Deception research is an ethical dilemma in itself. Deception in research entails that participants are not fully informed of the purpose of the study. Valuable insight can also be obtained in this way into factors which would never be discovered if all factors and aspects were obvious to the study participants.

(a) Psychologists do not conduct a study involving deception unless they have determined that the use of deceptive techniques is justified by the study’s significant prospective scientific, educational, or applied value and that effective nondeceptive alternative procedures are not feasible.

Deception in psychological research is often stated as acceptable only when all of the following conditions are met: 1) no other nondeceptive method exists to study the phenomenon of interest; 2) the study makes significant contributions to scientific knowledge; 3) the deception is not expected to cause significant …

Deception and incomplete disclosure may interfere with the ability of the research subject to make a fully informed decision about whether or not to participate in the research.

Deception or falsehood is an act or statement which misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight of hand as well as distraction, camouflage or concealment.

Sometimes, deception is used in Social, Behavioral and Educational Research (SBER) in order to obtain accuracy information. In general, deception is not acceptable in human studies. Occasionally, it is necessary to mislead the participants who are subjects of a study in order to obtain unbiased information.

The Major Branches of Psychology

• Overview.
• Abnormal Psychology.
• Behavioral Psychology.
• Biopsychology.
• Clinical Psychology.
• Cognitive Psychology.
• Comparative Psychology.
• Counseling Psychology.