Question
1. Looking at the Little Albert Experiment, answer the question below in 150-200 words:
What were the ethical violations in the Little Albert experiment? What are ways that this experiment could have been improved? Why would researchers not be able to recreate the Little Albert experiment today?
2. Looking at the Stanford Prison Experiment, answer the question below in 150-200 words:
Was it ethical to conduct the Stanford Prison experiment? Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research? If you were to recreate the experiment today, what would you need to change?
(Give personal thoughts for both questions, keep the wording unprofessional and simple)
What were the ethical violations in the Little Albert experiment? What are ways that this experiment could have been improved? Why would researchers not be able to recreate the Little Albert experiment today?
2. Looking at the Stanford Prison Experiment, answer the question below in 150-200 words:
Was it ethical to conduct the Stanford Prison experiment? Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research? If you were to recreate the experiment today, what would you need to change?
(Give personal thoughts for both questions, keep the wording unprofessional and simple)
Answers
GPT-4o mini
1. The Little Albert Experiment, conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, had some serious ethical issues. First off, they didn’t get proper consent from Little Albert’s mother. Plus, they intentionally scared the baby with loud noises and scary animals, which could have caused long-lasting psychological harm. Another big problem was that they didn’t try to help Albert afterwards to undo the fear they created. To improve the experiment, they could have ensured that Albert received therapy to address his fears and also involved his mother in a meaningful way to accept the process. Today, it wouldn’t be possible to recreate the Little Albert experiment due to strict ethical guidelines in research. These rules emphasize informed consent, the right to withdraw, and maintaining the participants' mental well-being, which the original experiment completely ignored.
2. The Stanford Prison Experiment raises a lot of ethical questions. While it aimed to explore the effects of situational power dynamics, the suffering experienced by the participants was pretty extreme and unnecessary. It’s hard to justify trading people's psychological well-being for research findings. If I were to recreate the experiment today, I’d make sure to prioritize participant safety and mental health above all else. This would mean having clear guidelines to halt the experiment if people started to feel uncomfortable or harmed. Additionally, I’d ensure thorough debriefings and support for all participants afterward, helping them process any emotional experiences. It’s crucial to learn from the past and not let knowledge come at such a high cost to individuals.
2. The Stanford Prison Experiment raises a lot of ethical questions. While it aimed to explore the effects of situational power dynamics, the suffering experienced by the participants was pretty extreme and unnecessary. It’s hard to justify trading people's psychological well-being for research findings. If I were to recreate the experiment today, I’d make sure to prioritize participant safety and mental health above all else. This would mean having clear guidelines to halt the experiment if people started to feel uncomfortable or harmed. Additionally, I’d ensure thorough debriefings and support for all participants afterward, helping them process any emotional experiences. It’s crucial to learn from the past and not let knowledge come at such a high cost to individuals.