Consider the following experiment. Each participant interactedfor an hour with another person who was actually a researchconfederate (an actor working for the researcher). The confederateeither presented herself as similar or dissimilar to theparticipant. After this interaction, both persons agreed to return1 week later for another session with each other. When the realparticipants returned, they were falsely informed that the personthey had met the week before had died. The researchers thencompared how long the participant spent viewing a picture of the“deceased” depending on whether the person had presented as similaror dissimilar to them. The participant was never told that thereported death was untrue.
Write a hypothesis that is tested in this study.
Discuss the ethical issues raised in the experiment.
What would you recommend the experimenters do to protect theparticipants and minimize risk of harm?
