The Opportunity Cost of Compulsory Research Participation: Why Psychology Departments Should Abolish Involuntary Participant Pools.

Science and Engineering Ethics
Ruth Walker

Abstract

Psychology departments often require undergraduates to participate in faculty and graduate research as part of their course or face a penalty. Involuntary participant pools (human subject pools) in which students are compulsorily enrolled are objectively coercive. Students have less autonomy than other research participants because they face a costly alternative task or the penalties that accompany failure to meet a course requirement if they choose not to participate. By contrast, other research participants are free to refuse consent without cost or penalty. Some researchers claim that the educational value of participation justifies the requirement. They treat coercion as a cost that can be outweighed by the benefits to students. This paper argues that such an approach is flawed because coercion is not like other costs and that educational value is inherently low relative to personal study or classroom time. The unethical nature of involuntary participation is best demonstrated with an opportunity cost analysis. This shows that students are forced to sacrifice higher value alternatives that they have paid to do and undertake a lower value activity that principally benefits others. Faculty have a conflict of interest as they ...Continue Reading

References

Mar 20, 2010·Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics : JERHRE·Karen Leggett DugoshDouglas B Marlowe
Jun 17, 2010·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Joseph HenrichAra Norenzayan
Apr 5, 2011·Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics : JERHRE·Anne Moyer, Nancy Franklin
Oct 15, 2013·Journal of Psychosomatic Research·Albert F G Leentjens, James L Levenson
Mar 7, 2015·Monash Bioethics Review·I J Pieper, C J H Thomson
Mar 10, 2015·Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics : JERHRE·Karen L DugoshNicolle T Clements

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