What are ethical violations commonly driven by?
Prejudices, rationalisations, and insufficient training and experience
What is reflective in action?
- The ability of the practitioner to think on his or her feet
- Connecting with emotions, feelings and prior experiences to attend to the situation directly
What is reflection on action?
After the experience, a practitioner analyses their reaction to the situation, and explores the reasons around the consequences.
What is the difference between morals and ethics?
- Morals refer to a general and unwritten frame of reference (eg. norms)
- Ethics refer to a codified set of values or principles that guide people’s conduct
What should a psychologist do when there’s a conflict between the law and ethics?
They should resolve the conflict in accordance with the law.
What is the difference between laws and ethics in terms of standards of behaviour?
- Laws define the minimum standard of behaviour society can tolerate
- Ethics represent the maximum or ideal standards set by the profession - enforced by professional bodies
- Morals are more personal
What is moral distress?
A situation where one is constrained from acting on a moral choice
According to Knapp et al. (2007), what process should a psychologist follow if they’re about to disobey a law for ethical reasons?
- Seek consultation so they’re clear the law requires them to do what they believe it requires
- Make certain they understand their ethical obligations clearly
- Consider alternatives that would allow them to follow the law while still upholding their values
- Contemplate violating a law only if no viable alternative is available
Describe an example of how a psychologist can anticipate and mitigate a conflict between law and ethics before it actually happens.
Providing psychological test results to parents can be alarming and angering for them. It often causes more distress for the patient (ethical problem), but is also often permitted by law. Thus, a psychologist can anticipate and mitigate this conflict by getting the parent more involved in the psychological testing to begin with (eg: phrasing used in background history section of report)
What are the 4 bodies that oversee the training of psychologists in Australia?
- Australian Psychological Society (APS)
- Heads of Departments and Schools of the Psychology Association (HODSPA)
- Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)
- Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA)
What is the academic pathway to registration?
Bachelor > Honours > PhD with Masters (research) embedded
What are the generalist practitioner pathways to registration?
4+2 and 5+1
What are the specialist pathways to registration?
Bachelor > Honours > Masters
Bachelor > Honours > DPsych
Bachelor > Honours > PhD with Masters embedded
How many health professions are regulated by AHPRA?
14
What are some of the functions of the PsyBA?
- Registering psychologists and provisional psychologists
- Developing standards, codes and guidelines for the psychology profession
- Handling notifications, complaints, investigations and disciplinary hearings
- Assessing overseas trained practitioners who wish to practice in Australia
- Approving accreditation standards and accredited courses of study
What are some of the differences between the APS and AHPRA/PsyBA?
- AHPRA/PsyBA are regulatory, APS is professional
- ## Don’t have to be a member of APS
What is the difference between APS and AHPRA/PsyBA in terms of who they’re trying to protect?
APS is trying to protect psychologists
AHPRA/PsyBA is trying to protect consumers
What are the 2 aspects of a code of ethics?
- Enforceable aspects (eg: confidentiality)
- Aspirational aspects (eg: propriety)
How did the Team group the minimal behavioural standards in the APS code of ethics (2007)?
They grouped the standards according to the specific principles they were derived from, as opposed to grouping them in relation to functionality
According to Allan (2011), what were the 7 options the PsyBA could take in terms of developing a code of ethics?
- Have no code - need something
- Develop a meta-code - not specific enough
- Adopt the code of a foreign guild/another profession - won’t reflect Australia or psycs specifically
- Formulate a code of practice instead - not possible
- Develop a unique ethics code - too expensive
- Develop a new code with the APS - who will own it?
- Keep using APS code - good, but need to make it free for everyone
What is the function of the ethical guidelines?
They complement the Code by clarifying and illustrating the application of ethical principles.
What are the functions of the Code of Ethics?
- Educates psychologists about ethical practices
- Holds psychologists accountable for their actions
- Informs the consumer of psychologists’ responsibilities
- Promotes ethical practice, therefore safeguarding consumers and the reputation of the profession
- Provides guidance in decision-making
What are the 3 general principles of the Code?
Respect
Propriety (competence)
Integrity (recognising power)
What were most ethical transgressions about in the 1970s to 90s? What are they mostly about now?
1970s-90s: Invalid qualifications, unprofessional advertisements and irresponsible public communications
Now: Sexual and dual relationships, negligent care, confidentiality violations
