Ethical Considerations In Research Into Genetic Influences On Behavior

Genetic research in Psychology must be treated with caution. The ethical problems may be seen in Twin Studies and other research. Since modern technology is constantly improving and getting more and more advanced, the research we could perform on the human brain become almost endless.

The twin study conducted in Minnesota was a study in 1990 of twins that was separated from birth, which would remove as much as possible of the factor of the environment playing a major role in creating similarities between the twins. They found out that it seems like genetics play an important role in shaping “our” behavior.

What we could question about this study and its results is the criticism of determinism.  It states that if science discovers a certain genetic cause of behavior, other people might be judged based on the genes, for potential jobs and people can be judged differently in court. For example someone can be judged if their parents were criminals. And other things that are can be questioned as unethical: Is it ethical to reunite twins that don’t even know about each other? When the twins get reunited they will know that they have always had a sibling they didn’t know about and that the research and the result of it could have a impact that could last for the rest of their life.

The determinist argument’s main assumption that employers and the government have access to the genetic records of the citizens, this can be questioned since even though psychological research possibly could discover concrete evidence that genetics influences our behavior, this wouldn’t really matter if people didn’t know their own genetic record. How could we be positive that people don’t look at their records and predict their own future and “outcome” of your life?

How I see it, the best argument against genetic influences behavior research is basically; what exactly is the practical use of it? The information can possibly be deadly if handled by the wrong persons. This is one of the reasons a psychologist must handle that the information about their participants remain confidential, and that the results and the meaning of it doesn’t become public. The main use of it has been helpful for psychologists and scientists to resolve the nature vs. nurture debate going on. Genetic information could actually be helpful in psychological treatment.