Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T14:49:32.004Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6.5 - Ethics

from Part VI - Professional Practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

By
Simon Duff  and
James McGuire
Edited by
Jennifer M. Brown  and
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
Get access

Summary

Ethical thinking is an indispensable component of sound professional practice across all areas of applied psychology. Within it, practitioners seek to take account of both the principles formulated in codes of conduct and the rights of all the involved participants. In this chapter we first describe the background to and the fundamental concepts of normative ethics before examining the agreed practical ethical principles that determine standards of work and the processes of ethically aware decision making. We identify the major sources of philosophical thought that have influenced the development of professional codes of practice. Examining the implications of this in a variety of contexts in forensic psychology, we focus on the most frequently encountered moral dilemmas and challenges that arise. They are drawn from the areas of working with clients, professional supervision, and research; and involve issues such as the protection of confidentiality, avoidance of role conflicts, resolution of the sometimesincongruent priorities of individual and public domains, and management of boundaries in professional relationships.

Keywords

Professional EthicsEthical PrinciplesEthical DilemmasCodes of ConductConfidentiality
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 814 - 834
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allan, A. (2013). Ethics in correctional and forensic psychology: Getting the balance right. Australian Psychologist, 48, 47–56.Google Scholar
Allan, A., & Grisso, T. (2014). Ethical principles and the communication of forensic mental health assessments. Ethics & Behavior, 24(6), 467–477.Google Scholar
Ambrose, N. G., & Yairi, E. (2002). The Tudor Study: Data and ethics. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 190–203.Google Scholar
APA (American Psychological Association) (2013). Speciality guidelines for forensic psychology. American Psychologist, 68(1), 7–19.Google Scholar
APA (American Psychological Association) (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Banyard, P., & Flanagan, C. (2011). Ethical issues in psychology. Routledge.Google Scholar
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of biomedical ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bersoff, D. N., & Koeppl, P. M. (1993). The relation between ethical codes and moral principles. Ethics and Behavior, 3(3&4), 345–357.Google Scholar
Black, J., & Green, A. (1992). Gods, demons and symbols of ancient Mesopotamia: an illustrated Dictionary. University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Bleuler, E. (1924). Textbook of psychiatry [Lehrbuch der Psychiatrie] (Brill, A. A., Trans.). Macmillan.Google Scholar
Boruch, R. F., Victor, T., & Cecil, J. S. (2000). Resolving ethical and legal problems in randomized experiments. Crime & Delinquency, 46(3), 330–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bottoms, S. (2014). Timeless cruelty: Performing the Stanford Prison Experiment. Performance Research, 19(3), 162–175.Google Scholar
BPS (British Psychological Society). (2014). Code of human research ethics. The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
BPS (British Psychological Society). (2017). Practice guidelines. The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
BPS (British Psychological Society). (2018). Code of ethics and conduct. The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
Brody, B. A. (1998). The ethics of biomedical research: An international perspective. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bush, S. S., Connell, M. A., & Denney, R. L. (2020). Ethical practice in forensic psychology (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Canadian Psychological Society/Société Canadienne de Psychology. (2017). Ethical guidelines for supervision in psychology: Teaching, research, practice, and administration. Canadian Psychological Society / Société Canadienne de Psychologie.Google Scholar
Clingempeel, W. G., Mulvey, E., & Reppucci, N. D. (1980). A national study of ethical dilemmas of psychologists in the criminal justice system. In Monahan, J. (Ed.), Who is the client? The ethics of psychological intervention in the criminal justice system (pp. 126–153). American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1982–06341–006Google Scholar
Colnerud, G. (1997). Ethical dilemmas of psychologists – A Swedish example in an international perspective. European Psychologist, 2(2), 164–170.Google Scholar
Dernevik, M., Beck, A., Grann, M., Hogue, T., & McGuire, J. (2009a). The use of psychiatric and psychological evidence in the assessment of terrorist offenders. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 20(4), 508–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dernevik, M., Beck, A., Grann, M., Hogue, T., & McGuire, J. (2009b). A response to Dr Gudjonsson’s commentary. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 20(4), 520–522.Google Scholar
Dickie, I. (2008). Ethical dilemmas, forensic psychology and therapeutic jurisprudence. Thomas Jefferson Law Review, 30, 455–461.Google Scholar
Driver, J. (2007). Ethics: The fundamentals. Blackwell.Google Scholar
Drogin, E. Y. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical conflicts in psychology (5th ed.). American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EFPA (European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations). (2005). Meta-code of ethics. http://ethics.efpa.eu/metaand-model-code/meta-code/Google Scholar
Gottlieb, M. C., & Coleman, A. (2019). Ethical challenges in forensic psychology practice. In Drogin, E. Y. (Ed.), Ethical conflicts in psychology (5th ed., pp. 669–678). American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Gottlieb, M. C., Robinson, K., & Younggren, J. N. (2007). Multiple relations in supervision: Guidance for administrators, supervisors, and students. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(3), 241–247.Google Scholar
Greenberg, S. A., & Shuman, D. W. (1997). Irreconcilable conflict between therapeutic and forensic roles. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 28(1), 50–57.Google Scholar
Greenberg, S. A., & Shuman, D. W. (2007). When worlds collide: Therapeutic and forensic roles. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(2), 129–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, E. E. H. (Ed.). (2018). Ethics challenges in forensic psychiatry and psychology practice. Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Gudjonsson, G. (2009). The assessment of terrorist offenders: A commentary on the Dernevik et al. article and suggestions for future directions. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 20(4), 516–519.Google Scholar
Haas, L. J., & Malouf, J. L. (1995). Keeping up the good work: A practitioner’s guide to mental health ethics. Professional Resource Exchange.Google Scholar
Haas, L. J., Malouf, J. L., & Mayerson, N. H. (1986). Ethical dilemmas in psychological practice: Results of a national survey. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 17(4), 316–321.Google Scholar
Handelsman, M. M. (1986). Problems with ethics training by ‘osmosis’. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 17(4), 371–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–97.Google Scholar
Heltzel, T. (2007). Compatibility of therapeutic and forensic roles. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(2), 122–128.Google Scholar
Herring, J. (2017). Legal ethics (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Horvath, M. A., & Brown, J. M. (2007). Using police data for empirical investigations of rape. Issues in Forensic Psychology, 6, 49–56.Google Scholar
Jones, J. H. (1993). Bad blood: The Tuskegee syphilis experiment (2nd ed.). Free Press.Google Scholar
Katz, J. (1993). Human experimentation and human rights. Saint Louise University Law Journal, 38(7), 7–54.Google Scholar
Koocher, G. P. (2009). Ethics and the invisible psychologist. Psychological Services, 6(2), 97–107.Google Scholar
Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2016). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: standards and cases (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Le Texier, T. (2019). Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment. American Psychologist, 74(7), 823–839.Google Scholar
Lea, S., Auburn, T., & Kibblewhite, K. (1999). Working with sex offenders: The perceptions and experiences of professionals and paraprofessionals. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 43, 103–119.Google Scholar
Leach, M. M., Stevens, M. J., Lindsay, G., Ferrero, A., & Korkut, Y. (Eds.). (2012). The Oxford handbook of international psychological ethics. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lifton, R. J. (1986). The Nazi doctors: Medical killing and the psychology of genocide. Basic Books.Google Scholar
Lindsay, G., & Colley, A. (1995). Ethical dilemmas of members of the British Psychological Society. The Psychologist: Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 8, 448–453.Google Scholar
MacKay, E., & O’Neill, P. (1992). What creates the dilemma in ethical dilemmas? Examples from psychological practice. Ethics & Behavior, 2(4), 227–244.Google Scholar
Maharaj, R., O’Brien, L., Gillies, D., & Andrew, S. (2013). Police referrals to a psychiatric hospital. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 22, 313–321.Google Scholar
Mann, R. E., Hanson, R. K., & Thornton, D. (2010). Assessing risk for sexual recidivism: Some proposals on the nature of psychologically meaningful risk factors. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22(2), 191–217.Google Scholar
McGuire, J. (1997). Ethical dilemmas in forensic clinical psychology. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2(2), 177–192.Google Scholar
McGuire, J. (2004 ). Minimising harm in violence risk assessments: Practical solutions to ethical problems? Health, Risk and Society, 6(4), 327–345.Google Scholar
McGuire, J. (2008). Ethical dilemmas in practicing correctional psychology. In Bourgon, G., Hanson, R. K., Pozzulo, J. D., Morton Bourgon, K. E., & Tanasichuk, C. L. (Eds.), The Proceedings of the 2007 North American Correctional & Criminal Justice Psychology Conference (User Report) (pp. 110–117). Public Safety Canada. https://cpa.ca/cpasite/UserFiles/Documents/Criminal%20Justice/NACCJPC%20Proceedings_Eng_Feb2008.pdfGoogle Scholar
Meszaros, C. (2010). Modeling ethical thinking: Toward new interpretive practices in the art museum. Curator: The Museum Journal, 51(2), 157–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioural study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378.Google Scholar
Modak, T., Sarkar, S., & Sagar, R. (2016). The story of Prosenjit Poddar. Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour, 21(2), 138–140.Google Scholar
Monahan, J. (ed.) (1980). Who is the client? The ethics of psychological intervention in the criminal justice system. American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1982–06341–000Google Scholar
Monahan, J. (1993). Limiting therapist exposure to Tarasoff liability: Guidelines for risk containment. American Psychologist, 48(3), 242–250.Google Scholar
Mulford, R. D. (1967). Experimentation on human beings. Stanford Law Review, 20(1), 99–117.Google Scholar
Nederlandt, P. (1996). Comment l’étudiant en psychologie decouvre-t-il la deontologie? Paper presented at the First European Meeting on Psychology and Ethics, Lisbon.Google Scholar
Nijhawan, L. P., Janodia, M. D., Muddukrishna, B. S., Bhat, K. M., Bairy, K. L., Udupa, N., & Musmade, P. B. (2013). Informed consent: Issues and challenges. Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology & Research, 4(3), 134–140.Google Scholar
Peréira da Silva, J., & McGuire, J. (1996). Ethical problems in forensic psychology. News from EFPPA, 10, 10–11.Google Scholar
Perry, G. (2012). Behind the shock machine: the untold story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments. Scribe.Google Scholar
Pettifor, J. L., & Sawchuk, T. R. (2006). Psychologists’ perceptions of ethically troubling incidents across international borders. International Journal of Psychology, 41(3), 216–225.Google Scholar
Pope, K. S., & Vetter, V. A. (1992). Ethical dilemmas encountered by members of the American Psychological Association. American Psychologist, 47(3), 397–411.Google Scholar
Pryzwansky, W. B., & Wendt, R. N. (1999). Professional and ethical issues in psychology: foundations of practice. W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2018). The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.Google Scholar
Reith, M. (1998). Community care tragedies: A practical guide to mental health inquiries. Venture Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, L. W., & Roberts, B. (1999). Psychiatric research ethics: An overview of evolving guidelines and current ethical dilemmas in the study of mental illness. Biological Psychiatry, 46(8), 1025–1038.Google Scholar
Sen, P., Gordon, H., Adshead, G., & Irons, A. (2006). Ethical dilemmas in forensic psychiatry: Two illustrative cases. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33, 337–341.Google Scholar
Silverman, F. H. (1988). The “Monster” study. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 13, 225–231.Google Scholar
Singer, P. (2011). Practical ethics (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Singh, J. P & Fazel, S. (2010). Forensic risk assessment: A metareview. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(9), 965–988.Google Scholar
Smith, T. S., McGuire, J. M., Abbott, D. W., & Blau, B. I. (1991). Clinical ethical decision making: An investigation of the rationales used to justify doing less than one believes one should. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 22(3), 235–239.Google Scholar
Tarquinio, C., Brennstuhl, M.J., Reichenbach, S., Rydberg, J.A., & Tarquinio, P. (2012). Early treatment of rape victims: Presentation of an emergency EMDR protocol. Sexologies, 21, 113–121.Google Scholar
Thomas, S. B., & Quinn, S. C. (2000). Light on the shadow of the syphilis study at Tuskegee. Health Promotion Practice, 1(3), 234–237.Google Scholar
Tolman, A. O., & Rotzien, A. L. (2007). Conducting risk evaluations for future violence: Ethical practice is possible. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(1), 71–79.Google Scholar
Tymchuk, A. J. (1986). Guidelines for ethical decision making. Canadian Psychology, 27, 36–43.Google Scholar
Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Ral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false information. Science, 359, 1146–1151.Google Scholar
Ward, T., Gannon, T. A., & Vess, J. (2009). Human rights, ethical principles, and standards in forensic psychology. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 53(2), 126–144.Google Scholar
Ward, T., & Willis, G. (2010). Ethical issues in forensic and correctional research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 399–409.Google Scholar
Weiner, I. B., & Hess, A. K. (2014). Practicing ethical forensic psychology. In Weiner, I. B. & Otto, R. K. (Eds.), The handbook of forensic psychology (4th ed., pp. 85–110). John Wiley.Google Scholar
Whittington, R., Hockenhull, J. C., McGuire, J., Leitner, M., Barr, W., Cherry, M. G., Flentje, R., Quinn, B., Dundar, Y., & Dickson, R. (2013). A systematic review of risk assessment strategies for populations at high risk of engaging in violent behaviour: Update 2002–8. Health Technology Assessment, 17(50), 1–128.Google Scholar
Wilson, P., Lincoln, R., & Kocsis, R. (1997). Validity, utility and ethics of profiling for serial violent and sexual offenders. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 4(1), 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woody, R. H. (2009). Ethical considerations of multiple roles in forensic services. Ethics & Behavior, 19(1), 7987.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×