Final answer:
The first APA Committee on Ethical Standards was influenced by historical abuses in human experimentation, leading to the Nuremberg Code and the establishment of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to develop ethical standards for psychological research.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first APA Committee on Ethical Standards for Psychologists developed the initial ethical standards to provide guidance and protect participants in psychological research. This was sparked by historical cases of exploitation and abuse in human experiments, which demonstrated a critical need for ethical oversight. One of the methods that influenced the development of these standards was the response to the atrocities committed by Nazi physicians during World War II, leading to the creation of the Nuremberg Code and later the establishment of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). These boards, composed of experts in science, medicine, and the law, review clinical trials to protect participants and identify potential ethical issues. By considering past unethical studies and their consequences, such as harm to humans, the APA aimed to ensure that further psychological research would be conducted within the bounds of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The development of these standards also likely considered sociological ethical guidelines, like those from the American Sociological Association (ASA), which address conducting studies with integrity, responsibly using sources, accepting funding, and publishing results.