Milgram, Skinner Box and Tuskegee Experiment - Scientific Immorality
This is Milgram, Skinner Box and Tuskegee experiment essay in which we will briefly analyse these scientific events. All gathering techniques must meet the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association, also known as the APA. The APA was established in 1892. The APA helps in many ways with psychology by making experimenters have rules to follow. Unfortunately before the APA had guidelines to follow there were many unethical experiments done such as the Tuskegee experiment, the Milgram experiment, and the Skinner box experiment.
To continue Tuskegee syphilis experiment essay, the experiment is an example of an unethical way to experiment. The Tuskegee was done from 1932 until 1972. The reason for doing the Tuskegee study was to see the results of untreated syphilis. During the Tuskegee experiment men were told that they were getting vaccines, but the men were actually being injected with syphilis. The black men who agreed to be part of the Tuskegee experiment were to get free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance in return of being part of the study. The APA created guidelines, so that inhumane experiments like this one cannot be performed. This experiment is one of many experiments that helped bring about the APA guidelines.
Another example of an unethical way to experiment was the Milgram experiment. This experiment was performed in 1963, before the APA established their guidelines. The Milgram experiment was designed to test if a person would hurt another person if ordered to. A psychologist would get two people, and put one person in a room and put the other outside the room. The person outside the room would ask questions to the other person, and if the person in the room answered wrong they would get shocked. The person on the outside of the room was pressing the button to shock, and could increase the shock everytime a question was answered wrong. The trick to the experiment was that the shock never actually increased. The person getting shocked would just act like it hurt more to see if the person shocking him would quit. This experiment was unethical to APA guidelines because this could be harmful to some people. The Milgram experiment is another great example of why the APA was established.
The final example of an unethical experiment that breaks APA guidelines is the Skinner Box. This experiment was performed by BF Skinner to learn about the behaviors of animals. Once BF Skinner had a daughter, he put his daughter in the box to study her behavior. The box was designed for his daughter to have no human touch on her for months. The only way to do anything with his daughter was to stick his hands in holes on the side of the box, with gloves on his hands. BF Skinner’s daughter grew up to be very intelligent, so the experiment proved that baby’s do not have to have human interaction to be normal. However, this experiment is unethical and breaks APA guidelines because putting a baby in a box is cruel to the baby.
To end up Milgram, Skinner Box and Tuskegee syphilis study essay, In the past when there were no governing bodies to control experiments, anything could be done. It was done whether or not it was morally correct. Now we have an organization that can govern what is ethical or not. As you read from the examples above, something had to change. The APA organization has made these changes and will continue to improve in the future.
