Protecting the Rights of Subjects in Research. A Swedish Perspective

Abstract

Whereas formal guidelines for ethical conduct in psychologist-client relationships have existed for a considerable time, corresponding principles for the protection of individuals participating in psychological experiments and surveys have been widely discussed only during the last decade. The Swedish Psychological Association is one of the organizations that established a code of professional ethics in the 1950s, a code which is now being revised and supplemented. A major reason for this decision was that the psychological profession has developed over the years and that new tasks and situations are not covered by the old code. Another shortcoming is that the code considers only that kind of research which is performed in a psychologist-client setting. Thus, it does not cover experimental research or field research involving non-client participants. A revision will also provide an opportunity to include the issue of human rights and to bring an international perspective into the new code.