Discuss one or more ethical considerations in studies investigating group dynamics.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks. These can be found under the “Your tests” tab > supplemental materials.

The command term “discuss” requires candidates to offer a considered review of one or more ethical considerations in research investigating group dynamics.

Ethical considerations may be positive (what guidelines were followed) or negative (what guidelines were not followed).

Ethical considerations may include, but are not limited to:

• deception
• protection from physical or mental harm
• briefing and debriefing
• right to withdraw from a study
• informed consent
• anonymity/confidentiality.

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:

• Sherif’s (1966) field experiment on competition in groups – informed parental consent
• Lyons-Padilla et al.’s (2015) survey investigating relationships between cultural identity, experiences of discrimination, and attitudes towards extremism – informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality
• Sternberg and Dobson’s (1987) study on resolution of interpersonal conflicts and Sternberg and Soriano’s (1984) study on styles of conflict resolution – anonymity and confidentiality.

Discussion related to ethical considerations may include, but is not limited to:

• the role of informed consent when studying groups
• why deception is often used in studies of group dynamics
• the difficulties of ensuring confidentiality in social psychology research, especially in research into group dynamics
• the potential for psychological and physical harm and associated restrictions on research design
• decisions as to why certain ethical guidelines were/were not followed
• changes over time in adherence to ethical standards/guidelines.

This was a popular question but still the least popular question within the option. Candidates generated answers which tended to be too general and lacking a specific focus on which ethical considerations are relevant or problematic in studies investigating group dynamics. Often responses provided vague responses addressing general ethical considerations but failed to apply this knowledge when discussing/evaluating studies. The most popular choice was Sherif's (1966) field experiment on competition in groups — in a lot of responses candidates offered long and detailed descriptions of the procedure of the study but failed to address which ethical considerations were or were not addressed. Evidence of specific knowledge relevant to the question was too often provided in form of a simple statement that informed parental consent was obtained.