A conceptual framework for analyzing deception and debriefing effects in marketing research

Deception and debriefing are commonly used marketing research procedures. H owever, marketers have paid little attention to the ethical and methodologi cal issues inherent in the use of these practices. One explanation may be t hat greater emphasis has traditionally been placed on research outcomes tha n on how the research results were generated. In this article we attempt to redress this situation by examining the methodological and ethical issues concerning deception and debriefing from a process perspective. We review t he past research on deception and debriefing, identify key psychological pr ocesses by which deception and debriefing influence participants, and prese nt a framework for understanding the effects of both deceptions and debrief ings on research participants. We then show how the results generated from this framework can be examined from an ethical perspective to provide a bet ter understanding of the benefits and costs of the research to all stakehol ders. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.