A Defense of Deception on Scientific Grounds
Karen S Cook, Toshio Yamagishi. Social Psychology Quarterly. Washington: Sep 2008. Vol. 71, Iss. 3; pg. 215, 7 pgs
Abstract (Summary)
Some of the alternative methods advocated by economists to avoid the use of deception (such as the "strategy method" in which subjects make decisions on each of a variety of scenarios representing possible choices of the other participants, and are paid according to one of the scenarios actually chosen by another subject) are not valid modes of conducting experiments when investigating these other elements of choice or behavior.
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Copyright American Sociological Association Sep 2008
A debate is emerging concerning the use of deception in social science research (especially when it employs experimental methods), driven primarily by the relatively recent move by many economists into experimental work. These economists generally argue that deception should be banned. Deception includes a variety of practices in social science research and is not limited to experimental research. Most often it involves providing limited information about the true purpose of the research, omitting information in the instructions to subjects not deemed central to the study but important to the research effort, or giving a "cover story" for the study that does not reveal the actual topic of study. Regardless of type, all deception used in social science research must be approved through protocol review by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in university settings.
As political scientist Wilson (2007:5) notes in a recent essay: "In economics all deception is forbidden. Reviewers are quite adamant on the point and a paper with any deception will be rejected." Thus, if the economists prevail with journals, funding agencies, and universities in their efforts to ban the use of deception, the impact on our capacity to conduct some kinds of... [continues]
Karen S Cook, Toshio Yamagishi. Social Psychology Quarterly. Washington: Sep 2008. Vol. 71, Iss. 3; pg. 215, 7 pgs
Abstract (Summary)
Some of the alternative methods advocated by economists to avoid the use of deception (such as the "strategy method" in which subjects make decisions on each of a variety of scenarios representing possible choices of the other participants, and are paid according to one of the scenarios actually chosen by another subject) are not valid modes of conducting experiments when investigating these other elements of choice or behavior.
» Jump to indexing (document details)
Full Text
(4438 words)
Copyright American Sociological Association Sep 2008
A debate is emerging concerning the use of deception in social science research (especially when it employs experimental methods), driven primarily by the relatively recent move by many economists into experimental work. These economists generally argue that deception should be banned. Deception includes a variety of practices in social science research and is not limited to experimental research. Most often it involves providing limited information about the true purpose of the research, omitting information in the instructions to subjects not deemed central to the study but important to the research effort, or giving a "cover story" for the study that does not reveal the actual topic of study. Regardless of type, all deception used in social science research must be approved through protocol review by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in university settings.
As political scientist Wilson (2007:5) notes in a recent essay: "In economics all deception is forbidden. Reviewers are quite adamant on the point and a paper with any deception will be rejected." Thus, if the economists prevail with journals, funding agencies, and universities in their efforts to ban the use of deception, the impact on our capacity to conduct some kinds of... [continues]
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