I'm not using Jessica as a social experiment. I like her and would like to be friends with her. However, in addition that, I am trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong that is making our interactions strained. On side note, I would think it would make someone you don't know that well feel very awkward if you walked up to them and asked them if you could use them as a subject for learning. That is not something people do. Why would there be an ethical problem? Even if I was simply using Jessica to improve my social skills, I wouldn't be harming her in any way by changing my approach to conversations with her when my current approach isn't working. I'm not asking her intrusive questions or making advances on her.

Compare this to a patient in therapy that is working on their social anxiety. Part of overcoming social anxiety is to throw yourself in social situations to get used to being in them and lessen your anxiety. The therapist might have the patient start a conversation with 10 random people walking down the street. In this scenario, the patient is trying to build their social skills but they don't need to ask permission to do this. They are simply trying to build basic social skills and they aren't harming anyone. Ethics only come into play if some sort of harm is being done.