<P> The ability to give informed consent is governed by a general requirement of competency . In common law jurisdictions, adults are presumed competent to consent . This presumption can be rebutted, for instance, in circumstances of mental illness or other incompetence . This may be prescribed in legislation or based on a common - law standard of inability to understand the nature of the procedure . In cases of incompetent adults, a health care proxy makes medical decisions . In the absence of a proxy, the medical practitioner is expected to act in the patient's best interests until a proxy can be found . </P> <P> By contrast,' minors' (which may be defined differently in different jurisdictions) are generally presumed incompetent to consent, but depending on their age and other factors may be required to provide Informed assent . In some jurisdictions (e.g. much of the U.S.), this is a strict standard . In other jurisdictions (e.g. England, Australia, Canada), this presumption may be rebutted through proof that the minor is' mature' (the' Gillick standard'). In cases of incompetent minors, informed consent is usually required from the parent (rather than the' best interests standard') although a parens patriae order may apply, allowing the court to dispense with parental consent in cases of refusal . </P> <P> Research involving deception is controversial given the requirement for informed consent . Deception typically arises in social psychology, when researching a particular psychological process requires that investigators deceive subjects . For example, in the Milgram experiment, researchers wanted to determine the willingness of participants to obey authority figures despite their personal conscientious objections . They had authority figures demand that participants deliver what they thought was an electric shock to another research participant . For the study to succeed, it was necessary to deceive the participants so they believed that the subject was a peer and that their electric shocks caused the peer actual pain . </P> <P> Nonetheless, research involving deception prevents the subject / patient from exercising his / her basic right of autonomous informed decision - making and conflicts with the ethical principle of respect for persons . </P>

What does informed consent mean in health and social care