Informed Consent
Definition
Informed consent is an ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.
Analogy
Imagine going into a movie theater but not knowing what movie you're about to watch. You'd want some information before deciding if it's worth your time, right? That's exactly what informed consent does; it gives participants enough information about the study so they can decide if they want to take part or not.
Related terms
Debriefing: A verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study after its completion.
Voluntary Participation: The principle that participants are free to take part in research without coercion or undue influence.
Confidentiality: The principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research or therapy should not be revealed without the individual's permission.
"Informed Consent" appears in:
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (20+)
- Which case would most likely require psychologists obtain informed consent before proceeding?
- Why is obtaining informed consent from participants before conducting an experiment crucial for ethical psychological practice?
- What is the ethical concern when researchers do not obtain informed consent from study participants?
- What is the primary reason for obtaining informed consent from participants in a psychological study?
- Why is it essential for participants in a psychological study to give informed consent?
- Which of the following scenarios best highlights the ethical issue of "informed consent" in psychological research?
- What is the primary reason psychologists must obtain informed consent from research participants?
- Which scenario represents a possible violation of informed consent within the context of psychological experimentation?
- How does the ethical principle of informed consent apply to the administration of psychotropic medication?
- How does the ethical principle of informed consent apply to neuroplasticity research with human subjects?
- Why is informed consent necessary when conducting research on sensory perception?
- How does the principle of informed consent apply to experiments on perception?
- How does the ethical principle of informed consent apply to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)?
- What is the main ethical concern when using the olfactory sense for psychological research without informed consent?
- How does the ethical principle of informed consent apply in classical conditioning experiments?
- What ethical concern is most directly associated with using operant conditioning techniques to modify behavior without informed consent?
- How does the APA's Ethical Standard regarding informed consent apply when conducting research about memory in psychology?
- How does the ethical principle of informed consent apply to encoding research in psychology?
- Why is informed consent considered crucial from an ethical standpoint before initiating therapy aimed at retrieving repressed memories?
- Why is informed consent crucial when conducting intelligence testing?
Resources
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