Why Research Ethics Matter
The history of social research includes serious ethical violations that shaped modern protections. Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments (1961) deceived participants into believing they were administering painful electric shocks. Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) subjected students to psychological abuse. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) deliberately withheld treatment from Black men with syphilis for decades. These cases — causing real psychological and physical harm — led to the Belmont Report (1979), which established three foundational principles for human subjects research: respect for persons (informed consent and autonomy), beneficence (maximizing benefits while minimizing harm), and justice (fair distribution of research burdens and benefits).