Abstract
The chapter considers what can go wrong in ethical decision making and the models available to ensure that it goes right. Ethical decisions involve a complex interplay of professional regulations (as in ethics codes), the law, and the roles of the various stakeholders involved, including the mental health practitioner. Ethical dilemmas arise when there are no straightforward ways of resolving ethical issues and, when this transpires, a practitioner’s mental health ethics code can be a valuable resource. However, the mental health practitioner should never consider that one’s ethics code is the only or best resource that is available for resolving ethical dilemmas. The first part of the chapter reviews the types of logical fallacies and personal biases that can impact proper ethical decision making. The second part of the chapter reviews extant models of ethical decision making. They include anywhere from 17 to 4 steps. On the basis of these models, the chapter includes an integrative one that involves 35 steps. They are organized into seven phases, which helps organize the steps.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Behnke, S. (2014). What kind of issue is it? A “four-bin” approach to ethics consultation is helpful in practice settings. Monitor, 45, 62–63.
Bush, S. S., Allen, R. S., & Molinari, V. A. (2017). Ethical practice in geropsychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bush, S. S., MacAllister, W. S., & Goldberg, A. L. (2012). Ethical issues in pediatric forensic neuropsychology. In E. M. S. Sherman & B. L. Brooks (Eds.), Pediatric forensic neuropsychology (pp. 24–40). New York: Oxford University Press.
Canadian Psychological Association. (2000). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (3rd ed.). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Author.
Canadian Psychological Association. (2017). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (4th ed.). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Author.
Cottone, R. R. (2001). A social constructivism model of ethical decision making in counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79, 39–45.
Cottone, R. R. (2012). Ethical decision making in mental health contexts: Representative models and an organizational framework. In S. J. Knapp, M. C. Gottlieb, M. M. Handelsman, & L. D. VandeCreek (Eds.), APA handbook of ethics in psychology: Vol. 1. Moral foundations and common themes (pp. 99–121). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Dedeke, A. (2015). A cognitive-intuitionist model of moral judgment. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 437–457.
Evans, J., & Stanovich, K. (2013). Dual-process theories of higher cognition: Advancing the debate. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8, 223–241.
Fisher, C. B. (2017). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Gauthier, J., Pettifor, J., & Ferrero, A. (2010). The universal declaration of ethical principles for psychologists: A culture-sensitive model for creating and reviewing a code of ethics. Ethics & Behavior, 20, 179–196.
Graham, J., & Haidt, J. (2012). Sacred values and evil adversaries. In M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), The social psychology of morality: Exploring the causes of good and evil (pp. 11–31). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M., & Cohen, J. (2001). An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science, 293, 2105–2108.
Guzak, J. R. (2015). Affect in ethical decision making: Mood matters. Ethics & Behavior, 25, 386–399.
Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 4, 814–834.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux.
Kane, A. W., & Dvoskin, J. A. (2011). Evaluation for personal injury claims. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kerkhoff, T. R. (2015). Up close and personal: Ethics-guided practice. Psychological Injury and Law, 8, 300–310.
Kerkhoff, T. R., & Hanson, S. (2013). Ethics field guide: Applications to rehabilitation psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kitchener, K. S. (2000). Foundations of ethical practice, research, and teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kitchener, R. F., & Kitchener, K. S. (2012). Ethical foundations of psychology. In S. J. Knapp, M. C. Gottlieb, M. M. Handelsman, & L. D. VandeCreek (Eds.), APA handbook of ethics in psychology: Vol. 1. Moral foundations and common themes (pp. 3–42). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Knapp, S. J., Gottlieb, M. C., & Handelsman, M. M. (2015). Ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy: Positive approaches to decision making. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Knapp, S. J., VandeCreek, L. D., & Fingerhut, R. (2017). Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Kois, L. (2017). Navigating conflicts with systems and other professionals. In G. Pirelli, R. A. Beattey, & P. A. Zapf (Eds.), The ethical practice of forensic psychology: A casebook (pp. 126–158). New York: Oxford University Press.
Koocher, G. P., & Campbell, L. F. (2016). Professional ethics in the United States. In J. C. Norcross, G. R. VandenBos, & D. K. Freedheim (Eds.), APA handbook of clinical psychology: Education and profession (5th ed., pp. 301–337). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2016). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lindsay, G. (2012). Ethical decision making. In M. M. Leach, M. J. Stevens, G. Lindsay, A. Ferrero, & Y. Korkut (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of international psychological ethics (pp. 74–89). New York: Oxford University Press.
Moyer, M., & Crews, C. (2017). Applied ethics and decision making in mental health. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
National Association of Social Workers. (1995). Essential steps for ethical problem-solving. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/oepr/steps.asp
Neal, T. M. S. (2011). The objectivity demand: Experiences and behaviors of psychologists in capital case evaluations (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
Neal, T. M. S., & Grisso, T. (2014). The cognitive underpinnings of bias in forensic mental health evaluations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20, 200–211.
Otto, R. K., Goldstein, A. M., & Heilbrun, K. (2017). Ethics in forensic psychology practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Page, K. (2012). The four principles: Can they be measured and do they predict ethical decision making? BMC Medical Ethics, 13, 1–8.
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T. (2016). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger.
Schwartz, M. S. (2016). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 139, 755–776.
Sternberg, R. J. (2012). A model of ethical reasoning. Review of General Psychology, 16, 319–326.
Tien, L., Davis, A., Arnold, T. H., & Benjamin, G. A. H. (2012). Ethics for psychologists: A casebook approach (pp. 2–3). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
West, T. V., & Kenny, D. A. (2011). The truth and bias model of judgment. Psychological Review, 118, 357–378.
Young, G. (2014a). Resource material for ethical psychological assessment of symptom and performance validity, including malingering. Psychological Injury and Law, 7, 206–235.
Young, G. (2014b). Malingering, feigning, and response bias in psychiatric/psychological injury: Implications for practice and court. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science + Business Media.
Zeni, T. A., Buckley, M. R., Mumford, M. D., & Griffith, J. A. (2016). Making “sense” of ethical decision making. The Leadership Quarterly. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.09.002.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Young, G. (2017). Ethical Decision Making: Fallacies/Biases and Models. In: Revising the APA Ethics Code. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60002-4_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60002-4_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60001-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60002-4
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)