Ethics Code and Obligations in Psychology
Case One. A developmental psychologist is conducting research on physiological correlates of orienting responses in newborn infants. Please answer the following two questions.
What is her obligation with respect to sharing each child's data with the child's parents?
The Section B of the ACA Code of Ethics titled “Confidentiality and Privacy” encompasses ethical practices of a counsellor which must be followed in case of clients such as infants to share data. The Code B.5.c provides guidelines for release of confidential information by the counsellor (American Counselling Association 7). In the given case, the infant does not have the capacity to give voluntary consent to release of information. A third party’s consent has to be obtained by the psychologist to disclose child’s data with the parents.
Does it make a difference if the data suggest the presence of neurological abnormality in some participants?
The Code B.2.c focuses on disclosure of information in case of contagious and life-threatening diseases (American Counselling Association 7). The presence of neurological abnormality does not pose the parents at risk, until and unless it is communicable in nature. On the contrary, the parents need to be informed of such a disorder as the parents would be able to take action for the child’s welfare.
Case Two. A major corporation hires a psychologist who has conducted applied research on cognitive errors that result from the way in which a message is presented. Some of her research suggests that consumer brand preferences can be manipulated by techniques that make listeners think they heard something other than what was actually said. The vice president for the marketing division, who is not trained in behavioral research, pressures her to incorporate her research findings in the design of a new marketing campaign.
How should she respond?
The psychologist should advise the vice president about the ethical issues related to acting in such a manner. He or she must tell the authoritative personnel of the company about his or her obligations under the ACA Code of Ethics, Section H. The Code H.4.c on “Technology-Assisted Services” requires the counsellor to take adequate measures to provide information that is appropriate to their needs, and is free of any kind of misconceptions (American Counselling Association, 18).
Case Three. A counselor who conducts qualitative research on social support and major life stresses is interested in how parents cope with the death of a young child. He decides to research the use of Internet sources of support. Posing as a parent who has recently lost a child, he subscribes to several listservs and participates in discussions in several chat rooms. He prints postings and discussions for his data analyses and quotes from these transcripts in his publications.
What ethical concerns do you have in this scenario? Please support your thoughts with reference to the ACA Code of Ethics for one of the issues you identified.
The Section G of the ACA code of Ethics on “Research and Publication” outlines the standard recommendations that need to be implemented while conducting …
