Ethics and Professional Issues Flashcards
T/F: Both the General Principles and Ethical Standards are enforceable and can serve as the basis for disciplinary action against psychologists.
F: The General Principles are aspirational and non-enforceable and they provide general guidance, while the Ethical Standards are mandatory, enforceable provisions.
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client welfare is defined generally and psychologists “take reasonable steps” to avoid and minimize harm to clients/students/research participants/others. The welfare of the clients takes importance over non-clients, colleagues, or the psychological profession
The term “reasonable” in the Ethics code means the prevailing professional judgment of psychologists engaged in ____ activities in __“__ circumstances, given the knowledge the psychologist had or should have had at the time
similar activities in similar circumstances
when ethics and laws conflict, resolve a conflict responsibly in keeping with basic principles of human ___
human rights
When psychologists take “reasonable steps to correct or minimize the misuse or misrepresentation” of their work, often this entails contacting the ___ ___ and requesting that a ___ measure be taken, then ___ing action taken
involved party; corrective measure be taken; documenting
making a formal report to the Ethics committee or other authority is required in the event of “substantial harm” and informal resolution is inappropriate or has not resolved satisfactorily. What are some examples of “substantial harm” acc to the Rules and Procedures (APA, 2002)
sexual misconduct, insurance fraud, and plagiarism (act to enforce this standard as long as you do not break right to confidentiality)
Cooperating with ethics committees still require adhering to a patient’s right to ___ even when doing one’s best to provide relevant information as requested.
right to confidentiality
Dr. X is considering hiring Dr. Y for a position in his practice, but Dr. Y has both made and been the respondent to ethics complaints in the past year that are all currently still under investigation. Could Dr. X choose not to hire Dr. Y based solely on the standing of having made/been involved in ethics complaints?
No (but this could change depending on the outcome of a complaint)
___ation from another professional can help a psychologist determine what additional training is necessary before they are ready to practice in a particular subfield
Consultation
whenever a psychologist is using a new or experimental technique, who must be made aware of that fact with special care to protect them from harm?
The client experiencing the technique
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supervision and required coursework may be necessary for a psychologist to switch specialties (e.g. from educational psychology to clinical psychology)
Ladany, Lehrman-Waterman, Molinaro, and Wolgast (1999) found that the most frequently cited ethical violation among intern-level trainees was sexual misconduct. T/F?
F: it was inadequate performance evaluation and monitoring of the interns’ activities
Under certain circumstances, supervisors and employers may be legally responsible for the action of their supervisees and employees, which is called what?
vicarious liability (respondeat superior)
List 2-3 potential appropriate measures to guard against adverse impacts of personal problems on professional activities
seeking therapy
referring clients to other professionals
consulting with another professional to identify the most appropriate action
a psychologist can generally provide emergency services (though they lack sufficient training) until…
the crisis remits or other, more proper services become available (Standard 2.02 permits this but does not require it; psychs can say no if lacking proper training)
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psychologists may not harass or unfairly discriminate against people on the basis of demographics/background, but they may refuse to provide services to individuals they do not feel competent to serve or to “difficult” individuals
Gottlieb (1993) recommends a psychologist consider 3 factors when determining acceptability of a multiple relationship, which are…
1) power differential: the more influence the psych has over the individual, the less likely that relationship is ethical
2) duration of the relationship: the longer the length of either relationship, the more dubious the acceptability of the multiple relationship
3) clarity of termination: how likely will the individual desire more services later? the higher the chance either relationship will continue, the less acceptable the multiple relationship
What 3 conditions must be met for informed consent to be valid?
1) capacity (to make rational decisions)
2) comprehension (provided with enough info and understands it)
3) voluntariness (to make a decision without coercion)
Do the Ethics Standards require consent to be written?
No, but must be documented
Privacy refers to “the freedom of ___s to choose for themselves the time and the circumstances under which and the extent to which their beliefs, ___s, and ___s are to be shared [with] or withheld from ___s” (Siegal, 1979, p. 251).
individuals; beliefs, behaviors, and opinions are to be shared or withheld from others
(In therapy, “once private information has been disclosed to a therapist with an expectation that such information will not ordinarily be disclosed to third parties, it becomes confidential” (Smith-Bell & Winslade, 1994, p. 181))
Confidentiality refers to the ___ of psychologists to protect clients from ___ disclosure of information revealed in the context of a ___ relationship. Confidentiality is an ethical principle and in some situations, a ___ requirement.
obligation of psychologists to protect clients from unauthorized disclosure; professional relationship; legal requirement
Privilege is a ___ concept that protects a client’s ___ in the context of ___ ___s.
legal concept that protects a client’s confidentiality in the context of legal proceedings
Although the ___ is the holder of the privilege, a psychologist may claim (or invoke or assert) the privilege on behalf of the client when they are asked to disclose confidential info in a ___ proceeding.
client is the holder; legal proceedings
___ consent is required before using confidential, personally identifiable information about clients, students, research participants, organizations, and other recipients of their services in writings, lectures, and other public media
written consent (unless reasonable steps taken to move personal ID info)
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In sexual harassment law, the objective standard is often framed in terms of what a “reasonable woman” would consider offensive or hostile in the workplace. This standard helps ensure that claims are not based solely on an individual’s personal sensitivity but on a broadly accepted measure of conduct in the workplace.
standard 5.05 prohibits psychologists from soliciting testimonials from ___ clients due to vulnerability to undue influence
current clients (or current supervisees or patients)
Standard 5.06 prohibits ___, in-person solicitation of business from people who are vulnerable to undue influence
uninvited, in person solicitation (this does not preclude offering services to client family members to benefit the client or from offering business contact info for people who invite it or from doing disaster or community outreach)
T/F: There are several instances in the Ethics Code that speak to client access to records.
F: client access to records is not covered by the ethics code (but they are covered by federal, state, and provincial laws including HIPAA)
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (AKA FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) protects what kind of information from being shared about what kind of person?
personally identifiable information being shared about students by educational institutions (receiving federal funds) without consent from parents or of elibible students (18+)
According to the ethics code, it may be acceptable to ___ records from a patient when they owe a psychologist money, but not in ___ circumstances
withhold (unless it may harm the pt); emergency
(may not be allowed by law)
a psychologist may use a collection agency for unpaid funds as soon as there is an unpaid account balance for a client. T/F
False (only after notifying client of intent and after opp to pay the fee)
referral fees are not prohibited but when they are paid to an individual provider (as opposed to a referral service), they must be based on the actual ___ of ___ provided not the actual referral itself
actual cost of services provided
bartering for services is generally considered acceptable as long as it is not clinically ___ or ___ to either party (patient or therapist)
clinically contraindicated or exploitative
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Soliciting or using testimonials from clients or participants is considered unethical, as there is a risk of coercion or undue influence, even if the client voluntarily offers the testimonial (and even former clients whose services are terminated)
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Fees for psychological services should be discussed as early as is feasible.
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The rule about sexual relationships between students/teachers and trainee/supervisors only applies to current students and trainees but may not apply to former students/trainees or students in other departments
“Psychologists do not engage in sexual relationships with students or supervisees who are in their department, agency, or training center or over whom psychologists have or are likely to have evaluative authority.” Standard 7.07
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Students cannot be required to participate in a research study, but need to be offered equitable alternative activities
Read: Standard 8.07 says that deception in research is only acceptable when
A) the use of deception is justified by the “study’s significant prospective scientific, educational, or applied value and effective nondeceptive alternative procedures are not feasible”;
B) prospective participants are not deceived about conditions that can be “reasonably exected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress”
C) participants will be debriefed “preferably at the conclusion of their participation, but no later than at the conclusion of the data collection”
Students get credit on published materials based on their work (I.e. dissertation) despite the ___ of teachers or other professionals who support their work
status of teachers (credit is assigned based on each person’s contribution)
Read: Standard 7.02 requires psychologists to “take reasonable steps to ensure that there is a current and accurate description of the program content.”
This means that making making changes to an educational or training program as it is advertised or described violates ethics
Standard 8.14 says that, once research results are published, psychologists MUST share their data with colleagues for the purpose of independent interpretation, verification, or re-analysis.
but before doing so, a psychologist must ensure confidentiality of participants. (This standard does NOT require sharing of unpublished data)
Does test data include things like test responses and raw and scaled scores and notes from assessment sessions or things like formal presentations of integrated test data in reports?
The former
(Test materials include manuals, instruments, protocols, stimuli, etc. from assessment measures)
information necessary for informed consent for therapy must be provided “as ___ as is ___”
as early as is feasible
Standard 10.02 requires psychologists to clarify at the outset of therapy “1) which of the individuals are the ___s and 2) the ___ the psychologist will have with each person”
which of the individuals are the clients; the relationship the psychologist
when considering when working with a client and other providers are or may also see this client, “proceed with caution and sensitivity to the therapeutic issues” (10.04), meaning that the client’s ___ is the overriding consideration.
client’s welfare
Standard 10.07 states that, even after the 2-year limit has passed that may permit a psychologist from having a sexual relationship with a former client, a relationship may only be acceptable in the “most ___ circumstances”
most unusual circumstances
psychologists can file an ___ on behalf of their client if care is not deemed “medically necessary” but the therapist believes treatment ought to continue
file an appeal (this appeal may be denied, in which case the therapist discussion the situation with the client and options for treatment/payment)
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Standard 10.10(b) states that “psychologists may terminate therapy when threatened or otherwise endangered by the client/patient or another person with whom the client/patient has a relationship.” In addition, prohibitions against breaching client confidentiality do not apply if the psychologist needs to contact the police or others to obtain protection for themselves (see, e.g., C. B. Fisher, Decoding the Ethics Code: A practical guide for psychologists, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 2003).
