Question

Activity 5: Playing the Role of the IRB

Consider the following social psychology study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on physiological behaviors of personal-space invasions. Middlemist, Knowles, and Matter (1976) arranged an interesting field experiment of urination behaviors in college males. They conducted their experiment in a men’s restroom at a university, such that men using the restroom were selected as participants, and a field experiment was conducted. Three urinals in the restroom were arranged so that men entering the restroom were forced to use:

(1) the end urinal with a confederate next to them (the urinal at the other end had a “being cleaned” sign and a bucket and sponge placed on it), or

(2) the end urinal with a confederate two urinals away (the middle urinal had the sign), or

(3) the end urinal with no confederate nearby (both of the other urinals had signs).

An experimenter in a stall measured the time it took for the participant to begin urination and the length of time he urinated. Participants were never informed that they were participating in a research study. The researchers found that the participants in the condition with the confederate at the urinal next to them took longer to begin urination and urinated for a shorter duration than the other two conditions, indicating that invasion of personal space affects physiological behaviors.

Your task, as a group is to play the role of the IRB in deciding whether you would have supported the approval of this study. We will answer a couple of the criteria as a class and then each group will answer half of the criteria and we will together decide whether this study should have been approved.

Researcher minimizes unnecessary risk (CLASS).

Risk in the study is justified by potential benefits (GROUP 1).

The selection of participants is fair and appropriate (GROUP 2).

An informed consent process is included and documented (GROUP 1).

Collection of data is monitored to ensure the safety of the participants (GROUP 2).

Privacy and confidentiality of the participants are protected (GROUP 1).

Special groups of participants are protected (GROUP 2).

A study using deception has a documented process for debriefing (CLASS).

Based on our class and group discussion, if you were an IRB, would you have approved this study? Why or why not? ( Please be detailed)

Answer 1

Being in the position of IRB, in my opinion I would approve this study of physiological behaviour in personal space room as the research procedures followed here in this research is good and chances of errors have been minimised too. Its needless to say that so many factors affects the human mind including anxiety , nervousness , the surroundings or the personal space the subject is habituated too so 100% accuracy cant be expected from this research but still the behaviours can be observed and noted .

Its better if this research , rather than conducting on single time basis , should be conducted twice or thrice in a gap of two or three days will be more effective because a single persons responds varies depending on the stress level from day to day life , moods, anxiety , weather and several other factors. To get the better results tests should be conducted on the same person twice or thrice to measure the difference in behaviour of the same person on various time. Involving various person on various time will not serve the purpose of conducting the research repeatedly.