Ethics, although sometimes neglected, is an integral part of conducting appropriate research. Although the primary goal of the researcher may be to find answers that support his or her hypothesis—especially positive results that can be successfully applied to the general population—maintaining ethical conditions is equally, if not more, important. Some of the most infamous studies done in the social sciences over the years were those that raised ethical concerns. One such study is known as the Landis Facial Expression Study, conducted in 1924 by Carney Landis, then a psychology graduate student at the University of Minnesota. Initially, Landis' experiment to discover whether all humans are inclined to project the same facial expressions that coincide with emotions such as surprise, happiness, anger and disgust after being exposed to different situations seemed rather harmless . To test his experiment, Landis brought some of his fellow graduates into a lab and drew marks on their faces, so that their facial expressions could be made more visible when presented with different stimuli. At first, Landis' subjects were given a variety of strange, but relatively gentle, tasks that included smelling ammonia, watching pornography, and reaching into a bucket containing frogs. While completing the tasks, Landis took photos of the students to note their reactions. Controversy, however, existed in the final task Landis gave his subjects, which involved decapitating a live rat so that the facial expression of disgust could be recorded. Unsurprisingly, many resisted. However, after being told to do the same...... middle of paper...... eye emotion. Assuming that two-thirds of those surveyed felt pressured to do something they really didn't want to do, their facial expression could have represented more than just disgust. In other words, the reason there was no universal facial expression for disgust could have been the result of Landis' coercion, which could have contributed to the feelings of anger, sadness, etc. Ultimately, I think the benefits of this study did not outweigh the ethical issues that existed in the study. The principle of Landis' study was quite simple and practical and could have been carried out easily without any damage. In fact, all of the emotions he was trying to study could have been represented if he presented subjects with more normal types of stimuli. Perhaps by doing so Landis could have found more universal facial expressions..