StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Ethics Case Studies - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay deals with the issues that concern ethics. Admittedly, in the present paper, the author answers some questions regarding the ethicality of three experiments: the Tearoom Sex Study, the Milgram Experiment, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.5% of users find it useful
Ethics Case Studies
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Ethics Case Studies"

Ethical Case Studies: Questions and Answers in Research Ethics In this paper, the answers some questions regarding the ethicality of three experiments: the Tearoom Sex Study, the Milgram Experiment, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In all three experiments, the principles of voluntary participation and risk minimization were violated in various degrees. On a broader level, it is the principle of informed consent that was violated, because the participants were left ignorant of some relevant information regarding their participation in the studies, and such information could have affected their willingness to participate.

What is alarming is the fact that there were even instances of deception on the part of those who conducted the experiments, in order to ensure the willful participation of individuals. These violations pave the way for other unethical components in the conduct of research, such as the potential for breaches in confidentiality and disclosure. It can be noted that with the Tearoom Sex Study, a number of the participants were actually not willing participants because they were never informed that they were participating in this particular study.

They were never informed of the purpose of the actual study being conducted, and who the beneficiaries will be. There was even deception because Laud Humphreys surreptitiously followed some unwilling participants to their houses in order to get them to answer questions on the pretext that they were answering them for a different study. In the Milgram experiment, the participants were deceived into thinking that they were directly responsible for inflicting extreme pain on another individual, when that “other individual” was actually a member of the experiment team.

As a result, the experiment proved extremely stressful and traumatic to some participants. A more sinister and tragic result from deceptive research is seen in the Tuskegee Syphilis study. Thinking that they were receiving treatment when treatment was in fact withheld, a number of participants died, while some family members contracted the disease. In these cases, a significant amount of information about the study being conducted was withheld from the participants, effectively taking away their capacity to render informed consent.

It is undeniable that the three studies contributed much in their respective fields. Humphreys’ and Milgram’s findings deconstructed various stereotypes about sexual behavior and psychological depravity respectively, while much about the effects of untreated syphilis was known as a result of the Tuskegee study. However, the intrinsic value of the human person is still more important than generating knowledge for its own sake. In neglecting informed consent, the volitional capacity of a person is essentially overlooked, making the study unethical.

In this sense, the perceived value of the research is not seen as sufficient justification for breaches in ethical research. More importantly, it is still possible to arrive at essentially the same results without having to resort to unethical means. The main challenge is to ensure that the value and dignity of the human person is upheld, and that the participant should be informed of the purpose of the research, the perceived benefits of the research, and those who will benefit from it. Reference Holmes, Robert.

Basic moral philosophy. United States of America: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Ethics Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Ethics Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1596872-ethics-case-studies
(Ethics Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Ethics Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1596872-ethics-case-studies.
“Ethics Case Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1596872-ethics-case-studies.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Ethics Case Studies

Business Law and ethics

Child Labour in Developing Countries Introduction This paper is based on the business law and ethics case study on child labour in developing countries and it manly seeks to highlight on the other thoughts of the young labourers who were enrolled for a two-year full time education program that was being sponsored by their employer.... This will improve their living quality of life because upon finishing their studies, the children would be entitled to promotions to higher positions and even an increase in their wage rate since they would be having additional qualifications....
3 Pages (750 words) Case Study

Ethics and Reality

On the contrary, the United States has promoted the research in the direction of "proceed with caution," and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for a large number of xenotransplant studies.... In the present case, the GENOTECH has emerged as a helping hand to this family.... Sociological morals and ethics say that the brother should donate the kidney, but according to the medical ethics and also the explanation that doctors and physicians have given and discussed with the patient's brother about the positive and negative aspects of organ donation and more over due to conflicting attitude between the siblings the brother refused to donate the organ....
4 Pages (1000 words) Case Study

Technology and Ethics

A case in point is when the renowned golfer Tiger Woods reportedly used this procedure to improve his vision to 20/15 (Eric, 1997).... This paper ''Technology and ethics'' tells that The scenario presents a situation where two issues come out clearly.... Based on known ethical principles, I'm tasked to advise the top management and the government on this issue as the ethics manager....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Utilitarianism and biomedical ethics

Death studies.... In this case, by utilitarian rules, there are other people to consider such as children and grandchildren.... The need for healthcare professionals to feel they have intervened in the life of a case has promoted the need to have an ethical professional code.... In the case of this patient, the place between bad and good is expanded when we allow the patient to make her own choice and the moral dilemma is then solved....
2 Pages (500 words) Case Study

Business Ethics in an Organization

The study "Business ethics in an Organization" focuses on the analysis of the ethical principles of The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a privately funded NGO operating within the Pakistani sector.... nbsp;TCF has been in operation for more than a decade now and has been providing quality education to the underprivileged....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Marketing principal

Business Ethics: case studies and Selected Readings.... Apple is a company that has planted its vision into creating products and improving them to an advanced, trendy, classy and simple result (Jennings 402).... The company is set to progressively improving its products and creating a brand that is widely appreciated globally (Sandoval… The company has grown to being among the highest-ranking companies in its sales....
2 Pages (500 words) Case Study

Buisness Ethics: The Ethical Dilemma of Solidarity Fund Pension Scheme

Before investing in a Company, therefore, the Solidarity Fund ensured that the company observed the above principles of business ethics and community social responsibility.... This paper discusses and analyzes the ethical dilemma that the Solidarity Fund pension scheme, a large pension fund operated by the Quebec federation of labor (QFL), found itself in following gross misconduct by Gildan Company, a Company that the Solidarity fund had heavily invested in....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

The Usefulness and Application of Ethical Egoism

adbury Schweppes knows that ethical consumers will make purchase decisions that are influenced to some extent by the operations of the company and the level of ethics that the company shows.... The paper 'The Usefulness and Application of Ethical Egoism' presents environmental degradation which is a very important topic concerning the world today and different groups as well as organizations focus on various ways and means in which they can help the environment rather than harm it....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us