Microsoft Word Chapter 1 done doc

2.4 THE QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE AND THE 
RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS : SEEKING AN 
APPROPRIATE BALANCE : 
 
There is similarity between social psychologist and 
researchers from many other fields. They use similar types of 
experimentation and systematic observation methods, and in their 
emphasis on theory construction. However, there is one technique 
which is unique in social psychology, which is deception. This 
technique involves efforts by researchers to withhold information 
about experimental conditions; it is because many social 
psychologists believe that if participants know the true purpose of 
an investigation then their behaviour will be changed by that 
knowledge. 
However, the use of deception raises important ethical 
issues, which are worth considering.
First, Deception may result in some kind of harm to the 
persons/participants participated in it. Participants may be upset/ 
disappointed with the procedure used, or by their own reaction, 
which they have given during experimental procedure. The 
procedures in which deception is involved had powerful 
psychological effects on research participants, and raise important 
ethical issues. This is serious lacuna of this technique. 
Second, there is possibility that participants will resent being 
“fooled” during a study, and they may develop negative attitude 
about these experimental activities and towards the field of social 
psychology as a whole. 
Because of these issues, the use of deception poses 
something of a dilemma to social psychologist. Dilemma that the 
use of deception technique may yield genuine responses which are 
useful for the phenomenon under study but at the same time, use 
of it raises several problems.
There are two opinions on it. First, deception is 
inappropriate, no matter how useful it is. Second, majority believes 
that temporary deception is acceptable if certain safeguards are 
adopted like informed consent procedure i.e., receiving as much 
information as possible about the procedure to be followed before 
making their decision to take part in a study and at the end of a 

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