Subject: Ethics in Psychology
Online Exhibits
Before Belmont: Ethics in Experimental Psychology
In 1979, following a series of high-profile controversies, the Belmont Report provided ethical guidance for the study of human subjects in the United States. View these key ethical principles through the 20th century medical and psychological experiments that tested and redefined their boundaries.
Five Minute History Lessons
Robbers Cave
Muzafer and Carolyn Wood Sherif’s (1954) “Intergroup conflict and cooperation: The Robbers Cave experiment” is one of the most well-known and cited studies in the history of social psychology. Learn more about the Eagles and the Rattlers (and the Panthers and the Pythons before them), intergroup conflict, and super ordinate goals through archival film and audio, photographs, and primary source documents from the famous study.
Lectures and Panels
Psychology Film Club: The Stanford Prison Experiment
Discussion of the 2015 film The Stanford Prison Experiment, depicting the notorious prison life study conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup).
Length: 59 minutes
Originally recorded: October 29, 2020
Psychology Film Club: Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram Story
Discussion of the 2015 Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram Story, depicting the life of Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) and the events surrounding his famous obedience experiments.
Length: 61 minutes
Originally recorded: April 30, 2020
Archival Films & Recordings
Stanford Prison Experiment debriefing audio
Audio excerpt from a debriefing session conducted between researchers and participants of the Stanford Prison Experiment. A member of the research team talks the group through the ethical dilemma at the heart of this—and many other—social psychology experiments.
Length: 4 minutes
Originally recorded: ca. 1970s