Ethical Dilemmas in Psych-Article Critique Assignment

Ethical Dilemmas in Psych-Article Critique - Assignment Example The experiment was also approved by Stanford’s Human Subjects Review Committee (the university’s equivalent to an IRB), the Stanford Psychology Department, and by the Navy, who funded much of the study. The APA, at Zimbardo’s request, conducted an ethics evaluation in 1973 and concluded that all existing ethical guidelines had been followed (O’Toole, 1997). Like in the case of Milgrim’s famous study on authority conducted a few years earlier, which has been compared to the Zimbardo study, there are those who believe that this study would have never passed an IRB’s scrutiny today. Zimbardo himself felt that there was much about this study that was unethical. In his book The Lucifer Effect (2007), Zimbardo even apologized for conducting it. He believed that it was unethical because of the suffering it inflicted on its participants and stated, "I was guilty of the sin of omission—the evil of inaction—of not providing adequate overs ight and surveillance when it was required†¦The findings came at the expense of human suffering. I am sorry for that and to this day apologize for contributing to this inhumanity." (181, 235) PINNEBAKER (1997) James W. Pennebaker’s article (1997), â€Å"Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process,† is a literature review. ... One of the most interesting studies he discusses is the study in which patients used a â€Å"magic pad;† researchers found that there were as much positive effects as therapy modes in which they received feedback from a therapist. Pennebaker’s thesis of his article seems to be that there needs to be some kind of physical activity in the disclosure of trauma and to remedy inhibition; what form the activity takes does not matter, as long as it occurs. Pennebaker, in his discussion of the research about writing, does not state if the evaluators followed ethical guidelines, but since they all occurred in laboratory and university settings, it can be assumed that they were all brought before IRBs or similar authorizing committees. It can also be assumed that all participants granted informed consent. It does not seem that other than a few tears, much harm occurred as a result of their participation in any of these studies. Some emotional pain is expected when disclosing trau matic experiences, and in most cases, the release of emotional pain is therapeutic. Most members of IRBs, who are most likely also counselors or those familiar with the counseling process, would understand this when faced with approving these kinds of studies, so passing them was probably an easy process. Pennebaker makes it clear that more studies on the therapeutic benefits of writing needs to be conducted. This article and the studies he discusses support the importance of putting language to traumatic experiences, whether by talking about them, writing about them, and even better, by doing both. MIDDLEMAST (1976) R. Dennis Middlemast’s study (1976) was conducted in 1974, like the Zimbardo study, before the widespread practice of IRBs were firmly established. Also like the

Gender and Sex roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender and Sex roles - Essay Example Eunuchs have had a hugely varied life with some of them being constrained to lead a life of hugely ridiculed servants while some others having the good luck of rising to the pinnacle of society in the form of military generals and highly respected court eunuchs. The book by Kathryn Ringrose presents an in-depth study of eunuchs as they were perceived in Byzantine culture that held sway for nearly a thousand years ‘†¦the founding of Constantinople in 324 to its capture by the Turks in 1453’ (p. 3). Most refreshingly, the author has not followed the standard historical procedure of adopting a chronological approach. Rather she has traced the condition of eunuchs through the entire period with special reference to all those that could achieve social status and glory. Another interesting feature of this book is that the author also clearly describes how the medical definitions and legal perspectives about eunuchs kept varying from one century to the other during the ent ire period of Byzantine civilization. The theoretical issues on gender construction in Byzantine Empire through the entire one thousand years have been discussed in great detail. These issues and discussions found their way into medical treatises, ecclesiastical tomes and hagiographies penned during that period. While clarifying that castration was never removal of penis but surgical removal of testicles, the author concludes that castration never robbed a man of his outward symbol of masculinity but prevented a man from procreation. Hence, the term eunuch often referred to a man who has never procreated (p. 14f). The church, therefore, often referred to a celibate monk as a eunuch, one who has not undergone surgical castration but spiritual castration in the sense that he has become devoid of any desire to procreate as his entire attention has been focused on Jesus Christ and God. In a sense such an explanation or understanding of the term eunuch possibly clarified to many the real meaning of what Jesus had hinted at when he said that some people convert themselves into eunuchs for greater glory of the kingdom of Heaven. However, there was a strict separation between those who could not procreate as they were biologically incapable to do so and those that opted not to procreate as a matter of choice. However, around eighth century, eunuchs began to be more readily accepted in higher echelons of society and this spilled over into religious domain too when churches began to allow eunuchs to occupy ‘†¦prominent religious positions’ (p. 118) with Germanos being one of the most famous eunuchs that went on to occupy very high position in the theological hierarchy. While the first part of the book deals with theoretical and conceptual issues of gender construction in Byzantine society the second deals with historical details of eunuchs who rose to occupy prominent social positions either as ministers or military generals. Ringrose has been very cle ar on two points: first is eunuchs within Byzantine kingdom formed a distinct ‘†¦third gender’ (p. 4), and, second is there is an inherent difficulty in accurately describing the lives of eunuchs as most of these accounts have been written by eunuchs themselves. 2. Sturges, Robert S. 2000. Chaucer's Pardoner and Gender Theory: Bodies of Discourse. NewYork: St. Martin's. $45.00 hc.