Abstract
The prerequisites for conducting an ethical practice in psychology go far beyond professional competence and good intentions. They include, at the very least, a degree of professional sophistication, a solid measure of common sense, a high level of personal integrity, the exercise of careful planning, and the ability to establish good interpersonal rapport. While these may seem to belabor the obvious, it is worth noting that a substantial minority of those judged guilty of violating the Ethical Standards of Psychologists (American Psychological Association, 1977a) appear to have done so without intent or awareness (Keith-Spiegel, 1977). Given this reality, this chapter will address three basic concerns. First, the evolution of the Ethical Standards of Psychologists (American Psychological Association, 1977a) will be reviewed from a historical perspective. Second, the extant organizational and procedural structures for refining and enforcing ethical standards in professional psychology will be addressed. Finally, a condensed series of topics relevant to day-to-day professional practice issues will be discussed with the ultimate goal of making it possible for the reader to anticipate and prevent many types of ethical problems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
American Psychological Association. Guidelines for psychologists conducting growth groups. American Psychologist, 1973, 28, 933. (a).
American Psychological Association. Ethical principles in the conduct of research with human participants. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1973. (b).
American Psychological Association. Standards for educational and psychological tests. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1974.
American Psychological Association. Ethical standards of psychologists (1977 rev.). Washington, D.C.: Author, 1977. (a).
American Psychological Association. Standards for providers of psychological services. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1977. (b).
American Psychological Association. Bylaws of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: Author, as amended through 1978.
American Psychological Association, Committee on Ethical Standards for Psychology. Ethical standards for psychology. American Psychologist, 1951, 6, 427–452. (a).
American Psychological Association, Committee on Ethical Standards for Psychology. Ethical standards for psychology. American Psychologist, 1951, 6, 626–661. (b).
American Psychological Association, Task Force on Privacy and Confidentiality. Final report. Washington, D.C.: Author, 1977.
Bersoff, D. N. Therapists as protectors and policemen: New roles as a result of Tarasoff. Professional Psychology, 1976, 7, 267–273.
Bray, D. W. The assessment center method. In R. L. Craig (Ed.), Training and development handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
Bray, D. W. Current trends and future possibilities. In J. L. Moses, & W. C. Byham (Eds.), Applying the assessment center method. New York: Pergamon, 1977.
Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics and Conduct. Rules and Procedures. American Psychologist, 1974, 9, 703–710.
Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1968, 8, 377–383.
Dubey, J. Confidentiality as a requirement of the therapist: Technical necessities for absolute privilege in psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1974, 131, 1093–1096.
Golann, S. E. Ethical standards for psychology: Development and revision, 1938–1968. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1970, 269, 398–405.
Hare-Mustin, R. T., Marecek, J., Kaplan, A. G., & Liss-Levinson, N. Rights of clients, responsibilities of therapists. American Psychologist, 1979, 34, 3–16.
Jagim, R. D., Wittman, W. D., & Noll, J. O. Mental health professionals’ attitudes toward confidentiality, privilege, and third-party disclosure. Professional Psychology, 1978, 9, 458–466.
Keith-Spiegel, P. Violation of ethical principles due to ignorance or poor professional judgement versus willful disregard. Professional Psychology, 1977, 8, 288–296.
Koocher, G. P. A bill of rights for children in psychotherapy. In G. P. Koocher (Ed.), Children’s rights and the mental health professions. New York: Wiley, 1976.
Koocher, G. P. Advertising for psychologists: Pride and prejudice or sense and sensibility? Professional Psychology, 1977, 8, 149–160.
Koocher, G. P. and Broskowski, A. Mental health services for children. Professional Psychology, 1977, 8, 583–592.
Koocher, G. P. and Pedulla, B. M. Current practices in child psychotherapy. Professional Psychology, 1977, 8, 275–287.
Leonard, J. B. A therapist’s duty to potential victims: A nonthreatening view of Tarasoff. Law and Human Behavior, 1977, 1, 309–318.
Paul, R. E. Tarasoff and the duty to warn: Toward a standard of conduct that balances the rights of clients against the rights of third parties. Professional Psychology, 1977, 8, 125–128.
People v. Poddar, 10 Cal. 3d 750, 518, P.2d 342, 111 Cal. Rptr. 910 (1974).
Ross, A. O. Confidentiality in child therapy: A reevaluation. Mental Hygiene, 1966, 50, 360–366.
Schwitzgebel, R. K. A contractual model for the protection of the rights of institutionalized mental patients. American Psychologist, 1975, 30, 815–820.
Schwitzgebel, R. K. Treatment contracts and ethical self-determination. The Clinical Psychologist, 1976, 29, 5–7.
Siegel, M. Confidentiality. The Clinical Psychologist, 1976, 30, 1; 23.
Siegel, M. Privacy, ethics, and confidentiality. Professional Psychology, 1979, 10(2), 249–258.
Stone, A. A. The Tarasoff decisions: Suing psychotherapists to safeguard society. Harvard Law Review, 1976, 90, 358–378.
Swoboda, J. S., Elwork, A., Sales, B. D., & Levine, D. Knowledge and compliance with privileged communication and child abuse reporting laws. Professional Psychology, 1978, 9, 448–457.
Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 529 P.2d 553, 118 Cal. Rptr. 129 (1974).
Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (1976).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koocher, G.P. (1983). Ethical and Professional Standards in Psychology. In: Sales, B.D. (eds) The Professional Psychologist’s Handbook. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1025-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1025-7_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1027-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1025-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive