An Empirical Study of "Ethical Neutrality"Among Behavioral Scientists.

The names of twelve hundred and twenty-six concepts used in reports of research on human behavior under stress are classified according to whether, on the one hand, they are ethically neutral, or, on the other hand, are negatively or positively value- loaded. The proportion of value- neutral terms used by a researcher is responsive to the theological- philosophical position of his religious group on the possibility and desirability of scientific "ethical neutrality? The greater the social-psychological engagement of the world by the researcher (as measured by a scale of introversion-extroversion), the less likely is he to be ethically neutral. Among professions represented, social scientists are the most ethically neutral, and psychiatrists and psychologists the most likely to use negative value terms. A researcher tends to use negative terms in his research report when he is the dominant partner in the researcher- audience and in the researcher-research subject roles, and to report in positive terms when he is the relatively subordinate role. Some arguments about the possibility and desirability of ethical neutrality in social science are reviewed in the light of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]