A Canadian perspective on using vignettes to teach ethics in psychology.

Vignettes depicting ethical dilemmas are used widely in teaching and learning professional ethics. Such an approach can facilitate learning by allowing opportunities to work through ethical dilemmas using practical, realistic, and complex material that enables participants to: engage in discussion; explore applicable ethical principles; and ideally, to achieve a deeper level of ethical understanding. Despite their widespread use, little research has been conducted on how to maximise the benefits of using ethical dilemmas, nor on the most ethically appropriate ways of presenting scenarios derived, at least in part, from actual occurrences. In this article, we endeavour to contextualise the use of vignettes within the framework provided by the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Third Edition (Canadian Psychological Association, 2000) and to use the principles and standards therein to suggest guidelines for the ethical creation and use of vignettes. We begin by reviewing the literature on the use of ethical dilemmas in teaching and learning ethics, including a discussion of the benefits to be gained from using vignettes as one component of a comprehensive approach to ethics education. This is followed by discussion of ethical considerations relevant to the creation and use of vignettes of ethical dilemmas. We conclude with a series of recommendations informed by the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists to guide psychologists in using such illustrative material in an ethically appropriate manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating Ethics into the Engineered Construction Curriculum

Equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, security, civic duty, justice, honor, and the rule of law are some of the widely held values in society. These are the values engineers must adopt to comply with regulations. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness in construction education regarding how to integrate social awareness and ethical behavior into professional practice. Several challenges facing construction engineering educators are how to develop strategies that will raise the awareness of students regarding ethical issues related to construction and how to provide a framework to make ethical decisions. Social values should serve as the basis for university-level ethics instruction. The objectives of this paper are to discuss the various disciplines that are available for use in developing course material and classroom presentations, and to describe a framework for making ethical decisions. Problem solving in ethics is a skill that is very much needed by students, but is quite difficult to teach. The approach described herein uses real world construction ethics cases and invited guest lectures from the construction industry plus multiple required and elective courses explore ethical theories, concepts of critical thinking, and major ethical issues related to the construction industry.     

Psychotherapy research ethics: Continuing the debate on controlled clinical trials.

Comments that the S. Imber et al (see record 1986-17822-001) legalistic approach to ethics may not promote the need to attend to the broader ethical issues confronting social scientists. The crux of the concern with the ethics of clinical trials as a method for studying psychotherapy is the medical model of problem definition and intervention that forms its basis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethics and mediation

Ethics dialogue in this case is first used as a framework to initiate reflection on which forms of conflict resolution are appropriate in specific situations. This helps in planning and strategies, but does not guarantee what the outcome will actually be. Ethics dialogue, however, can also be used as a form of conflict resolution. For example, when the patient in the story wants to avoid revealing the names of her past dentists, an ethical framework could be presented that would respect her autonomy (an ethical term) and her right to privacy (a legal term), while still addressing your need to determine if the primary problem is of an ethical or dental nature, and if your role is to be that of a healing mediator or a healing dentist. This same form of conflict resolution could also be applied elsewhere in the story. For example, ethics dialogue would have been appropriate during the consultation between you and the endodontist, or between you and the patient, prior to the lawyer's formal request for the patient's records. It is difficult, however, for you to reduce conflict through an ethical dialogue once the lawyer requests information from you because, at that point, the adjudication process has already begun. The ethical reflection exercise will, however, help you negotiate through the adjudication process by providing a solid ethical reference point concerning conflict resolution. The February issue's ethics column will provide a framework for evaluating the forms of power available in conflict resolution in terms of justice.     

Darren's case: narrative ethics in Perri Klass's Other Women's Children

During the past fifteen years, the relationship between literature and medical ethics has evolved from the occasional use of stories as a substitute for the traditional case study in medical ethics to the emergence of a narrative approach to ethical analysis and decision making. Thus far, literary theory has been more important to narrative medical ethics than have works of literature themselves. Perri Klass's novel Other Women's Children deserves special scrutiny, however, because an analysis of it demonstrates ways that a narrative approach could enhance traditional philosophical and legal approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas in medicine.     

A course in medical ethics--a pain in the neck for the clinicians?

Last year, a course in clinical medical ethics for paediatricians had to be cancelled owing to lack of interest. To find the reason for this, and to learn what ethical problems the physicians encountered in the course of their work, how they solved them, and their attitude towards education in medical ethics, a questionnaire was sent to all members of The Norwegian Paediatric Association, to be answered anonymously. The most frequent excuses for not attending the course were pressure of work and lack of time. 37% claimed that they very often or often encountered ethical problems during their work. 20% often solved these problems alone, and two out of three after discussing them with colleagues. 51% felt a need to improve their competence to solve ethical problems. Only 16% reported having no such need. The authors discuss the form and content of the education in medical ethics.     

Introduction to the special section: Ethics education: An agenda for the '90s.

Discusses research on ethics education, focusing on the writings of J. R. Rest (1983) and K. S. Kitchener (see record 1987-32584-001). Rest has postulated a model for understanding components of moral behavior, which is useful for organizing empirical literature on ethics. Kitchener's work ties the ethical issues in training to the work of ethics scholars and provides an ethical rationale for statements in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological Association, 1990). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introducing ethics to beginning psychologists: A problem-solving approach.

Beginning and practicing psychologists both need more exposure to ethical training experiences. A new Canadian code of ethics provides an opportunity for universities to review their approach to this experience for students in clinical and counseling psychology. In the Canadian code, four basic ethical principles, followed by value statements and standards of behavior, are proposed. This structure provides a useful framework for ethics education. In addition, the problem-solving approach to ethical and moral dilemmas provides a better decision-making process for new psychologists than does simple exposure to professional behavior guidelines. The approach used at the University of Alberta is presented with the recommendation that ethical instruction focus on personal values and the process of informed decision making as well as learning "correct" responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonsexual posttherapy relationships: A conceptual framework to assess ethical risks.

Psychologists sometimes enter into nonsexual posttherapy relationships with former clients. These relationships may occur for a host of reasons, and psychologists have different views regarding the ethicality of these relationships. The American Psychological Association ethics code provides little specific guidance. This article proposes a collaborative and practical model to assess the ethical risks of nonsexual posttherapy relationships that is grounded in normative ethical principles and is drawn from literature about the therapeutic process and social role theory. The role of virtue ethics is discussed as a basis for developing character traits that help psychologists make difficult ethical decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethics in nursing

The conclusion reached at the end of this article is that there is a crisis in the ethics of nursing and that the focus of the ethics of nursing should be on virtues. The reconstruction of a virtue-based ethics in nursing is proposed as a solution for the current crisis in the ethics of nursing. With an analysis conducted on the ethics of nursing the story is told of an individual nurse within nursing in the South African society. Certain concepts to ethics as well as the dimensions of ethics in nursing are explained within the narrative of nursing. The institutionalisation of ethics of nursing is described based on the three ethical traditions that moved from virtues, to responsibility to human rights. An analysis of the moral practice in nursing indicates that a crisis in the ethics of nursing exist within the last tradition of human rights because of the conflict between the rights of the nurse and the patient. Through the analysis it becomes clear that no rules, codes or law can ensure moral behaviour. The control over moral behaviour should rather be internal than external. If a person does not have the virtues he or she does not understands the rules and human rights and responsibilities have a different meaning for them.     

Correlates of the ethics of personal conscience and the ethics of social responsibility.

Tested the hypothesis that conformity and endorsement of the protestant ethic are positively related to the ethics of social responsibility, as opposed to the ethics of personal conscience. 44 male undergraduates completed macdonald's conformity scale, macdonald's poverty scale, the protestant ethic scale, and the survey of ethical values. Conformity, endorsement of the protestant ethic, and negative attitudes toward the poor were positively associated with the ethics of social responsibility. Results support the hypothesis and R. Hogan's finding "that proponents of the ethics of social responsibility tend to blame people rather than the 'system' for the source of their difficulty . . . " (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combined use of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and alpha-l adrenergic receptor blockers in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Historically, the ethics of a professional were the ethics of a gentleman. The social changes in the 1960s, where citizens asked for a greater voice in all affairs that affected them gave rise to formal approaches to ethics in the health fields. Principle-based and case-based reasoning have been dominant. Neither codes nor approaches based on virtue (the character of the professional) are perfect solutions in all cases, but professions are strengthened through the development and discussion of statements about ethical conduct.     

A theory of ethics for forensic psychiatry

This article offers a justification for a set of principles that constitute the ethical underpinnings of forensic psychiatry. Like professional ethics in general, the principles are based on the particular societal functions performed by forensic psychiatrists and result in the intensification of obligations to promote certain important moral values. For forensic psychiatrists, the primary value of their work is to advance the interests of justice. The two principles on which that effort rests are truth-telling and respect for persons. In the same manner as other physicians who perform functions outside of the usual clinical context (e.g., clinical researchers), forensic psychiatrists cannot simply rely on general medical ethics, embedded as they are in the doctor-patient relationship--which is absent in the forensic setting. Indeed, efforts to retain some residuum of that relationship and its associated ethical principles are likely to create confusion in the minds of both forensic psychiatrists and their evaluees and to heighten the problems of double agency. A virtue of this approach is the clear distinction it offers between clinical and forensic roles.     

Ethics and the professional practice of psychologists: The role of virtues and principles.

We evaluate the potential relevance of virtue ethics to the training and practice of professional psychologists, and we contrast them with principle ethics. Typically, principles are used to facilitate the selection of socially and historically acceptable answers to the question "What shall I do ?" when confronted by ethical dilemmas. Virtue ethics, however, generally focus on the question "Who shall I be?" Strengths and weaknesses of each approach are presented. The impact of each is discussed with respect to informed consent and the therapeutic construct "genuineness." We conclude that virtue ethics are an essential component of responsible ethical training and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training Ethical Psychologists: An Acculturation Model.

This article presents an approach to graduate (and professional) training that views becoming an ethical psychologist as an acculturation process. J. W. Berry's (1980, 2003) model of acculturation strategies is used as a framework for understanding ethical acculturation, a developmental process during which students can use several types of adaptation strategies. Students enter training with their own moral value traditions and concepts but are confronted with new ethical principles and rules, some of which may be inconsistent with their ethics of origin. The article explores several applications of the framework to ethics courses, practicum supervision, and other areas of training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the naturalistic ethics of social policy.

H. H. Kendler (see record 1994-09190-001), in his article on psychology and the ethics of social policy, argues in part that ethical imperatives cannot be inferred from empirical data. This argument is challenged with reference to the behaviorist position of ethical naturalism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A neurocognitive model of the ethical decision-making process: Implications for study and practice.

The field of business ethics is entrenched in a cognitive approach that portrays the ethical decision-making process as a completely deliberate and reasoned exercise. In light of growing concerns about the veracity of this approach, I build upon current knowledge of how the brain functions to present a neurocognitive model of ethical decision making. The model suggests that ethical decision making involves 2 interrelated yet functionally distinct cycles, a reflexive pattern matching cycle and a higher order conscious reasoning cycle, and thereby describes not only reasoned analysis, but also the intuitive and retrospective aspects of ethical decision making. The model sparks research in new areas, holds significant implications for the study of ethical decision making, and provides suggestions for improving ethical behavior in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The virtue of multiculturalism: Personal transformation, character, and openness to the other.

The social, intellectual, and moral movement known as multiculturalism has been enormously influential in psychology. Its ability to reshape psychology has been due to its ethical force, which derives from the attractiveness of its aims of inclusion, social justice, and mutual respect. The cultivation of cultural competence, presented as a developmental process of acquiring self-awareness, cultural knowledge, and skills, is an important emphasis in the multicultural literature. The authors place the cultural competence literature in dialogue with virtue ethics (a contemporary ethical theory derived from Aristotle) to develop a rich and illuminating way for psychologists to understand and embody the personal self-examination, commitment, and transformation required for learning and practicing in a culturally competent manner. According to virtue ethics, multiculturalism can be seen as the pursuit of worthwhile goals that require personal strengths or virtues, knowledge, consistent actions, proper motivation, and practical wisdom. The authors term the virtue of multiculturalism openness to the other and conclude by describing how attention to cultural matters also transforms virtue ethics in important and necessary ways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching ethics: The utility of the CPA code.

Teaching professional ethics can take 2 very different forms, reflecting different fundamental assumptions about ethical rules, and leading to different problem-solving strategies in professional life. In this article, the author outlines and contrasts the 2 approaches, which he calls the overriding principle approach and the moral dilemma approach. The first reifies ethical principles and underpins them with rationales drawn from moral philosophy. The second sees principles as templates of default options, which may or may not fit the facts of the case and the context in which a decision must be made. In the moral dilemma approach, for instance, there is always some circumstance in which following a particular moral rule would produce the wrong result. The Canadian Psychological Association Code of Ethics has different advantages and disadvantages for teaching professional ethics depending on one's fundamental approach. The author concludes that although he believes its rhetoric and its ordering of rules seems to reflect the overriding principle approach, the Code is actually more relevant to the moral dilemma approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combination insulin and sulfonylurea therapy in insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVES: To identify ethical dilemmas experienced by occupational and physical therapists working in the UK National Health Service (NHS). To compare ethical contexts, themes and principles across the two groups. DESIGN: A structured questionnaire was circulated to the managers of occupational and physical therapy services in England and Wales. SUBJECTS: The questionnaires were given to 238 occupational and 249 physical therapists who conformed to set criteria. RESULTS: Ethical dilemmas experienced during the previous six months were reported by 118 occupational and 107 physical therapists. The two groups were similar in age, grade, and years of experience. Fifty of the occupational therapy dilemmas occurred in mental health settings but no equivalent setting emerged for physical therapy. Different ethical themes emerged between the two groups, with the most common in occupational therapy being difficult/dangerous behaviour in patients and unprofessional staff behaviour, and for physical therapists resource limitations and treatment effectiveness. No differences were found in the ethical principles used. CONCLUSION: The ethical dilemmas reported by the therapists were primarily concerned with health care ethics, rather than the more dramatic ethics reported in much of the biomedical ethics literature. Differences were found between the two professional groups when ethical contexts and themes were compared but not when ethical principles were compared. This suggests that educators and researchers need to be aware of work settings and the interdisciplinary nature of employment as well as ethical principles held by individual therapists.