What were the 3 assertions of the Percivalian ethics code (developed by Thomas Percival, AMA, 1794)?
- Moral authority and independence of physicians in service to others
- Affirmed the profession’s responsibility to care for the sick
- Emphasised individual honour
What did Socrates think was the key to living ‘the good-life’?
Rational reflection and contributing to the community
What is another word for Teleology?
Consequentialism (outcome-based)
According to Utilitarianism, what is the right moral action?
The one that maximises happiness for all. Our own happiness is no more important than anyone else’s.
According to Deontology, what is the morally important thing?
The morally important thing is not the consequence but the way the chooser thinks when they make their choices.
How are the ethical decisions of psychologists based in both consequentialism and deontology?
- They have to constantly think about doing whatever will do the least harm to the client = consequentialism
- They have to follow various types of principles and duties, irrespective of outcome = deontology
What are 4 problems associated with consequentialism?
- It may be unclear (or open to interpretation) which effects are good or bad
- Many actions produce both good and bad effects, so there must be some way of balancing those
- An action may have good effects for some people and bad effects for others, so there must be some way of balancing the effects on different people
- It can be difficult to predict the effects of an action prior to acting, which is problematic because in ethics we want to have a guide for current and future action.
What is rule-consequentialism?
Rules are derived based on the consequences of particular categories of actions, rather than individual actions. eg: truth-telling should be a universal rule because it generally has good consequences, even though sometimes it has bad consequences
What is act-consequentialism?
When the agent has to determine the consequences of each act prior to acting
What’s one example of how religious ethics are deontological?
The 10 Commandments - they define specific duties a person should fulfill and also a basis for these duties - the commandments of an almighty deity
What’s one example of the limitations of deontological ethics?
When doing one’s duty will lead to bad consequences eg: Telling the truth to German soldiers that you’re hiding Jews.
Explain the virtue ethics approach.
- Virtue ethics focuses on the qualities of the moral agent, rather than the agent’s actions
- We should focus on developing qualities such as honesty, courage, altruism and perseverance
What is phronesis?
Practical wisdom. The capacity to adapt our thinking and decision-making to the specific circumstances before us, as opposed to rigidly applying a set of rules.
What is eudaimonia? What must we develop in order to achieve it?
Eudaimonia is human happiness and flourishing. To achieve it, we must first develop virtue.
What is normative ethics?
Being able to incorporate the beneficial aspects of consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics in your life.
In H. et al. (2003), what were the 2 dimensions used to measure participants’ moral position?
Idealism - low vs high acceptance of harm
Relativism - low vs high acceptance of moral absolutes
In H. et al. (2003) what were the 4 ethical ideologies yielded from the 2 dimensions? Which is closest to deontology?
Situationists - high idealism and high relativism (reject absolute moral rules but maintain that good outcomes can always be obtained)
Absolutism - High idealism and low relativism (accept universal moral rules and believe that good consequences can be realised - closest to deontology)
Subjectivism - Low idealism and high relativism (reject moral absolutes and base judgments on personal feelings about actions and circumstances
Exceptionism - Low idealism and low relativism (view conformity to moral rules as desirable yet regard exceptions to these rules as permissible.
In H. et al. (2003), what were the 3 hypotheses?
- Psychologists would have lower relativism scores than physicians (due to greater emphasis on codes of ethics training)
- Psychologists and physicians won’t differ on scores of idealism (both jobs emphasise doing no harm to patients)
- Psychologists will report being more influenced by ethics codes and less by institutional value statements, family views and religion, compared to physicians
In H. et al. (2003), what were the findings?
- No sex differences
- Psychologists were less relativistic and equally idealistic as physicians, as expected
- Psychologists were more influenced by ethics codes than other factors, but they weren’t negatively correlated.
What are Ross (1930)’s 7 prima facie duties?
Fidelity Reparation Gratitude Justice Beneficence Self-improvement Non-maleficence
According to Love, what’s the best way a student can integrate and live ethical values?
Have good role models
According to Love, what is the most important value for a psychologist?
Do no harm
What is paternalism?
When you shift from helping someone to taking over their life
In Sullivan (2002), what were 3 agreed-upon ethical behaviours by the psychologist participants?
- Addressing client by their first name
- Having client address you by their first name
- Offering or accepting handshake from client
