Controversial studies
There have been a number of controversial studies in psychiatry. This is a popular topic in exams. See below for a summary of the main ones that come up.
The Willowbrook School Study
The Willowbrook school was a state supported institution for children with learning difficulties located in New York.
During the 1960s a study was carried out there which involved the inoculation of healthy children with hepatitis and the subsequent administration of gamma globulin to assess for its potential to treat the disorder.
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was a follow up study of people with syphilis. It is very controversial as a significant proportion of those in the study were not informed of their illness and did not receive available treatment even though it became available half way through the study.
A report on the study called the 'Belmont report' introduced many changes into US law on research ethics.
Stanford's prison experiment
This study involved creating a simulated prison environment at Stanford University. 24 students were recruited who scored highly on measures of maturity and stability. Each participant was then assigned as either a prison or a guard.
Participants were given no guidelines for how to behave, with the exception of the guards who were told not to use physical abuse under any circumstances. Within only two days, the participants literally became the roles they were assigned. The guards began to act very harshly and sometimes even cruel to the prisoners.
While no one was physically hurt during the study, a few of the prisoners displayed extreme emotional reactions that warranted termination of the study after only six days.
The Tearooms Study
This study (conducted by Humphreys) involved him hanging around 'tearooms' (public toilets where men meet to have sex) in order to study the population and learn more about the types of men that did it.
It was the method however that was controversial rather than the topic. He never disclosed his motives when he interview the men and instead pretended to be a 'watchqueen'. This raised the issue of informed consent in research.
Milgrams' Study
Milgram was interested in authority and obedience and devised a study to investigate this.
The participants were told that they were participating in research on the effects of punishment on memory. In each session, the participant was always assigned the role of the teacher while a confederate played the learner and was ultimately strapped to an electrical chair that could be controlled by the teacher in another room.
The two communicated via an intercom system. Although all participants believed the setup to be genuine, the learner would never receive any actual shocks. The participant's job was to read to the learner a list of words and wait for him to repeat them in order. If he was incorrect or did not respond he was given a shock. Each time this occurred, the participant had to administer a fake shock that was 15 volts more intense than the last (the maximum was 450 volts). The shock machine was labelled with phrases such as Danger: Severe Shock. If a participant expressed any concern during the session, the experimenter urged him to continue by saying, for example, It is absolutely essential that you continue. But, participants were told at the beginning of the experiment that they were free to leave whenever they wished to do so. Much to the experimenters'and later, the public's surprise30 of the participants continued to follow the procedure and administer shocks until 450 volts was reached. Although Milgram expressed concern for the wellbeing of his participants, as some were showing extreme agitation, he decided not to terminate the study on the basis that each prior participant seemed to recover relatively well after his session ended.
The Willowbrook School Study
The Willowbrook school was a state supported institution for children with learning difficulties located in New York.
During the 1960s a study was carried out there which involved the inoculation of healthy children with hepatitis and the subsequent administration of gamma globulin to assess for its potential to treat the disorder.
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was a follow up study of people with syphilis. It is very controversial as a significant proportion of those in the study were not informed of their illness and did not receive available treatment even though it became available half way through the study.
A report on the study called the 'Belmont report' introduced many changes into US law on research ethics.
Stanford's prison experiment
This study involved creating a simulated prison environment at Stanford University. 24 students were recruited who scored highly on measures of maturity and stability. Each participant was then assigned as either a prison or a guard.
Participants were given no guidelines for how to behave, with the exception of the guards who were told not to use physical abuse under any circumstances. Within only two days, the participants literally became the roles they were assigned. The guards began to act very harshly and sometimes even cruel to the prisoners.
While no one was physically hurt during the study, a few of the prisoners displayed extreme emotional reactions that warranted termination of the study after only six days.
The Tearooms Study
This study (conducted by Humphreys) involved him hanging around 'tearooms' (public toilets where men meet to have sex) in order to study the population and learn more about the types of men that did it.
It was the method however that was controversial rather than the topic. He never disclosed his motives when he interview the men and instead pretended to be a 'watchqueen'. This raised the issue of informed consent in research.
Milgrams' Study
Milgram was interested in authority and obedience and devised a study to investigate this.
The participants were told that they were participating in research on the effects of punishment on memory. In each session, the participant was always assigned the role of the teacher while a confederate played the learner and was ultimately strapped to an electrical chair that could be controlled by the teacher in another room.
The two communicated via an intercom system. Although all participants believed the setup to be genuine, the learner would never receive any actual shocks. The participant's job was to read to the learner a list of words and wait for him to repeat them in order. If he was incorrect or did not respond he was given a shock. Each time this occurred, the participant had to administer a fake shock that was 15 volts more intense than the last (the maximum was 450 volts). The shock machine was labelled with phrases such as Danger: Severe Shock. If a participant expressed any concern during the session, the experimenter urged him to continue by saying, for example, It is absolutely essential that you continue. But, participants were told at the beginning of the experiment that they were free to leave whenever they wished to do so. Much to the experimenters'and later, the public's surprise30 of the participants continued to follow the procedure and administer shocks until 450 volts was reached. Although Milgram expressed concern for the wellbeing of his participants, as some were showing extreme agitation, he decided not to terminate the study on the basis that each prior participant seemed to recover relatively well after his session ended.
