective skills in health professions students. In addition, changing professional requirements demand that health professionals are adequately prepared to practise in today’s complex healthcare systems, including responding to changing demographics of population ageing. In this educational case study, we will share how we (a group of education, medical and nursing academics) developed ‘Depth of Field: Exploring Ageing’ a digital, consumer-driven, interprofessional reflective learning resource that uses photographs, narrative and small-group work to strengthen reflective capacity in current and/or future health professionals.     

Social Desirability in Patients Seeking Surgical Treatment for Dentofacial Disharmony: Associations with Psychological Distress and Motivation for Treatment

The role of socially desirable responding in the report of treatment motivation and psychological distress by patients seeking surgical treatment for dentofacial disharmony was explored. Participants completed the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1988), which measures two components of socially desirable responding (SDR): impression management (IM), which is the purposeful tailoring of answers in order to create the most positive social image, and self-deceptive positivity (SDE), which is an honest, but overly positive self-presentation. When simple bivariate relationships were examined, statistically significant inverse associations were observed between socially desirable responding and specific motives for treatment and between SDR and psychological distress. However, the relationship between socially desirable responding and motives for treatment disappeared when the effect of psychological distress was controlled. The positive relationship between psychological distress and the report of social well-being, and self-image motives for treatment remained statistically significant even after the variance attributable to socially desirable responding was removed. Implications of the findings for the evaluation of psychological distress and treatment motivation in this population are discussed.     

Counselling the community: The contribution of counselling psychologists to the development of primary care

The primary care groups (PCGs) newly introduced to the National Health Service require general practitioners and primary care teams to improve the health of their communities by addressing the health needs of their population, promoting the health of that population and working with other organizations to deliver effective and appropriate care. Community-oriented primary care (COPC) is an internationally tested model for primary health care development which is now being employed within the UK. This paper outlines the COPC model, and demonstrates how the skills and knowledge base of counselling psychologists and primary care counselling can contribute to a community-oriented primary care approach.