Both Watson and Rayner (1920) and Rosenhan (1973) have significant ethical implications.
In their classic investigation, Watson and Rayner (1920) noted during their observations of Little Albert: "The instant the rat was shown, the baby began to cry. Almost instantly he turned sharply to the left, fell over on his left side, raised himself on all fours and began to crawl away so rapidly that he was caught with difficulty..." (Watson & Rayner, 1920, p. 11).
In his study on psychiatric diagnosis, Rosenhan (1973) observed: "The pseudopatient was normal in every respect... yet he was not known to be normal by the hospital staff. The labels 'schizophrenia in remission' or 'schizophrenia' were never removed, nor was there any indication that the staff suspected the ruse." (Rosenhan, 1973, p. 252).
Evaluate the ethical issues of these studies in relation to each other, with reference to their aims and methods.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Synoptic review of studies with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 38 questions, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.