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informed consent

a person’s voluntary agreement to participate in a procedure on the basis of his or her understanding of its nature, its potential benefits and possible risks, and available alternatives. Informed consent is a fundamental requirement of research with humans and typically involves having participants sign documents, prior to the start of a study, that describe specifically what their involvement would entail and noting that they are free to decline participation or to withdraw from the research at any time. In therapeutic contexts, the principle of informed consent has provided a foundation for do not resuscitate (DNR) orders and other advance directives and for the natural-death acts that have been passed into law throughout the United States. See also institutional review board.

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Psychology term of the day

March 29th 2024

resource theory

resource theory

a theory of interpersonal relationships holding that the amount of resources (e.g., information, love, status, money, goods, services) possessed by each of the participants greatly affects the nature of their relationship. Individuals with more resources than they require for themselves can distribute their excess to the other party and thus have power over the other to the extent that the other needs the resources. It is proposed that withholding needed resources can heighten conflict, whereas the relationship is harmonious when each party is equally powerful and cooperative in the exchange of resources. [proposed in 1974 by U.S. psychologists Edna B. Foa (1937–  ) and Uriel G. Foa (1916–1990)]