APA: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Flashcards on Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Preamble and General Principles

Aspirational goals to guide psychologists toward the highest ideals of psychology.

Ethical Standards

Enforceable rules for conduct as psychologists.

Areas covered by the Ethics Code

Clinical, counseling, and school practice of psychology; research; teaching; supervision of trainees; public service; policy development; social intervention; development of assessment instruments; conducting assessments; educational counseling; organizational consulting; forensic activities; program design and evaluation; and administration.

Five General Principles

Beneficence and Nonmaleficence, Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, Justice, Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity

Beneficence and Nonmaleficence

Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm.

Fidelity and Responsibility

Psychologists establish relationships of trust with those with whom they work.

Integrity

Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology.

Justice

Psychologists recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures, and services being conducted by psychologists.

Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity

Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination.

Misuse of Psychologists’ Work

Take reasonable steps to correct or minimize the misuse or misrepresentation.

Conflicts Between Ethics and Law, Regulations, or Other Governing Legal Authority

Clarify the nature of the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code, and take reasonable steps to resolve the conflict.

Conflicts Between Ethics and Organizational Demands

Clarify the nature of the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code, and take reasonable steps to resolve the conflict.

Informal Resolution of Ethical Violations

Attempt to resolve the issue by bringing it to the attention of that individual.

Reporting Ethical Violations

Take further action appropriate to the situation, such as referral to state or national committees on professional ethics, to state licensing boards, or to the appropriate institutional authorities.

Cooperating with Ethics Committees

Psychologists cooperate in ethics investigations, proceedings, and resulting requirements.

Improper Complaints

Do not file or encourage the filing of ethics complaints that are made with reckless disregard for or willful ignorance of facts that would disprove the allegation.

Unfair Discrimination Against Complainants and Respondents

Do not deny persons employment, advancement, admissions to academic or other programs, tenure, or promotion, based solely upon their having made or their being the subject of an ethics complaint.

Boundaries of Competence

Provide services, teach, and conduct research only within the boundaries of their competence.

Maintaining Competence

Psychologists undertake ongoing efforts to develop and maintain their competence.

Delegation of Work to Others

Avoid delegating work to persons who have a multiple relationship with those being served.

Personal Problems and Conflicts

Refrain from initiating an activity when they know or should know that there is a substantial likelihood that their personal problems will prevent them from performing their work-related activities in a competent manner.

Unfair Discrimination

Do not engage in unfair discrimination based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or any basis proscribed by law.

Sexual Harassment

Psychologists do not engage in sexual harassment.

Avoiding Harm

Take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients, and others with whom they work.

Multiple Relationships

A psychologist is in a professional role with a person and at the same time is in another role with the same person.

Conflict of Interest

Refrain from taking on a professional role when personal, scientific, professional, legal, financial, or other interests or relationships could reasonably be expected to impair their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.

Exploitative Relationships

Do not exploit persons over whom they have supervisory, evaluative or other authority.

Cooperation with Other Professionals

Psychologists cooperate with other professionals in order to serve their clients/patients effectively and appropriately.

Informed Consent

Obtain the informed consent of the individual or individuals using language that is reasonably understandable.

Interruption of Psychological Services

Make reasonable efforts to plan for facilitating services in the event that psychological services are interrupted.

Maintaining Confidentiality

Protect confidential information obtained through or stored in any medium.

Discussing the Limits of Confidentiality

Discuss with persons and organizations with whom they establish a scientific or professional relationship the relevant limits of confidentiality and the foreseeable uses of the information generated through their psychological activities.

Minimizing Intrusions on Privacy

Include in written and oral reports and consultations, only information germane to the purpose for which the communication is made.

Disclosures

May disclose confidential information with the appropriate consent of the organizational client, the individual client/patient, or another legally authorized person on behalf of the client/patient unless prohibited by law.

Consultations

Do not disclose confidential information that reasonably could lead to the identification of a client/patient.

Use of Confidential Information for Didactic or Other Purposes

Do not disclose in their writings, lectures, or other public media, confidential, personally identifiable information concerning their clients/patients.

Avoidance of False or Deceptive Statements

Do not knowingly make public statements that are false, deceptive, or fraudulent concerning their research, practice, or other work activities.

Statements by Others

Do not compensate employees of press, radio, television, or other communication media in return for publicity in a news item.

Descriptions of Workshops and Non-Degree-Granting Educational Programs

Ensure that they accurately describe the audience for which the program is intended, the educational objectives, the presenters, and the fees involved.

Media Presentations

Take precautions to ensure that statements are based on their professional knowledge, training, or experience.

Testimonials

Do not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.

In-Person Solicitation

Do not engage in uninvited in-person solicitation of business from actual or potential therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.

Documentation of Professional and Scientific Work and Maintenance of Records

Create and maintain records and data relating to their professional and scientific work in order to facilitate provision of services, allow for replication of research, meet institutional requirements, ensure accuracy of billing, and ensure compliance with law.

Maintenance, Dissemination, and Disposal of Confidential Records of Professional and Scientific Work

Maintain confidentiality in creating, storing, accessing, transferring, and disposing of records under their control.

Withholding Records for Nonpayment

May not withhold records under their control that are requested and needed for a client’s/ patient’s emergency treatment solely because payment has not been received.

Fees and Financial Arrangements

Reach an agreement specifying compensation and billing arrangements as early as is feasible in a professional or scientific relationship.

Barter with Clients/Patients

Is the acceptance of goods, services, or other nonmonetary remuneration from clients/patients in return for psychological services.

Accuracy in Reports to Payors and Funding Sources

Take reasonable steps to ensure the accurate reporting of the nature of the service provided or research conducted, the fees, charges, or payments, and where applicable, the identity of the provider, the findings, and the diagnosis.

Referrals and Fees

The payment to each is based on the services provided and is not based on the referral itself.

Design of Education and Training Programs

Take reasonable steps to ensure that the programs are designed to provide the appropriate knowledge and proper experiences.

Descriptions of Education and Training Programs

Take reasonable steps to ensure that there is a current and accurate description of the program content.

Accuracy in Teaching

Take reasonable steps to ensure that course syllabi are accurate regarding the subject matter to be covered, bases for evaluating progress, and the nature of course experiences.

Student Disclosure of Personal Information

Do not require students or supervisees to disclose personal information in course- or program-related activities.

Mandatory Individual or Group Therapy

Allow students in undergraduate and graduate programs the option of selecting such therapy from practitioners unaffiliated with the program.

Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance

Establish a timely and specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.

Sexual Relationships with Students and Supervisees

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.

Institutional Approval

Provide accurate information about their research proposals and obtain approval prior to conducting the research.

Informed Consent to Research

Inform participants about the purpose of the research, their right to decline to participate, the foreseeable consequences of declining, potential risks, limits of confidentiality, incentives for participation, and whom to contact for questions.

Informed Consent for Recording Voices and Images in Research

Obtain informed consent from research participants prior to recording their voices or images for data collection.

Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants

Take steps to protect the prospective participants from adverse consequences of declining or withdrawing from participation.

Dispensing with Informed Consent for Research

May dispense with informed consent only where research would not reasonably be assumed to create distress or harm.

Offering Inducements for Research Participation

Make reasonable efforts to avoid offering excessive or inappropriate financial or other inducements for research participation.

Deception in Research

Do not conduct a study involving deception unless they have determined that the use of deceptive techniques is justified by the study’s significant prospective scientific, educational, or applied value.

Debriefing

Provide a prompt opportunity for participants to obtain appropriate information about the nature, results, and conclusions of the research.

Humane Care and Use of Animals in Research

Acquire, care for, use, and dispose of animals in compliance with current federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and with professional standards.

Reporting Research Results

Do not fabricate data.

Plagiarism

Do not present portions of another’s work or data as their own.

Publication Credit

Take responsibility and credit only for work they have actually performed or to which they have substantially contributed.

Duplicate Publication of Data

Do not publish, as original data, data that have been previously published.

Sharing Research Data for Verification

Do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis.

Reviewers

Respect the confidentiality of and the proprietary rights in such information of those who submitted it.

Bases for Assessments

Base the opinions contained in their recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative statements on information and techniques sufficient to substantiate their findings.

Use of Assessments

Administer, adapt, score, interpret, or use assessment techniques in a manner and for purposes that are appropriate.

Informed Consent in Assessments

Obtain informed consent for assessments, evaluations, or diagnostic services.

Release of Test Data

Provide test data to the client/patient or other persons identified in the release.

Test Construction

Use appropriate psychometric procedures and current scientific or professional knowledge for test design, standardization, validation, reduction or elimination of bias, and recommendations for use.

Interpreting Assessment Results

Take into account the purpose of the assessment as well as the various test factors, test-taking abilities, and other characteristics of the person being assessed.

Assessment by Unqualified Persons

Do not promote the use of psychological assessment techniques by unqualified persons.

Obsolete Tests and Outdated Test Results

Do not base their assessment or intervention decisions or recommendations on data or test results that are outdated for the current purpose.

Test Scoring and Interpretation Services

Accurately describe the purpose, norms, validity, reliability, and applications of the procedures

Explaining Assessment Results

Ensure that explanations of results are given to the individual or designated representative.

Maintaining Test Security

Make reasonable efforts to maintain the integrity and security of test materials

Informed Consent to Therapy

Inform clients/patients about the nature and anticipated course of therapy, fees, involvement of third parties, and limits of confidentiality.

Therapy Involving Couples or Families

Clarify at the outset which of the individuals are clients/patients and the relationship the psychologist will have with each person.

Group Therapy

Describe at the outset the roles and responsibilities of all parties and the limits of confidentiality.

Providing Therapy to Those Served by Others

Carefully consider the treatment issues and the potential client’s/patient’s welfare.

Sexual Intimacies with Current Therapy Clients/Patients

Do not engage in sexual intimacies with current therapy clients/patients.

Sexual Intimacies with Relatives or Significant Others of Current Therapy Clients/Patients

Do not engage in sexual intimacies with individuals they know to be close relatives, guardians, or significant others of current clients/patients.

Therapy with Former Sexual Partners

Do not accept as therapy clients/patients persons with whom they have engaged in sexual intimacies.

Sexual Intimacies with Former Therapy Clients/Patients

Do not engage in sexual intimacies with former clients/patients for at least two years after cessation or termination of therapy.

Interruption of Therapy

Paramount consideration given to the welfare of the client/patient.

Terminating Therapy

Terminate therapy when it becomes reasonably clear that the client/patient no longer needs the service, is not likely to benefit, or is being harmed by continued service.

Avoiding Harm

Take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients, and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable.

Torture

Psychologists do not participate in, facilitate, assist, or otherwise engage in torture.