ethics Flashcards
Why do psychologists need ethical guidelines?
respect for persons - people either have autonomy, or protection if they don’t.
beneficence - research should do no harm to participants, and should benefit participants and society.
justice - burden of participation should not be limited to certain groups, and beneifts should be available to all.
Specfic codes of practice
British psychological society (BPS) - must be adhered by all psychologists, even GCSE students
American psychological association (APA)
BPS code of ethics
- regularly reviewed documents
- “changes in societal explanations of professionals are considered”
- “psychologists should consider it good practice to record their decision processes when confronted with a particularly challenging ethical issue”
4 ethical principles for psychologists
respect for the dignity of persons and people - privacy, consent, self-determination
competence in providing services to a professional standard - appropriate skills, willingness to refer
responsibility for what is in their power, control or management - accountability, respect for welfare, consideration of competing duties.
integrity - openness, unbiased, fairness, addressing misconduct.
legal obligations for psychologists
- health and care professionals council (HCPC) registration
- competence
- indemnity insurance (e.g., covers negligence claims)
- disclosure and barring services (DBS) checks
- equality act
- data protection
More legal obligations for psychologists
- freedom of information act
- health and safety at work act
- working together to safeguard children guidance
- mental capacity act - framework for capacity and consent for ages 16 and older
mental health act - ensures people with mental health disorders receive care and treatment.
APA code of conduct
- beneficence and nonmaleficence - benefit those who they work with and do no harm.
- fidelity and responsibility - establish trust; be aware of professional and scientific duties.
- integrity - promote accuracy and honesty in science, teaching and practice.
- justice - exercise fairness and ensure equal opportunity to the benefits of psychology.
- respect for people’s rights and dignity - respect the worth of all people, their privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Be aware of special safeguards to protect the welfare of individuals and vulnerable populations.
Key points on human research ethics
- risk are explained
- participants is voluntary
- valid (informed) consent is given
- confidentiality is maintained
- advice is given
- deception
- debriefing occurs after experiment
Informed consent requires
- full information
- voluntary participation
- consent involves capacity to make a decision - ability to:
1. understand relevant information
2. appreciate situation and its consequences
3. reason with the information and weigh up consequences logically
4. communicate decision
For informed consent, participants need full information
- purpose of the research, expected duration, and procedures
- right to decline to participate and to withdraw once started
- foreseeable consequences of declining or withdrawing
- reasonably foreseeable factors that might affect willingness to participate
- any prospective research benefits
- limits of confidentiality
- incentives for participation
- who to contact for questions
- researcher should provide opportunity for prospective participants to ask questions and receive answers.
Clarify to participants at outset of the research - in therapeutic treatments
- the treatments experimental nature
- the services available/unavailable to the control group if appropriate
- the means by which assignment to treatment and control groups will be made
- available treatment alternatives if an individual does not wish to participate in the research or wishes to withdraw once a study has begun.
- payment issues
Harm/benefit analysis for risky research - things to think about
- is risk more than people experience in day-to-day life
- people often engage un risky activities
- can risk be reduced
- should moderate/high-risk studies be viewed differently if they include altruistic acts?
Informed consent with special groups
- problem of groups who cannot give informed consent (children, individuals with psychosis or dementia)
- obtain informed consent from caregivers
- where procedures involve risk/harm, obtain informed consent from the individual as well, plus consult an ethics committee
- child’s avoidance of testing should be taken as withdrawal of consent.
Informed consent and power relationships
- be aware that prisoners, institutionalised individuals, students may feel they are not in the position to say “no”
- Belmont report prohibits coercion - “who an overt threat of harm is intentionally presented by one person to another in order to gain compliance”.
- also applies to implicit perceived threats
Informed consent - benefits
- forces researchers to think more about their research
- encourages trust and better rapport with participants
- better recruitment rates