L4 Professional Ethics and Ethical Reasoning Flashcards
1
Q
What is ethics?
A
Ethics is a system of moral principles to guide how people make decisions and lead their lives.
2
Q
What are the 3 approaches to ethics?
A
- Deontological (duty based; philosophy of Immanuel Kant): The deontological approach states that some acts are right or wrong in principle, so we have a duty to act accordingly, regardless of the consequences (ends do not justify the means).
- Utilitarian/ consequentialist (Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill): Utilitarianismstates that people should maximise human well-being. This perspectives states that ethical decisions based on the consequences, rather than on the value of the actions themselves.
- Virtue (Aristotle): concerned with virtue/moral character; focuses on the character of the individual – what makes a person of good character rather than looking at rules of behaviour; what makes people virtuous
3
Q
When is a moral violation personal? (3)
A
(i) likely to cause serious bodily harm,
(ii) to a particular person,
(iii) in such a way that the harm does not result from the deflection of an existing threat onto a different party.
4
Q
What is behavioural ethics? (2)
A
Bazerman & Gino (2012)
- Psychological, situational and social forces that influence ethical behaviour;
- Systematic ways in which humans depart from ethical expectations and the goals of the broader society.
5
Q
What 1 conflicting motivations influences ethical reasoning, decision-making and behaviour?
A
- The ‘should’ self: It is the long-term desire to be a good and ethical person and to be seen as such by others
- The ‘want’ self: It is the more short-term desire to behave in a way that would advance one’s self-interest
6
Q
What are the 3 key insights from behavioural ethics?
A
- Morality is shown to be dynamic and malleable, rather than reflecting a stable trait or stage of development.
- Moral reasoning and decisions are strongly driven by automatic and unconscious self-serving biases
- Automatic and unconscious self-serving biases result in ethical reasoning and decision-making that is ‘bounded’ (limited).
7
Q
What is bounded ethicality?
A
Bounded ethicality describes the systematic and predictable psychological processes that lead people to engage in ethically questionable behaviors that are inconsistent with their own stated, preferred ethics
- The drive to maintain the view of oneself as moral, competent, and deserving can be a barrier to recognizing otherwise visible conflicts of interest.
- We overestimate the influence of our own intention (to do good) and we underestimate the influence of the psychological forces outside of our consciousness.
8
Q
What are self-serving biases? (5)
A
- People perceive themselves as being better than others on a variety of desirable attributes causing them to have unrealistically positive self-evaluations across a wide range of contexts.
- An ethical blind spot emerges as decision-makers view themselves as more moral, competent, and deserving than others—it leads us to assume that conflicts of interest are non-issues
- We predict we will behave more ethically than we actually do, and remember our behaviour as being more ethical than it was.
- The ‘want’ self is dominant in the heat of the moment (when we are in the situation). The ‘should’ self is dominant in the future and past
- We give ourselves more credit for our good behaviors and take less responsibility for our moral lapses than others would be likely to perceive as being true
9
Q
What is ethical fading? (3)
A
- Describe the psychological process by which ethical decisions are “bleached” or faded of their moral implications.
- Individuals do not “see” the moral components of an ethical decision, not so much because they are morally uneducated, but because psychological processes fade the “ethics” from an ethical dilemma.
- e.g. euphemisms
10
Q
What is the code of ethics and what should it do (3)?
A
A Code of Ethics consists of a statement of the principles, values, standards, or rules of behaviour that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organisation or profession.
- Provide a framework to guide decisions and actions
- Protect the welfare of the organisation/profession’s key stakeholders (including people receiving psychological services)
- Respect the rights of all who are affected by the operations of the particular profession
11
Q
What is the 3 general ethical principles for psychologists?
A
A. Respect
B. Propriety
C. Integrity
*RIP
12
Q
What is respect? (4)
A
Psychologists:
- Demonstrate their respect for people by acknowledging their legal rights and moral rights the individuals have, their dignity and right to participate in decisions affecting their lives (autonomy, informed consent).
- Recognise the importance of people’s privacy and confidentiality, and physical and personal integrity, and recognise the power they hold over people when practising as psychologists.
- Maintain a high regard for the diversity and uniqueness of people and their right to linguistically and culturally appropriate services.
- Acknowledge people’s right to be treated fairly without discrimination or favouritism, and they endeavour to ensure that all people have reasonable and fair access to psychological services and share in the benefits that the practice of psychology can offer (justice).
13
Q
What is Propriety? (5)
A
Psychologists:
- Practise within the limits of their competence and know and understand the legal, professional, ethical and, where applicable, organisational rules that regulate the psychological services they provide.
- Undertake continuing professional development and take steps to ensure that they remain competent to practise, and strive to be aware of the possible effect of their own physical and mental health on their ability to practise competently.
- Anticipate the foreseeable consequences of their professional decisions, provide services that are beneficial to people and do not harm them (beneficence, non-maleficence)
- Take responsibility for their professional decisions.
- Put the welfare of clients and the public, and the standing of the profession, above their own self-interest.
14
Q
What is Integrity? (5)
A
Psychologists:
- Recognise that their position of trust requires them to be honest and objective in their professional dealings.
- Are committed to the best interests of their clients, the profession and their colleagues.
- Identify and avoid potential conflicts of interest
- Refrain from exploiting clients and associated parties.
- Are aware of their own biases, limits to their objectivity, and the importance of maintaining proper boundaries with clients.
15
Q
What are the 5 steps in the APS Ethical Decision Making Model?
A
- Recognise there is an ethical issue present: Learn to recognise potential ethical problems and Determine whether the problem is your responsibility.
- Clarify the ethical issues: Identify the ethical principles involved and Evaluate the rights, responsibilities and vulnerabilities of all affected parties
- Generate and examine the available courses of action
- Choose and implement the most preferred course of action/option: document the issue (consultation with colleagues/reference to ethics resources), might be needed for later.
- Reflect on and review the process
