The British Psychological Society’s Research Digest Blog recently asked 13 psychologists the question “What’s the most important psychology experiment that’s never been done?” And while some of the research ideas prompted by the question just simply haven’t been attempted yet, some of the most fascinating — looking into the relative influence of nature and nurture, studying the brain as a person dies — probably never will be for ethical reasons. The psychologists proposing the research acknowledge this… usually. One of the experiments that seems just blatantly unethical — a sort of Truman Show study — is dismissed not because of ethical concerns, but because of complexity.
(via)
-Greg Dahlmann