Topic

Introduction
to Ethics in
Psychology

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.

Define the concepts of ethics and being ethical;

2.

Describe both mandatory and aspirational ethics;

3.

Explain the rationale of and needs for ethics codes in psychology;

4.

Explain the importance of ethics for conduct as psychologists in

various psychologists activities; and

5.

Discuss the development of ethics in psychology.

INTRODUCTION
To be good is noble, but to teach others to be good is nobler and less trouble.
Mark Twain
Recall the definition and goals of psychology. You probably remember that
psychology is the science of behaviour and mental processes, and the goals of
psychology are not just to describe and understand human/animal behaviour
and mental processes, but to predict and influence/control them. So, psychology
knowledge is useful to influence and control the behaviour and mental processes
of others, but what controls the psychologists behaviours and activities? Why do
we need to control psychologists behaviours and activities? What are considered
as ethical and unethical behaviours in psychology? How do we promote ethical
practices among psychologists and prevent disruptive behaviours which may
harm clients, third-parties or the community?

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

This topic introduces ethics in psychology as a tool for controlling and protecting
psychologists behaviour and conduct. The discussion involves defining
fundamental concepts regarding ethics, describing the types of ethics and some
examples of ethics codes, explaining the rationale for control and importance of
ethics, and discussing the development of ethics in psychology and mental health
professions.
It is important that when you read this topic, you should be able to imagine
yourself as a professional, who provides some psychological services to clients;
and also as a person, who receives some psychological help from psychologists.
Your imagination will contribute to your learning experience!

1.1

DEFINING KEY CONCEPTS

Sometimes, we tend to get confused when using the terms ethics and being
ethical. What is ethics? What is considered as being ethical? The two terms
are closely related but they refer to two different things or processes. So in this
section, we are going to look at the difference in meaning between the two
concepts.

1.1.1

Ethics and Being Ethical

Ethics is traditionally a branch of philosophy dealing with moral problems and

moral judgements (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008, p. 4). This involves some kind
of evaluation of human actions and in doing so, we assign judgement to
categorise behaviours as right or wrong according to our moral reasoning
abilities and specific ethical guidelines or standards.
So, ethics is the tool for guiding practices or for controlling behaviours, and being
ethical is the ability of making an ethical decision by conforming to specific
ethical standards.
(a)

Ethics A system of moral standards; the study of standards of conduct

and moral judgement; the system of morals of a particular person or group
and is enforced by professional associations.

(b)

Being ethical Having to do with ethics; or of conforming to moral

standards; conforming to professional standards of conduct. Its like an
ethical journey to decide on the best course of action!

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1.1.2

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Mandatory and Aspirational Ethics

Basically, there are two types of ethics mandatory and aspirational but we
will focus more on mandatory ethics. Ethics are man-made and thus, we expect
some significant limitations on their applicability, especially in relation to the
contexts in which psychologists work (Vergs, 2010). As a response to the
limitations of mandatory ethics, numerous ethical decision-making models have
emerged and have been reproduced. These models focus on ethical dilemmas by
proposing a step-by-step response to deal with them. Recent literature argues
that although these models are useful, they emphasise reactive approaches to
ethical issues and overlook preventive measures that might help solving ethical
problems before they arise (Vergs, 2010, p. 497). So, this clearly cautions us that
it is quite easy to understand ethics (theory-based), but it is not easy to be ethical
(practice-based).
Why dont you continue reading the following basic definitions of key terms so
that you will at least be able to differentiate between the mandatory and
aspirational ethics and describe the six general principles of aspirational ethics,
which are also known as the basic moral principles to guide decision making
(Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2010).
(a)

Mandatory Ethics A term that describes a level of ethical functioning at

which psychologists merely act in compliance with minimum standards,
acknowledging the basic musts and must nots.

(b)

Aspirational Ethics A term that describes the highest professional

standards of conduct to which professional psychologists can aspire. It
requires that we do more than the minimum standards of conduct.

There are six general principles of aspirational ethics and these are (Corey, Corey
& Callanan, 2010, pp. 1922):
(i)

Autonomy
Autonomy refers to the promotion of self-determination, or the freedom of
clients to be self-governing within their social and cultural framework. For
example, psychologists must always encourage their clients to grow and
develop within their own socio-cultural context.

(ii)

Nonmaleficence
This means avoiding doing harm, which includes refraining from actions
that risk hurting clients. For example, psychologists always strive to benefit
those with whom they work.

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

(iii) Beneficence
Refers to doing good for others and to promoting the well-being of clients.
For example, psychologists strive to take good care of their clients and to
respect their clients dignity.
(iv) Justice
This means to be fair by giving equally to others and to treat others justly.
For example, psychologists must provide equal access to their services to
everyone regardless of their cultural backgrounds.
(v)

Fidelity
This means that professionals make realistic commitments and keep these
promises. For example, counselling psychologists always strive to respect
clients trust in a counselling relationship and keep their promises to help
the clients.

(vi) Veracity
This means truthfulness, which involves the practitioners obligation to
deal honestly with clients. For example, psychologists must strive to be
truthful to their clients so that the psychologist-clients trust can be
developed and nurtured.
You probably can define and describe these terms now, but why do you think
these ethical principles are needed in psychology? Why must we have some
guidelines or ethical standards for informing our behaviours as psychologists? In
the next section, I will explain the rationale for control and the importance of
ethics from the perspectives of the profession (includes the professional
associations and their members), clients, and the general public or community.

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

SELF-CHECK 1.1
1.

2.

Differentiate these two terms:

(a)

Ethics and being ethical; and

(b)

Mandatory and aspirational ethics.

Briefly describe each of the following principles of aspirational

ethics, and provide case examples where necessary to illustrate
your understanding.
(a)

Autonomy

(b)

Beneficence

(c)

Justice

ACTIVITY 1.1
Take a piece of paper and draw a simple mind map of the concepts,
and then try to build a suitable acronym to enhance your recall of the
concepts (e.g., the six general principles = Aku Nak Bantu John F. Vera);
Now imagine yourself as a counselling psychologist, who is trying
to help an elderly female client, who comes from a different ethnic
background, dealing with the loss of a loved one. Brainstorm on
different factors or situations, which may pose some potential
challenges to your counselling sessions with her.

1.2

RATIONALE FOR CONTROL AND THE

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

Imagine you have some power in your hand. With this power, you can do
anything to other human beings. What do you think of the outcomes of your use
or misuse of power to others? Believe it or not, psychologists do have power
because of the general idea that knowledge is power. In this section we are first
going to look at the rationale for controlling the conduct of psychologists and
also see the importance of ethics.

1.2.1

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Rationale: Control and Protection

To ensure and promote positive outcomes for all, psychologists behaviour and
conduct must be controlled so that the welfare of clients can be protected. This
roughly explains why we need ethics in psychology and the existence of
numerous codes of ethics in most mental health professions such as:

The American Psychological Association's (APA's) Ethical Principles of

Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, 2010);

The American Counseling Association (ACA, 2005) Code of Ethics;

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics (2007) and Ethical
Guidelines (9th ed.); and

The Persatuan Kaunseling Malaysia (PERKAMA) Code of Ethics (1994, and

its revised version 2008).

So, besides the law, these professional codes of ethics act as guides or
professional monitoring of practice for members of each professional association.

1.2.2

Importance of Ethics

Ethics are very important for all professionals and this explains why each major
mental health professional organisation has its own code of ethics. We can
understand the importance of ethics by understanding the common themes,
which exist in most codes of ethics. For example, Koocher and Keith-Spiegel
(2008) summarise these themes as follows:
(a)

Promoting the welfare of clients (consumers).

(b)

Practising within the scope of ones competence.

(c)

Doing no harm to profession and clients.

(d)

Protecting clients confidentiality and privacy.

(e)

Acting ethically and responsibly (i.e., ethical behaviours).

(f)

Avoiding exploitation (i.e., unethical behaviours).

(g)

Upholding the integrity of the profession by striving for aspirational

practice.

Having at least a code of ethics in our own profession is good because it helps to
control and monitor our activities and practices. However, the code of ethics
cannot always help us to be ethical all the time because:

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

The ethics codes offered by most professional organisations are broad and
general, rather than precise and specific. These codes do not provide specific
answers to the ethical dilemmas you will encounter, but they do offer general
guidance (Corey et al., 2010, p. 6).
For example, lets study the following case and the possible responses from a
counselling psychologist:
The Case of Sumathi
Sumathi, a 20-year old female Indian-Hindu client, voluntarily came to you
for help because she suffered from unfinished business with her late father,
who verbally and physically abused her during her childhood. She is making
good progress in counselling and you felt that she needs about three more
counselling sessions with her. Suddenly, you receive a phone call from her,
informing you that she has been fired from her current job. She said she
would like to continue her counselling sessions with you, but she cannot pay
your fees. Instead, she offered to do a free-of-charge (FOC) house-cleaning job
for you for three weeks! What would you do if you were the counselling
psychologist in this case?
Response A: Im sorry to hear about your job loss but I cant continue seeing
you without payment.
Response B: I would not normally see a client without payment, but I do
understand the difficulty in your current circumstances. Ill continue to see you
without payment and I accept your offer to clean my house for three weeks.
Response C: I do understand your situation. So, I suggest we put your
counselling on hold until you get another job and can afford to pay the
counselling fees.
Response D: Im sorry to hear about your job loss and I thank you for your
offer. I do understand your difficulty and since you are making good
progress, Im willing to continue to see you without asking for immediate full
payment. You just pay whatever amount you can afford and you will pay
your balance fees when your financial situation has improved.
(a)

How would you react to these possible counsellors responses?

(b)

Which response would you prefer and why?

(c)

Which response reflects ethical behaviour and which one reflects unethical
behaviour?

(d)

Could you generate other possible responses?

(e)

How importance is the counselling fee payment to you?

(f)

Could you find any relevant information from the existing ethics codes to
help you resolve the ethical dilemma in this situation?

(g)

What would be the associated consequences to Sumathi if you decide on

response A, B, C, or D?

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Now, consider the following information extracted from two selected ethics
codes to help you decide on the best course of action:
1.

APS (2007) Code of Ethics, Standard C.6. Financial Arrangements: C.6.2.

Psychologists make proper financial arrangement with clients and, where
relevant, third party payers.
They:

2.

(a)

Make advance financial arrangements that safeguard the best interests

of, and are clearly understood, by all parties to the psychological
service; and

(b)

Avoid financial arrangements which may adversely influence the

psychological services provided, whether at the time of provision of
those services or subsequently.

APA (2010) Code of Ethics, Standard 6. Record Keeping and Fees:

6.04 Fees and Financial Arrangements
(a)

As early as is feasible in a professional or scientific relationship,

psychologists and recipients of psychological services reach an
agreement specifying compensation and billing arrangements.

(b)

Psychologists' fee practices are consistent with law.

(c)

Psychologists do not misrepresent their fees.

(d)

If limitations to services can be anticipated because of limitations in

financing, this is discussed with the recipient of services as early as is
feasible. (See also Standards 10.09, Interruption of Therapy, and 10.10,
Terminating Therapy.)

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(e)

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

If the recipient of services does not pay for services as agreed, and if
psychologists intend to use collection agencies or legal measures to
collect the fees, psychologists first inform the person that such
measures will be taken and provide that person an opportunity to
make prompt payment. (See also Standards 4.05, Disclosures; 6.03,
Withholding Records for Nonpayment; and 10.01, Informed Consent
to Therapy.)

6.05 Barter with Clients/Patients

Barter is the acceptance of goods, services, or other non-monetary
remuneration from clients/patients in return for psychological services.
Psychologists may barter only if (1) it is not clinically contraindicated, and
(2) the resulting arrangement is not exploitative. (See also Standards 3.05,
Multiple Relationships, and 6.04, Fees and Financial Arrangements.)

Are these standards helpful in deciding the best response to choose?

Are they relevant to your case?

Do you have any concerns in applying these standards to your case?

Why or why not?

So, we must be familiar with the standards and guidelines in our existing codes
of ethics for psychologists in order to be ethical in our practice. However, we
exercise our own professional judgement and take into account all relevant
information and factors when providing services to clients. This is indeed a very
challenging task because different professionals have different values and
perceptions.

1.2.3

Ethical Decision-making Model

What is the best course of action for the case of Sumathi? Psychologists in general
are very fortunate because there are numerous existing ethical decision-making
models that we can use to help us make sound ethical decisions. Among these
models, we are going to focus on Corey et al.s (2010) proposed steps in making
ethical decisions because of two reasons:
(a)

There is no one ethical decision-making model among many others that is

more effective; and

(b)

The proposed steps seem to provide a systematic approach to thinking

through any ethical dilemmas or problems that we will encounter.

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Coret et al. (2010) propose eight steps to thinking through ethical dilemmas and
these are represented in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1: The eight-step model of making ethical decisions

Source: Corey et al. (2010)

Please remember each of the steps because we are going to use this model for
further discussion in the upcoming topics.

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

11

SELF-CHECK 1.2
Assign numbers 1 to 8 for the following to represent a step-by-step
model of making sound ethical decisions.
(a)

_____

What are the implications for you and the clients?

(b)

_____

Implement the course of action

(c)

_____

What is the problem? Gather information!

(d)

_____

Brainstorm possible solutions be creative!

(e)

_____

After you have clarified the problem(s), refer to ethics codes.

(f)

_____

What says the Law?

(g)

_____

What other potential issues are involved? Explore

deeper!

(h)

_____

What are other experts thoughts or views on these?

ACTIVITY 1.2
Study two existing codes of ethics from different countries (e.g., the APA
Code of Ethics 2010 from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
and the APS Code of Ethics 2007 from
http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/Code_Ethics_2007.pdf).
(a)

What are their similarities?

(b)

Can you detect any significant differences between the two ethics
codes?

(c)

Why do you think these differences exist?

Discuss your answers during your tutorial session.

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1.3

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT OF ETHICS

Imagine that you are using an outdated textbook as reference for writing your
assignment on ethical conflicts in psychology. As conflicts normally arise due
to differences in values, what do you think about the quality of your work? Do
you think the underlying values from the book represent the current values of
society? [NOTE: Values refer to the beliefs and attitudes that provide direction to
everyday living]. Why, and why not?

1.3.1

Ethics Codes

We now know that ethics codes, like any textbook, are man-made. They are
established by professional groups for three-fold purposes:
(a)

Providing guidelines for professionals;

(b)

Protecting clients or consumers of services; and

(c)

Clarifying the professional aspiration of the professional bodies.

So, we expect that these codes have limitations. This means that not all issues can
be solely dealt with by relying on ethics codes because of the contextual factors
such as the timing, the cultural considerations, the continued emphasis on the
role of diversity in mental health practice, and the professionals ability to
translate their own ethical awareness and problem-solving skills into
professional behaviour. Hence, ethics codes evolve and continuously undergo
periodic revisions.
For example, the PERKAMA Code of Ethics was first developed in 1994 but
recently it has been revised to upgrade the quality of its applicability in the
Malaysian context. Similarly, the current ACA (2005) and APA (2010) ethics
codes are results of recent revisions to replace codes from 10 years earlier.
Perhaps the demographic and technological changes in a particular society are
the main factors for making these revisions necessary.
Corey et al. (2010) discuss some limitations and problems that professionals
might encounter when they strive to be ethically responsible in their conduct of
practice (refer to Corey et al., 2010, p.7 for details), while Vergs (2010) proposes
an approach to ethical decision making that highlights the importance of context

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

13

in developing proactive strategies to solve ethical issues. Both are worth reading
to gain a deeper understanding of the development of ethics codes and the need
to periodically revise ethics codes to address some limitations in their
applicability to a specific cultural groups or contexts.

1.3.2

Ethical Standards and Guidelines

Aside from having specific codes of ethics for each professional body, some
ethics codes are complemented by a series of Guidelines. For example, the APS
Code of Ethics 2007 is complemented by 23 specific guidelines. The purpose of
these guidelines is to clarify and amplify the application of the General
Principles and standards established in the Code and to facilitate their
interpretation in contemporary areas of professional practice (APS, 2007, p. 3).
Similar development happens in the American context, whereby the current
continued emphasis on the role of culture and diversity in mental health
professions have resulted in the development of numerous guidelines to
complement the American ethics codes.
An example of the most notable guidelines is the guidelines on multicultural
education, training, research, practice, and organisational change for
psychologists (APA, 2003), which explicitly emphasise the influence of
multiculturalism and diversity on individuals behaviour. The guidelines reflect
the continuing development of the study of psychology, current demographic
changes in the societal composition, and consideration for diverse needs of
particular individuals and groups from diverse ethnic/racial origin and social
group membership. We should be able to detect any inconsistencies or
limitations in the current ethics codes so that we can contribute to improve them.
Overall, we should always remember that this module can only teach students
about ethics in psychology, but it cannot guarantee that students can be ethical
professionals. If you are able to understand the ethical principles for
psychologists, able to appreciate the importance of ethical principles, able to
differentiate between ethical and unethical behaviours, and always strive to
reinforce ethical behaviours in your daily functioning, then you can be an ethical
professional psychologist. Let the journey begin!

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

ACTIVITY 1.3
Compare and contrast the Competence Ethical Standards from two
existing codes of ethics (e.g., the APA Code of Ethics 2002 from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx andthe APS Code of
Ethics 2007 from
http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/Code_Ethics_2007.pdf)
and write an essay based on your answers to the following probing
questions:
(a)

What are their common themes?

(b)

How do they differ?

(c)

How useful are they in the ethical decision-making process in

Malaysia?

Ethics is the tool for guiding practices or for controlling behaviours, and
being ethical is the ability of making an ethical decision by conforming to
specific ethical standards.

Mandatory ethics is a term that describes the level of ethical functioning at

which psychologists merely act in compliance with minimum standards,
acknowledging the basic musts and must nots.

Aspirational ethics is a term that describes the highest professional standards

of conduct to which professional psychologists can aspire.

To ensure and promote positive outcomes for all, psychologists behaviour

and conduct must be controlled so that the welfare of clients can be protected.

Ethics are very important for all professionals and this explains why each
major mental health professional organisation has its own code of ethics.

Ethics codes evolve and continuously undergo periodic revisions. This is

because of contextual factors such as the timing, the cultural considerations,
the continued emphasis on the role of diversity in mental health practice, and
the professionals ability to translate their own ethical awareness and
problem-solving skills into professional behaviour.

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Aspirational Ethics

Ethics

Autonomy

Fidelity

Being Ethical

Justice

Beneficence

Mandatory Ethics

Ethical Behaviour

Nonmaleficence

Ethical Decisions

Unethical Behaviour

Ethical Dilemmas

Values

15

American Counselling Association (2005). ACA code of ethics Retrieved June 10,
2008, from
www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeOfEthics/TP/Home/CT2.aspx
American Psychological Association (2010). APA Ethical Principles of
Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Australian Psychological Society (2007). APS Code of Ethics. Retrieved June 10,
2008, from
http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/Code_Ethics_2007.pdf
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2010). Issues and ethics in the helping
professions (8th ed.). Belmont, CA, USA: Brooks/Cole publishing
Company.
Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental
health professions: Standards and cases (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford
University Press, Inc.
Lembaga Kaunselor (1999). Kod etika kaunselor. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan
Lembaga Kaunselor.
Vergs, A. (2010). Integrating contextual issues in ethical decision making. Ethics
& Behavior, 20(6), 497507.