Uses and abuses of psychology

Objectivity + subjectivity -> research; Ethical principles in psychology and counselling; Modes of intelligence; Uses/limitations and abuses of intelligence testing; interpret and describe data represented by frequency charts and distribution; avoiding plagiarism in academic work

Define subjective and objective

Subjective → matters of perspective, opinion or viewpoint. Value judgement + personal experience

Objective → facts, not considering experiences or opinions

‘Wrong’/’right’ are generally avoided in professional settings

Define ethics

Standards expected or legally required in a particular context (academic or healthcare)

Define ethical frameworks

Codes of practice/formal statement of ethics → context they cover.

What are some values BPS considers important?

Respect → informed consent + confidentiality

Competence → aware of relevant theory and research and limits of own expense

Responsibility → avoid doing harm

Integrity → fairness, and avoiding exploitation and conflict of interest.

Benefits should outweigh harm, consider cost of time of researchers speaking with human participants

Look into Jessen and Mitchell’s work with the CIA>

What are some concerns with counselling

Psychological harm can be caused by talking about traumatic experiences in counselling.

Psychological interventions are better for some but not others.