Premium
Social contract theory and the ethics of deception in consumer research
Author(s) -
Smith N. Craig,
Kimmel Allan J.,
Klein Jill Gabrielle
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcps.2009.04.007
Subject(s) - deception , psychology , field (mathematics) , social psychology , research ethics , business ethics , self deception , epistemology , public relations , political science , philosophy , mathematics , psychiatry , pure mathematics
Deception of research participants is a pervasive ethical issue in experimental consumer research. Content analyses find as many as three‐fourths of published human participant studies in our field involved some form of deception, almost all of which employed experimental methodologies. However, researchers have little guidance on the acceptability of the use of deception, notwithstanding the codes of root disciplines. We turn to theories of moral philosophy and use social contract theory specifically to identify conditions under which deception may be justified as morally permissible. Seven guiding principles for research practice are formulated and their implications for consumer researchers are identified, together with practical recommendations for decision making on studies involving deception.