ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on social psychological experiments; the problem of deception and its possibly harmful effects arises in other areas of psychological experimentation as well. The use of deception has become more and more extensive, and it is now a commonplace and almost standard feature of social psychological experiments. A considerable amount of the creativity and ingenuity of social psychologists is invested in the development of increasingly elaborate deception situations. The broader ethical problem brought into play by the very use of deception becomes even more important when reader view it in the light of present historical forces. Serious ethical issues are raised by deception per se and the kind of use of human beings that it implies. The complexities of the issues surrounding the use of deception become quite apparent when one reads the exchange between D. Baumrind and S. Milgram about the ethical implications of the obedience research.
