There are a lot of guidelines around the use of deception in research. See section 8.07 of the American Psychological Association's Code of Conduct, for example

There are a lot of guidelines around the use of deception in research. See section 8.07 of the American Psychological Association's Code of Conduct, for example: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/?item=11#807 http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/?item=11#807 In this case, I don't have access to the full text of the paper, but the "supplementary materials" are freely available, including the scripts that were used for the interviews and debriefing process. Some choice quotes: "We predicted that in a significant proportion of participants, we could convince them that childhood events happened when in fact they did not. There is no reason for you to feel any more susceptible to such processes than anyone else (if applicable). This is a completely normal, common occurrence." ... "If at this point you would like to withdraw your data from the study, you are able to do so without penalty." ... "If you feel that you suffered any distress as a result of this study, please let us know as we can arrange to have a counsellor speak to you. No-one will have access to your identity or specific information you provided except for the study coders." http://pss.sagepub.com/content/suppl/2015/01/14/0956797614562862.DC1/DS_10.11770956797614562862.pdf http://pss.sagepub.com/content/suppl/2015/01/14/095679761456...