The proposed study will establish the role of conditioning in children. The experiment will investigate the role of rewards in changing the negative behavior of children. In addition, the study will involve both positive reinforcement to support the development of positive behavior and negative reinforcement to discourage negative behavior. In a lab, children would be given material rewards, such as candies, any time they behave positively, including obeying rules. On the other hand, they will be denied any reward for failing to follow instructions. The conditioning element, candies, would motivate them to behave in a way the experimenter desires. While Pavlov’s research experiments involving children contributed positively to psychology, it violated ethical principles since it involved orphans and did not get the consent of their guardians.
In a similar experiment today, it would be unethical for the researcher to perform studies on children without consent or authorization of a guardian. Ethical principles require informed consent of any person participating in a research involving human subjects (Nagy, 2011). If children are minors (Below 18 years), parents or guardians should sign a consent form. Researchers should respect the rights and dignity of their participants, including children. In Pavlov’s research experiments, violation of ethical rights of subjects was evident. Therefore, the consent form should be signed after parents and children are oriented about the nature and purpose of the study (Metcalf & Crawford, 2016). Consequently, parents or guardians would decide whether to permit their children to participate. Furthermore, a researcher should allow participants to leave the experiment at any point if they desire. Informed consent and the voluntary nature of the study is the rationale behind ethical considerations.
References
Metcalf, J., & Crawford, K. (2016). Where are human subjects in big data research? The emerging ethics divide. Big Data & Society, 3(1). doi:10.1177/2053951716650211
Nagy, T. F. (2011). Essential ethics for psychologists: A primer for understanding and mastering core issues. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
