The relative importance of the ethical principles adopted by the American Psychological Association.

When two or more ethical principles are in conflict with one another, decision-makers are typically left to determine which of the two should be given most weight. Nonetheless, in the code of ethics adopted by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), principles are ranked in order of importance. This provides decision-makers with guidance in situations of conflict between ethical principles. In contrast to CPA's code of ethics, other professional codes do not provide such guidance. In a previous paper, we provided a philosophical rationale for a ranking of the ethical principles adopted by the American Psychological Association (APA) in order to help guide decision-making. In the present study, we investigated whether APA members collectively believe that some ethical principles are more important than others, and whether their views about the relative importance of ethical principles are consistent with the order (ranking) outlined in the CPA code. The results suggest that although APA members view all principles of their code as being important, they also view certain principles as carrying more weight. The implications of the findings for ethical decision-making are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The failure of clinical psychologists to apply understood ethical principles.

In an earlier study, Bernard and Jara (1986) found that approximately 50% of clinical graduate students admitted that they would probably not do what the situation demanded when a peer was behaving unethically. In this study, we surveyed professional clinicians and found that significant numbers of them would also do less than they knew they should. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The foundation and application of ethical principles in rehabilitation psychology.

Reviews the basic principles from which ethical thought and decision making in health care evolved in terms of autonomy, justice, beneficence and nonmalfeasance, and care. The interface between American Psychological Association (APA) ethics code and general bioethics principles is presented. A discussion of the applications of these principles to rehabilitation and the unique roles of psychologists in ethical decision making is provided. Training issues and the development of values for which ethics training provides a foundation are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The failure of clinical psychology graduate students to apply understood ethical principles.

Surveyed 170 graduate students from 25 American Psychological Association (APA)-approved clinical training programs on what they should do in a hypothetical situation in which a peer/friend is violating the ethical principles stated in APA's Ethical Standards of Psychologists, and then what they would do. It was found that approximately half of these Ss would do less than they believe they should. The need for a thorough, formal, and systematic approach to training in ethics is emphasized. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When psychologists work with religious clients: Applications of the general principles of ethical conduct.

Psychologists become more effective and relevant when they appreciate that many clients hold religious values and commitments. Greater awareness of religion and religious values in the lives of clients may aid clinicians' efforts to provide more accurate assessments and effective treatment plans. The authors use the American Psychological Association's (1992) "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" as a framework to examine many of the ethical issues relevant when psychologists work with religious clients. This article also provides suggestions for ways in which clinicians may obtain the skills needed to offer competent assessments and interventions with religiously committed clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social influence and threat in confrontations between competent peers.

Five studies investigated social influence processes in confrontations between competent peers and showed a default absence of influence of a competent source on an equally competent target. This default lack of influence is attributed to the representation that competent targets give to the influence encounter, in which different answers from competent peers are incompatible, the error of the source thus being the sine qua non condition of targets’ correctness. However, an influence appeared when the representation of the task was modified via a decentering procedure (Study 1), even when controlling for alternative explanations (Study 2). Study 3 demonstrated that this liberating effect of decentering did not appear when the source was incompetent. Study 4 also examined social comparison processes and showed that independence of judgments produced the same liberating effect as decentering. Finally, Study 5 showed that the default lack of influence in confrontations between competent peers is due to the presence of a threat to the self. Indeed, the reduction of threat through a procedure of self-affirmation modified the representation of the task and allowed influence to appear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of the adolescent's ongoing thought following simulated parental confrontations.

Hypothesized that (1) the level of stress due to the process of interpersonal behavior determines the amount of subsequent repetitive thought about that behavior; (2) a history of stress with a parent mediates the effects of present stress with a parent; and (3) when the environment subsequent to stress is not attention demanding, repetitive cognition preempts immediate situation thoughts more than situation independent ones. Present stress was manipulated by having 96 undergraduates simulate coercive confrontation, collaborative confrontation, or collaborative decision making with a parent (the 1st experimental factor) under conditions of resolved or unresolved outcome (the 2nd factor). Ss then participated in a 20-min thought-sampling session that was scored for repetitive thought. An analysis of covariance indicated the influence of personal background variables on present emotional arousal and subsequent repetitive thought. Lack of closure alone influenced recurrent thought only at low levels of stress. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical value of scintigraphic tumor diagnosis by means of test substances with tumor affinity. 2. Gallium radioisotopes

Deriving from the principle of direct tumor visualization and the beginnings of positive imaging of malignant tumors, radiotracers with tumor affinity are distinguished by those with tumor-specific and non-specific uptake. With special regard to the tumor-specific localization of thyroid carcinomas using radioiodine (131J) and of osteoplastic bone tumors or metastases using 99m-labelled phosphate compounds, the tumor scintigraphy results mainly with radiopharmaceuticals possessing tumors affinity, however not a tumor-specific uptake. On the basis of experimental and clinical results Gallium-67, one of these tumor-seeking agents, has become most important tumor scintigraphy. The diagnostic possibilities and limitations in using Gallium-67 for tumor imaging are derived from: 1) the non-specific uptake of Gallium-67, 2) the diagnosis accuracy and its reasons, and 3) the determinant factor of viability of tumor affecting the Gallium-67 accummulation.     

Oxidation of molten impurities in converters by means of combustion flames: Thermodynamic principles. 1. Thermodynamic analysis of processes in natural-gas combustion

In the production of steel, as the productivity rises and the resource and energy consumption declines, improvements in converter design are required to ensure preliminary scrap and batch heating and to intensify redox processes in the liquid bath and exhaust-gas combustion above the bath, without impairing the durability of the injection systems and the converter lining. The use of fuel–oxygen combustion flames in the converter resolves numerous technological problems. The hydrodynamics in the reaction zones and in the liquid bath may be greatly changed by fuel combustion in the converter’s working space with jet formation or by means of submersible combustion flames. In the present work, thermodynamic methods are used to analyze the dynamics of gaseous-fuel combustion and the oxidation of elements in the converter bath on interaction with high-temperature combustion products. The interaction of the combustion flame and chemical elements in the converter bath is calculated for equilibrium conditions. The use of the combustion flames is found to change the composition of the gas phase in the converter’s working space (above the bath), which contains H₂ and H₂O in addition to the traditional components associated with oxygen injection: O₂, CO, CO₂. The presence of H₂ and H₂O changes the thermal conditions and oxidative properties of the gas phase. In the combustion of gas–oxygen fuel, the optimal composition of the initial gas mixture (natural gas + oxygen) must correspond to the ratio 100% CH₄ + 69% O₂. The oxidation product is gaseous phase consisting of 40% CO₂ + 60% H₂O. The total enthalpy of combustion of the gas–oxygen fuel at converter temperatures, with an oxygen excess greater than 1.0 (up to 2.0), is about 200 kJ per mole of the initial reagents. In the oxidation of methane by carbon dioxide, the total enthalpy of combustion is between–7 and–14.5 kJ/mol of initial reagents at 1800 K. The process becomes endothermal at temperatures above 2000 K: ΔH ₂₂₀₀ = 7.7–15.4 kJ/mol. In the oxidation of natural gas by water vapor, ΔH ₁₈₀₀–2200 = 19.5–70 kJ/mol. Thus, flame temperatures above 1800 K may only be attained in the oxidation of methane by oxygen. The use of air, carbon dioxide, or water vapor as the oxidant does not yield the required thermal effect.     

Differential judgment of ethical risk by cheaters and noncheaters.

The study further explores the "ethical-risk" hypothesis which postulates that unethical behavior varies predominantly as a function of perceived risk. Previous studies demonstrated that of 6 different sources of variation, the negative reinforcement value of censure explained most of the variance of predictive judgments of unethical behavior. It is hypothesized that judgments made under varying conditions of censure will predict actual unethical behavior. 49 male Ss attempted an impossible task on which "success" was possible only by deception. "Successes" were monetarily reinforced. The results confirm the hypothesis (p     

Conflict adaptation by means of associative learning.

Cognitive control is responsible for adapting information processing in order to carry out tasks more efficiently. Contrasting global versus local control accounts, it has recently been proposed that control operates in an associative fashion, that is, by binding stimulus–response associations after detection of conflict (Verguts & Notebaert, 2009). Here, this prediction is explicitly tested for the first time. In a task-switching study where both tasks use the same relevant information, we previously reported conflict adaptation over tasks (Notebaert & Verguts, 2008). In the current experiment, we demonstrate that this is restricted to conditions where both tasks use the same effectors, thereby supporting the associative control account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oxidation of molten impurities in converters by means of combustion flames: Thermodynamic principles. 2. Interaction of flame with metal and slag in converter bath

Thermodynamic analysis is applied to the physicochemical processes in the converter bath when intensifying bath heating by means of gas–oxygen burners. In the converter’s working space, when the combustion flames interact with the liquid bath, the oxygen and natural gas supplied through the burners and the oxygen supplied through the tuyere interact in a bubbling slag–metal emulsion. As a result, iron and the impurities are oxidized. The use of such burners changes the gas composition: not only O₂, CO, and CO₂ are present, but also H₂ and H₂O, which changes the oxidative capacity of the gas phase. The presence of solid carbon (for example, pulverized coal) in the burner flame may be used to control and intensify the combustion process. Combustion is most effective in the oxidation of carbon to CO when the oxygen excess is less than 1.0. The oxidation conditions of carbon in the melt change with variation in its activity as a function of its concentration and the temperature. The equilibrium in the M–O–C system may be described by the oxygen partial pressure \({P_{{O_2}}}\), which may be regarded as a universal characteristic. In addition, the equilibrium may be assessed on the basis of the associated ratios \({P_{CO}}/{P_{C{O_2}}}\) and \({P_{{H_2}}}/{P_{{H_2}O}}\) It is found that iron may be oxidized by oxygen and, to some extent, by carbon dioxide. At 1600–2000 K, there is practically no oxidation of iron by steam. The carbon dissolved in the steel is oxidized relatively effectively by oxygen and carbon dioxide until its concentration is less than 0.1% C. Steam oxidizes carbon very poorly and is not much more effective with manganese and silicon. With increase in temperature, the rate at which carbon dissolved in steel is oxidized by oxygen increases, while the oxidation rate of manganese and silicon falls. Above 1800 K, superoxidized slag with a high FeO content actively oxidizes silicon (to <2% Si), manganese (to <1% Mn), and carbon (to <1.5% C).     

Beyond ethical decision making.

The concepts of mandatory vs aspirational ethics, principle vs virtue ethics, and moral responsibleness illustrate the differences between externally and internally based moral and ethical behavior The complex nature of consulting relationships provides an especially rich context for such an examination. Two models are delineated: The 1st reflects a focus on mandatory or principle ethics, and the 2nd focuses on aspirational or virtue ethics. Finally, several questions are posed regarding the role that moral considerations should play in consultation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxonomy of ethical ideologies.

Discusses 4 ethical perspectives: (a) situationism, which advocates a contextual analysis of morally questionable actions; (b) absolutism, which uses inviolate, universal moral principles to formulate moral judgments; (c) subjectivism, which argues that moral judgments should depend primarily on one's own personal values; and (d) exceptionism, which admits that exceptions must sometimes be made to moral absolutes. The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), which assesses degree of idealism and rejection of universal moral rules in favor of relativism, was developed to measure the extent to which individuals adopt one of the ideologies. 241 university students were Ss. The 2 scales that make up the EPQ were found to have adequate internal consistency, were reliable over time, were not correlated with social desirability, and were not related to scores on the Defining Issues Test. The Relativism scale did correlate with scores on the Survey of Ethical Attitudes. When the scales were used to classify Ss into one of the ideologies, predictions concerning differences in each ideology's moral judgment processes were supported. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Science and ethical behavior.

Major sections are Impact of Science (Evolution and Ethics, Psychoanalysis and Ethics) and Ethical Implications of Psychology (Freedom of Choice, The Process of Choice, Control of Behavior). "The paper might be thought of as a highly tentative effort to identify some of the parameters of an important human problem by examining the point of intersection of the trajectories of professional and scientific psychology." 3 conceptions related to science and troublesome to ethical theories are specified. "… psychological knowledge should result in more ethical behavior: (a) by clarifying the process of decision making; (b) by divesting repressed responses already in the individual's repertory of their anxiety-producing potential, thus making them useful in problem solving; and (c) by adding to the response repertory of the individual a number of alternative ways of behaving." 21 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emerging areas of ethical concern.

Reviews the development of the ethical standards of psychologists (see American Psychological Association 38:2), and considers whether "there is a significant gap between the requirements of practitioners and the guidelines" provided in this code of ethics. 3 questionnaire surveys of the 1969 membership of the American Psychological Association concerning (1) community psychology, (2) psychotherapy, and (3) research with human Ss are examined. Regarding ethics education, it is suggested that ethics be included as part of a more general course in professional problems. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying creativity by means of word association tests.

Administered the Kent-Rosanoff Free Association Test and a new scientific word list to 66 senior honor students in engineering and 45 industrial research scientists. Criterion ratings of creativity were available to all Ss. Associations were classified into 5 categories by decreasing frequency of occurrence. Moderately infrequent responses were more strongly related to creativity than were responses of extreme remoteness or common occurrence. A weighted summation of the 5 Kent-Rosanoff categories correlated .30 with the creativity criterion for engineers and .24 for scientists. A similar summation for the scientific list correlated .35 with the engineers' criterion and .36 with that for scientists. Both word association indices were relatively uncorrelated with other measures often used in studies of creativity (e.g., Unusual Uses Test and Terman's Concept Mastery Test). (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical principles of psychologists.

Presents 10 ethical principles set by the American Psychological Association (APA). Acceptance of APA membership commits the member to adherence of these principles. They are as follows: (1) responsibility, (2) competence, (3) moral and legal standards, (4) public statements, (5) confidentiality, (6) welfare of the consumer, (7) professional relationships, (8) assessment techniques, (9) research with human participants, and (10) care and use of animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multivariate classification of alcoholics by means of the MMPI.

Performed a multivariate correlation grouping technique on the clinical and validity scales of the MMPI over 2 independent samples composed of 481 hospitalized alcoholics. 4 alcoholic types were identified and, from actuarial studies of the MMPI, all appeared to be addictive personality patterns. The most common type was characterized by poorly controlled anger and other open forms of emotional expression in frustrating situations. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)