Milgram's Obedience Experiments
Experiments begun in 1960s at Yale University by psychologist Stanley Milgram to determine the likelihood of people following orders from an authority despite their own sentiments; widely cited as helping to understand the emergence of phenomena such as N
Nuremberg War Crime Trials
The International Military Tribunal held by the victorious Allies after World War II in Nuremberg, Germany, that exposed the horrific medical experiments conducted by Nazi doctors and others in the name of "science
Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
U.S. Public Health Service study of the "natural" course of syphilis that followed 399 low-income African American men from the 1930s to 1972, without providing them with penicillin after this was discovered as treating the illness. The study was stopped
Belmont Report
Guidelines developed by the U.S. National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1979 for the protection of human subjects
Respect For Person
The ethical principle of treating persons as autonomous agents and protecting those with diminished autonomy in research involving human subjects that was included in the Belmont Report
Beneficence
The ethical requirement of minimizing possible harms and maximizing benefits in research involving human subjects that was included in the Belmont Report
Justice
The ethical principle of distributing benefits and risks of research in research involving human subjects fairly that was included in the Belmont Report
Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects
Specific regulations adopted in 1991 by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration that were based on the principles of the Belmont Report
Code of Ethics
Professional code of the American Sociological Association for the treatment of human subjects by members, employees, and students, designed to comply with federal policy and revised in 1997
Conflict of Interest
When a researcher has a significant financial stake in the design or outcome of his or her own research
Zimbardo's Prison Simulation Study
Famous prison study at Stanford University by psychologist Philip Zimbardo designed to investigate the impact of being either a guard or a prisoner in a "total institution";widely cited as demonstrating the likelihood of emergence of sadistic behavior in
Debriefing
A researcher's informing subjects after an experiment about the experiment's purpose and methods and evaluating subjects' personal reactions to the experiment
Tearoom Trade
Study by sociologist Laud Humphreys of men who engage in homosexual behavior in public facilities, including subsequent later interviews in their homes after recording their license plate numbers; widely cited in discussion of the need for informed consen
Deception
Used in social experiments to create more "realistic" treatments in which the true purpose of the research is not disclosed to participants, often within the confines of a laboratory.
Certificate of Confidentiality
A certificate issued to a researcher by the National Institutes of Health that ensures the right to protect information obtained about high-risk populations or behaviors-except child abuse or neglect- from legal subpoenas
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
A congressional act passed in 1996 that creates stringent regulations for the protection of health care data
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A group of organizational and community representatives required by federal law to review the ethical issues in all proposed research that is federally funded, involves human subjects, or has any potential for harm to human subjects
Office for Protection from Research Risk, National Institutes of Health
The office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that provides leadership and supervision about the protection of the rights, warfare, and well-being of subjects involved in research conducted or supported by HHS, including monitoring