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Ethics
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Recent surveys have demonstrated that neuropsychologists are increasingly being asked to consult in forensic cases. As a result, they need to be aware of, and vigilant about, the associated ethical issues that arise. Grote (2005) notes that neuropsychologists have to be constantly vigilant of the need to produce unbiased and appropriately informed decisions if courts can be expected to rely on their opinions and that a failure to maintain this neutrality could lead others to view the field in a negative light, with particular biases directed toward the needs of the retaining party. Secondly, because neuropsychologists may not be fully aware of all of the potential ethical and legal implications that arise when reports are used in forensic settings, they may be especially at risk of committing an ethical violation without even being aware that such a violation has occurred. Some areas that are especially at risk for ethical violations in forensic practice...
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American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology. (2007). AACN practice guidelines for neuropsychological assessment and consultation. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 21, 209–231.
American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 57, 1060–1073.
Committee on Ethical Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists. (1991). Specialty guidelines for forensic psychologists. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 655–665.
Grote, C. (2005). Ethical practice of forensic neuropsychology. In G. Larrabee (Ed.), Forensic neuropsychology: A scientific approach. New York: Oxford University Press.
Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (2007). Psychological evaluations for the courts (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Weissman, H. N., & DeBow, D. M. (2003). Ethical principles and professional competencies. In A. Goldstein (Ed.), Handbook of psychology (Vol. 11). Forensic psychology. Hoboken: Wiley. The 2002 APA “Ethical Principles” can be viewed in their entirety at: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html.
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Heilbronner, R.L. (2018). Ethical Principles in Forensics. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_830
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_830
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