Question

Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test.
To address the Belmont principle of beneficence, Dr. Kushner would need to ask which of the following questions?

a. Are the people in my study going to benefit as much as the people who are not in my study?
b. What can I do to decrease the potential harm experienced by my participants?
c. Can the participants in my study give full, informed consent?
d. Am I trained sufficiently to conduct this study?

Answer 1

Answer: What can I do to decrease the potential harm experienced by my participants?

Explanation:

To address the Belmont principle of beneficence, Dr. Kushner would need to ask that what can be done so that there'll be a reduction in the potential harm that the participants can experience.

According to the Belmont Principle, people should be treated with respect and also protected from harm.