Topic 1: Ethics

Ethics

Moral principles that govern one’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity

• The branch of knowledge that deals with morals

Characterised by:

• Honest behaviour

• Compliance with ethical standards

• Consistency with personal and social values

• Neutral or positive impact on others

Describe unethical behaviour in the following context:

Behaviour that is dishonest

When we lie, cheat or steal to achieve a personal or group goal

• This standard of ethics (honesty) poses the means used to achieve an outcome and not the outcome itself that determines whether the behaviour is ethical or not

Think: In severance, they were doing something awful but they were not aware of it. Lumen were dishonest to them (unethical) and it wouldn’t make the workers unethical if they were to complete the final goal.

Describe unethical behaviour in the following context:

Compliance with ethical standards

Not abiding by the codes, rules, guidelines and other systems that attempt to identify certain behaviours or means which are in themselves, unethical.

Ethical standards

Give us a code of conduct that tell us what to do and what not to do

• Designed to deliver fairness, equity, respect for others and systems of non-discrimination

• They can be general rules, professional codes of conduct, or laws

• They function to balance power and protect the powerless

Describe unethical behaviour in the following context:

Consistency with personal and social values

Acting in ways that are not consistent with one’s own morals or values, or the values of the greater collective

Think: Look after thy neighbour (fuck thy neighbour)

Describe unethical behaviour in the following context:

Impact on others

Behaviour is deemed unethical when it negatively impacts others

How many complaints were lodged about psychologists in 2023-24?

735 for AHPRA alone

1282 including other agencies

How are most notifications with AHPRA resolved?

According to the report, they usually result in no further action

What are the 4 drivers of decision making?

• Unconscious thoughts (heuristics)

• Unthinking custom and practice (taking on the beliefs of culture without questioning them)

• Personal decision making profiles (i.e. by default, you think of the outcome rather than the process when making decisions)

• Reflective practice

Heuristics

Cognitive shortcuts

Can result in:

• Biases

What is the mode of conscious decision making?

Reflective practice

• Guided by values, purpose and principals

• Uses imagination to think of solutions

• Not the go-to method of decision making as most people think

What are the 4 ethical traps?

• The common sense/objectivity trap'

• The ‘values’ trap

• The ‘circumstantiality’ trap

• The ‘who will benefit’ trap

The Common Sense/ Objectivity Trap

A belief that common sense and objective solutions to ethical dilemmas are easy to come by because practitioners are ethical in nature, and will use this characteristic when they face ethical dilemmas

This is a trap because:

• Some ethical decisions are actually guided by the law, not a subjective account of whether people decide it is or isn’t ethical

• People will always bring their instincts and personal biases to decision making, and if they face an ethical dilemma it means they are personally a participant

  • This may cloud their judgement OR change their perspective

  • Their views are also subjective to their past experiences and whether their personal needs are being met

• Some people accept unethical behaviours as ethical due to cultural differences, upbringing or unconscious personal needs

Think: Ethical is not a personality trait; don’t treat it as one

What trap usually causes people to break the most explicit ethical codes?

For example, having sexual relations with a client or revealing information about them

Common sense/objectivity trap

• They are not necessarily ignoring of these codes, they have just consciously or unconsciously overridden them because of their sense of reality or personal needs

Think: It is important that I look competent in front of this person and they won’t be able to identify the client from this information I am going to provide, so it won’t harm them to share the info (breaks confidentiality)

What are 2 strategies/needs in ensuring you abide by professional codes?

• Know yourself, your own reality and your personal needs by engaging in self-reflective practices to better identify and recognise circumstances in which you may fall into an ethical trap

• Consult with supervisors and experienced and respected peers to get a more objective perspective as it will help to identify/challenge any personal biases and recognise solutions or perspectives you hadn’t considered.

The ‘Values’ Trap

The confusion of values, moral standards and religious convictions as professional ethical principles or codes

• These are important influences for how people act, but they are not professional ethical codes or standards

For example, a psychologist may have strong religious convictions that homosexuality is wrong (moral standards), but the professional ethical principles prohibit discrimination in all forms.

Personal Values

Priority systems that all individuals have that are used to determine what is more important and less important to them

• Used as a guide in decision making

• Everyone has them

Moral Standards

Codes of personal behaviour used primarily as a guide to conduct in everyday lives, especially in social contexts

• Generally absolute and positive (i.e. I will be honest)

• Put to use as personal prohibitions (i.e. I will not cheat)

• Can be based on religious convictions

True or False: Being ‘immoral’ means you have no morals

False

It means you have different morals to others

The ‘Circumstantiality’ Ethical Trap

The belief that there are no right or wrong answers to any ethical questions because the circumstances under which they occurred must be taken into consideration in making the decision.

• Behaviour is actually often either right or wrong according to professional ethical standards regardless of the circumstance in which it occurred

• The behaviour itself and consequence of the behaviour should be the concerns; not the circumstance it occurred in

Think: But they meant well…

If you run a red light, the police won’t listen to why; you will just get a fine because it is the law (like ethical codes)

In the context of clinical practice, it is against ethical codes to accept gifts from clients, but if a client gives you something they made with intrinsic value, this is a lot different to someone giving you more monetary compensation which is far more consequential

The “Who Will Benefit” Ethics Trap

When there is confusion about who will benefit from a specific ethical decision

• Ethical dilemmas can arise when a decision may result in both a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’, where you have to take a side from two conflicting interests which is uncomfortable

Think: The typical ethical axiom is ‘put the client first’

But what about when the client discloses that they want to rob a bank? If you report it, it might lead to a huge rupture in the therapeutic relationship and they might not return for treatment. However, if they are caught, they are likely to suffer irreversible and unfavourable long-term consequences. There is a win and lose to both, but the long-term interests will benefit the client the most.

When should professionals put their own interests before a client?

When a decision that would benefit a client in the long term may put themselves or other professionals in a position that may endanger them or limit or eliminate their value as a professional

• E.g. Diagnosing someone with level 2 ASD instead of level 1 so they can access NDIS support may contribute to mistrust in health professionals and perceptions of ‘overdiagnosis’

• Although this may improve outcomes for the client, it could reflect badly on the profession and lead to revoked licenses

• The same thing applies to when a client presents with issues that are deeply resonant for the psychologist and there is a high risk of transference

• Any threats to physical harm to the professional should take precedence too

Why do some argue that breaking confidentiality when it is found that a client intends to or has broken a law is wrong?

What is the actual case?

Some say that it is wrong because:

1. It can do irreparable harm to the therapeutic relationship

2. Sending a client to jail violates the age-old principle of putting clients first

3. It turns professionals into a form of law-enforcement as a function in society

However, professionals also have a duty to protect society. You cannot put a client’s right to confidentiality over someone’s rights to live if they intend on murdering someone. This would protect the long-term interests of both society and the client.