What is ethics?
If one was to ask the question, “What do ethics mean to you?” These responses would be likely to follow. “Ethics is what my feelings tell me is right or wrong.” “Ethics have to do with my religious beliefs.” “Being ethical means following the laws.” Those replies would be expected. Many do relate ethics with their feelings, but it is not a matter of following feelings. In fact, we will often times stray from living ethically if we were guided by our feelings. Although religions urge high ethical standards, if ethics were limited to religion, ethics would only apply to religious people. Following the law is not the same as being ethical. Ethical standards may be incorporated in the law, but laws, won’t always conform to
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To ensure that a researcher’s enthusiasm for knowledge and understanding doesn’t let them get carried away, clear guidelines for ethical behaviour in research, a Code of Ethics, have been established by governments, institutions and various professional societies such as the American Psychological Association(APA), the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI).
Psychologists are committed to increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behaviour and people's understanding of themselves and others and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organisations, and society (APA, 2010). The PSI preamble (2010) states “the authority of psychologists derives from the scientific methods of investigation on which their knowledge is based, and the ethics which govern all their professional activity. They accept that codes of ethics are necessary to protect the interest of clients and prevent misuse of psychological knowledge. The Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. The following is a rough and general summary of the principles that are addressed by the APA, PSI and BPS;
1. Beneficence and Nonmaleficence:
Psychologists should seek to benefit and avoid causing harm to those they work with professionally.
2.
The APA assignment presents knowledge about common practice and biblical support to the research applications of the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. The lesson teaches the fact that psychologist are required to conduct research that is based on truth and without fallibility. The comparison of APA requirements versus Bible expectations shows equal
Both the American Psychological Association (APA) and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) have codes of ethics to guide professionals in their practice. APA’s ethical code governs school, counseling, and clinical psychologists; thus, APA’s ethical code is broader than NASP’s ethical code. NASP’s ethical code is specific to school psychologists and thus includes a greater focus on minors and school-based practice. Beyond level of specificity, the ethical codes also have other notable differences. Specifically, NASP emphasizes a proactive role in social justice and creating healthy school, family, and community environments (Merrell, Ervin, & Peacock, 2012). APA, on the other hand, sets forth an expected minimum standard in these
There are many areas of professional psychology that are protected, and governed by legal aspects. It is these legal aspects that help to keep every psychologist/therapist working on an honest and even plane, as he or she can provider each client the courtesy, respect, safety, and well being which he or she deserves and expects when entering a professional relationship with a highly
The APA ethical guidelines help to ensure that all psychological research maintains the integrity that it does not do harm or conflicts with the majority of the human populations moral ethical codes. However, in some situations the APA ethical guidelines must be viewed as just that: guidelines. If a study has the potential to benefit humanity as a whole and does not result in the permanent or irreparable harm to a human being then some guidelines must be permitted to be stretched or even broken in the interest of human advancement and scientific progression. After all the goal and responsibility of a psychologist is to enhance our understanding of human behavior as well as to find ways to use this information to better society and humanity
Being able to provide treatment to people that need and seeing the results of the treatment gives a clinical psychologist a sense of accomplishment. In order to be a clinical psychologist, one have to have that drive to want to help people. Also they have to look at situations subjectively, objectively, with empathy, and with sympathy. However, one cannot let their personal feelings get in the way of treating a patient. The ethics code is very helpful, following the code allows the psychologist to maintain a professional relationship with their patients. It is not conducive to become very personal with the patients, because that can cause a misunderstanding or confusion of the relationship. The most important lesson I learned from this interview is that being a behavioral health officer or clinical psychologist is a very rewarding profession because they get to touch so many lives and help improve the mental health of their
A professional psychologist enters into the field of Psychology to help others improve their mental health circumstances. As a licensed professional psychologist, it will be easy to know who the client will be because the client will request a service, pay and consent form signed. Client cannot be easily defined as just a paying customer because a client encompasses so many other things.
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility – According to Trevino and Youngblood (1990) ethical misconduct should be pointed out whenever we can spot it, “but it is always to be done with respect to the researcher who conducted it, as decision-making in relation to ethics is fairly complex and influenced by factors that may lie beyond one’s control” (Trevino & Youngblood, p. 378, 1990). Principle C: Integrity – Psychologists have a serious obligation to consider the need for, “the possible consequences of, and their responsibility to correct any resulting mistrust or other harmful effects that arise from the use of such techniques” (APA, 2010). Principle D: Justice – Relates to fairness and justice, concluding that all persons have access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology, i.e. freedom of press. Lastly, Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity – Involves obtaining an individual’s consent and protecting their confidentiality and
Human subjects are recruited to participate in a variety of research projects to include clinical trials, experiments, data collection, sampling, surveys, etc. Over time it has come under fire because of the influx of ethical issues associated with human participant research. The American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (hereinafter referred to as the Ethics Code which is made up of 5 principles and 8 standards) provide guidance and serves to protect the public from ethical misconduct, it also serves to guide and protect professionals.
The Adopted Codes of Conduct for Psychological Research There is a belief among psychologists that by carrying out an
Chapter 1 A Code of Ethics for Psychology - SAGE Pub. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/3517_Fisher_Chp1.pdf
Before any psychological research can begin, The research procedure must be reviewed and approved by the American Psychology Association (APA). The research must meet certain requirements before it can begin. One of these requirements is the intent that the research will accomplish an increase in knowledge, advance prior research, increase understanding, or benefit welfare. If a study does not strive to satisfy any of these needs, then it cannot proceed. In addition to these four objectives, the study must meet the 5 principles: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people's rights and dignity. Beneficence and nonmaleficence means psychologists must safeguard the welfare and rights
Ethical issues are a key part of any psychological research. This refers to the appropriate codes of conduct which should be adhered to in any psychological research. In the past there has been many unethical studies carried out which has raised a variety of questions as to did the end justify the means, is this right? Should it have been done? For instance, Milgram (1963) study into obedience. However, at that moment in time no ethical guidelines were Brocken as they did not exist (Matta, R). Therefore, ethical guidelines were put in place stop these abuses of power and put an end to such questions. In the United Kingdom any research carried out by psychologists must apply with the guidelines set by the British Psychological Society
In the current assignment, we are asked to choose an ethical dilemma faced by psychological researchers and determine which ethical principles and codes from the American Psychological Association (APA) are involved and resolve the situation (2010). More often than not, student researchers are unfamiliar with situations faced by practicing psychologists, therefore hypothetical vignettes are given to students to evaluate and resolve an issue using ethical choices. In my opinion, vignettes are an excellent resource for students to practice and become familiar with the standards set out by the APA. All research in any scientific realm must meet specific and generalized criteria in order for the findings to be deemed appropriate. Students of psychology,
There are numerous ethical considerations to consider in research. Ethics keep us in check by our behavior or choices and whether they are right or wrong. Ethical considerations are invaluable when it comes to research. Ethical standards help to prevent the corruption and invalidation of data. The standards also help in seeking out the truth of any research. Ethical behavior is vital for joint research projects as these types of projects usually include sharing information, confidentiality data and other issues. The public places a premium price on trust and ethics when it comes to research projects. Due to this reason, researchers need to practice ethical standards to gain the public’s trust and support. With the ever growing amount of ethical
One essential element of practicing psychology is the need for ethical standards to be met. The guide for monitoring ethical standards is provided by the Society’s Code of Conduct (BPS, 2000). In 1985 the society published its first code of conduct to