The Tuskegee study on syphilis is one of the most known ethical controversies related to psychology. It was a forty year study on 399 African-American men who had syphilis left untreated. During the study over 125 men died of syphilis related complications and many other people were infected with syphilis.
It is amazing how this study was allowed to happen. According to the Tuskegee University website the men in the study had no idea what kind of study they were in or what the name of the study was. The men that were involved were not given informed consent of the procedures which is against research protocol.
Also many people have problems with animal research. They don't like the fact that some of the procedures are invasive which will cause physical harm to the animals. In my opinion animal research can be very helpful in many different fields of science including psychology. The brains of the animals are able to help psychologists by seeing how the brain relates to behavior. I also think that some animal research is too invasive. These invasive procedures lead to the death of these animals where they would still be healthy if the procedure wasn't done.
From the story of the Tuskegee study to many of the invasive animal studies many ethical problems have come about in research. Although some of the research can be very useful, is it worth the cost?
