| Abstract: | There has been growing concern in the community at large about the impact of the work of psychologists and other social scientists on various aspects of life. Many people are beginning to believe that effective control over some procedures and restrictions on the use of material obtained by psychological and other investigations may be necessary. What form such control will take depends to a very large extent on the ability of the disciplines involved to make a meaningful statement of their position in matters of such great sensitivity as the invasion of privacy or the utilization of human research subjects in the process of developing knowledge and applying it for the benefit of the individual and society as a whole. In light of these concerns there has been an increase in discussion among psychologists, about the need to explore some of the critical issues as they relate to practice, research, and the legal implications of the work carried out by psychologists. There have been significant and worrying incidences in which research and applied work have been threatened or stopped due to community reaction (or over-reaction, if you wish) to the threat which the "brain watchers" pose for the rights of the individual. In order to provide a forum for discussion of some of these problems it was decided to hold a symposium at the C.P.A. Annual Meeting in Calgary to present issues and to discuss some of the significant aspects which relate to this matter of Psychology and the Law. Dr. Castaneda, who has spent much time studying the ethical problems relating to research, discussed implications for psychologists doing research with human subjects. Mr. Berry explored aspects of practice which are receiving increasing attention in the legal sphere. Professor Desmond Morton of Osgoode Law School attempted to put in perspective some of these issues as they are seen by our legal colleagues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
