In one line: Psychologists are responsible for what becomes of their findings, as well as for how they obtained them.
A study reports that children from single-parent homes score slightly lower on a reading test. Every child gave assent, every parent consented, and the data are anonymous.
A week later a newspaper writes: "Single parents harm their children's education." Nothing went wrong in the study. What went wrong came afterwards, and social responsibility covers that as well.
Remember: The way research is applied is also the psychologist's responsibility.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Key idea: A report should let the public see what was found, how certain it is, and what it does not mean.
Three duties
Accuracy
Results are reported in full, with their limits: the sample, the measures, the size of the difference.
Uncertainty
The public should understand how far a finding might be wrong.
A correlation is reported as a correlation, with the other explanations named.
Anticipation
The researcher considers how the finding could be misread or misused, and words the report to make that harder.
Accuracy · Uncertainty · Anticipation
For the reading study, this means saying that the difference was small, that family income could explain it, and that most children in both groups scored in the same range.
Watch out: A group difference is a statement about averages.
Reported without that, it becomes a stereotype with a reference attached.
Stop wasting time on topics you know
Our AI identifies your weak areas and focuses your study time where it matters. No more overstudying easy topics.
Key idea: Research on some topics can harm the people it is about. Research on other topics carries a duty to act.
Socially sensitive research
- Concerns groups that are already marginalised
- Findings can add to stigma
- The question is how to publish, and whether the question was framed fairly
- Duty: protect the group from conclusions the data do not support
Advocacy
- Psychologists act as therapists and as advisers to governments
- These are positions of power
- Evidence that a policy harms people should be brought to those who set it
- Duty: press for change in line with the findings
The two duties can pull apart. Suppressing a finding protects a group for a time, but it also hides evidence that might help it. The usual answer is to publish, with the context that prevents misuse.
Use it in an answer: Link responsibility to another concept.
A biased measure or a causal claim from a correlation does most damage when the topic is sensitive.
How this is asked: On Paper 1, a 15-mark essay may set responsibility in a context, often as a claim. On Paper 2, responsibility is one of four concepts for the unseen study.
In both, responsibility for the use of findings is the part that distinguishes a strong answer.
The essay pattern
- State a position on the claim.
- Give the harm that publication can do: stereotypes, stigma, misuse.
- Give the cost of not publishing: evidence lost, trust lost.
- Set out how to publish responsibly.
- Conclude on where the responsibility lies.
The trap: the researcher as bystander: "The press distorted it" is not a full answer.
Ask what the researcher did, or failed to do, to make distortion harder.
One claim in the psychology of human relationships is that findings about differences between groups should not be published, because they may be misused. Discuss this claim with reference to responsibility.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.