In Asch's experiments, most of the participants were actually confederates (i.e. actors), and were instructed to give the wrong answer to many of the easy line questions; therefore, Asch was looking to see if the "real" participants would conform to the majority opinion even if they knew that the answer was incorrect.

In this study, participants continued to administer what they thought were high-voltage shocks up until and even past the point on the dial marked “fatal,” presumably because the experimenter told them to keep going. This appears to suggest that people are much more blindly obedient to authority than they think they are, and people may carry out horrible acts they normally never would simply because they were told to by an authority figure. While removing a shock in response to a correct answer would be negative reinforcement, it is important to remember that no one was actually ever shocked in this experiment. This is because the “learner” was actually a confederate—a researcher acting as if he or she is another participant in order to add an element of deception to the experimental design.

An institutional review board (IRB) is a committee that reviews, approves, and monitors biomedical and behavioral research conducted on humans. Its purpose is to assure that participants' rights are protected during the course of research. 

Deception may be necessary to study subjects' true behavior, as people may behave differently if they know they are under observation or know the exact purpose of the study being performed. However, deceiving subjects simply because they might be upset if they knew the truth is not a valid ethical reason to do so.

Informed consent in psychological research means the subject is given enough information on the study to make an informed decision on his/her participation. This includes informing the subject that s/he can withdraw consent and leave the study at anytime.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has certain ethical guidelines when it comes to using animals for research. Experiments must be designed for the most minimal amount of suffering possible and the animals must be treated in a humane way. They have to have been acquired from a legal source, and it must be made clear why it is that animals must be used for this particular scientific end.

A requirement by the American Psychological Association (APA) is that the participant in a human study must give informed consent. That is, they must know they are involved in a study and give written consent. There can't be any extreme deception about the study; the participant must have an understanding of the expectations and premise of the study.

Once the research is completed, the identity of the people involved in the study, under absolutely no condition, may be revealed. The identity of the participant will never be made an integral part of the study, and there are no forms that allow for this.

According to American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, a participant in a study cannot be placed under significant mental or physical risk. There are no forms that the participant can sign that would allow for these conditions in a study.

The debriefing procedures according to American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines are such that after the experiment, participants are told the end goal of the study and ways to attain the results. Doing so before the experiment could affect the results in an undesirable way, and so this information is provided to the participant after the experiment is completed.