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Can Psychology Ethics Effectively Be Integrated into Introductory Psychology?

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Abstract

This study evaluated the integration of psychology ethics into an introductory psychology course. Students in two general psychology sections were exposed to an infusion of psychology ethics in teaching, research, and clinical practice, whereas students in two sections were exposed to traditional course content. Students completed a pre and post-test assessment including a psychology ethics questionnaire and open-ended responses to three ethics case studies. Students in the ethics group displayed a statistically significant increase in scores on both measures from pre to post-test. However, students in the traditional group showed no improvement in scores.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the following people for their assistance in collecting the data for this study: Dr. Nicholas Salsman, Ms. Julie Rowekamp, and Dr. Charles Handel. She would also like to thank Ms. Erica Eisenman and Mr. David Bull for their assistance with scoring and data entry.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Xavier University, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH, 45207-6511, USA

    Renee’ A. Zucchero

Authors
  1. Renee’ A. Zucchero
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renee’ A. Zucchero.

Appendices

Appendix A

Standardized administration instructions (read to students by the instructor)

This test will be given to several general psychology classes to measure your progress over the course of the semester. While you may find this test difficult, I encourage you to put forth your best effort. Your score will NOT impact your course grade. Remember, this test is a tool to monitor your level of knowledge over the course of the semester. The attached cover sheet will provide general background information about you.

Please read the questions carefully and circle the BEST, most ethical answer. Answer ALL test items. You will have 30 min to complete the test.

Appendix B

PEQ

  1. 1.

    Being competent to teach psychology includes:

  2. A.

    Mastery of the subject matter.

  3. B.

    Mastery of technology.

  4. C.

    Sticking to the designated lesson plan and ignoring classroom dynamics.

  5. D.

    All of the above.

  6. 2.

    In obtaining informed consent for participation in a psychology experiment, a psychologist,

  7. A.

    Allows potential subjects the freedom to decline participation.

  8. B.

    Is required to have written consent for every experiment.

  9. C.

    Discusses every implication of withdrawing and continuing in the experiment.

  10. D.

    Does not give the prospective participants the opportunity to ask questions.

  11. 3.

    In underserved areas, or areas where there are few psychologists, a psychologist

  12. A.

    May routinely provide services to a client, even if he/she is not fully competent to provide the services.

  13. B.

    Provides services to a client population only if he/she is fully competent to do so.

  14. C.

    Provides services to anyone in case of an emergency.

  15. D.

    Can choose to work with any population and refer those persons with whom he/she does not want to work.

  16. 4.

    Psychology instructors

  17. A.

    Are responsible to their students and their universities, but not to society, in general.

  18. B.

    Are obligated to give grades that accurately reflect students’ work.

  19. C.

    Write letters of reference that only positively highlight students’ qualities.

  20. D.

    Due to academic freedom, can present only their viewpoint, rather than the factually based information.

  21. 5.

    In the clinical practice of psychology, informed consent includes:

  22. A.

    Information about the limits of confidentiality.

  23. B.

    Dialogue about financial arrangements and fees.

  24. C.

    Respect for the client’s autonomy.

  25. D.

    All of the above.

  26. 6.

    Some faculty-student relationships are inevitable. It is difficult to draw a clear line between those relationships that are ethical and those that are unethical. We may do so by assessing:

  27. A.

    The extent of coercion.

  28. B.

    The extent of exploitation.

  29. C.

    Neither A nor B

  30. D.

    Both A and B.

  31. 7.

    The decision to use deception in research

  32. A.

    Cannot be justified.

  33. B.

    Involves sharing the costs & benefits of deception with participants before the experiment begins.

  34. C.

    Involves consideration of other designs, such as naturalistic observation.

  35. D.

    Is always justified because of the research’s scientific value.

  36. 8.

    A competent psychologist:

  37. A.

    Ignores differences between him/herself and his/her clients.

  38. B.

    Seeks consultation and supervision when developing new areas of practice.

  39. C.

    Does not serve populations with which he/she has little or no experience.

  40. D.

    Is able to serve all client populations.

  41. 9.

    Sexual relationships between psychology faculty and students are:

  42. A.

    Always ethical.

  43. B.

    Always unethical.

  44. C.

    Sometimes unethical.

  45. D.

    Are prohibited in circumstances in which the professor has evaluative authority over the student.

  46. 10.

    Authorship credit:

  47. A.

    Is determined by the relative scientific contribution of persons involved.

  48. B.

    Is one of the last issues addressed in the research and publication process.

  49. C.

    May be given for minor contributions such as, running participants or assisting with statistical analysis.

  50. D.

    May be given for possession of an important institutional position, such as department chair.

  51. 11.

    A psychologist can break confidentiality:

  52. A.

    Under no circumstances.

  53. B.

    In order to be reimbursed by an insurance company for services rendered.

  54. C.

    When a client says, “I could just kill somebody”, but does not identify a specific person.

  55. D.

    Only with written consent of client.

  56. 12.

    It is unethical to:

  57. A.

    Offer excessive compensation for research participation.

  58. B.

    Offer no compensation for research participation.

  59. C.

    Have a restricted research sample.

  60. D.

    None of the above.

  61. 13.

    For psychologists in clinical practice, dual relationships:

  62. A.

    Are not prohibited unless they are harmful or exploitative.

  63. B.

    Are always prohibited.

  64. C.

    Are restricted to small or rural community settings.

  65. D.

    Are always harmful.

  66. 14.

    Relationships between psychology teachers and students:

  67. A.

    May involve group activities (such as, going to lunch together) as acceptable behaviors.

  68. B.

    Are no different than that of psychotherapists and clients.

  69. C.

    Should involve a large amount of positive out of classroom experiences.

  70. D.

    Should be governed by the rule of avoiding exploitation of students.

  71. 15.

    The primary purpose of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to:

  72. A.

    Review projects for scientific merit.

  73. B.

    Protect the public from harm.

  74. C.

    Establish standards governing the conduct of psychologists in research.

  75. D.

    All of the above.

Appendix C

Case Studies

Directions: Please read the following case vignettes. Carefully consider the questions listed after each and write your answers in the space provided. Please write or print legibly.

A psychologist wants to study the effects of peer pressure on children. To study the issue, she identifies elementary school samples and asks parents’ permission to include their child in a study of peer pressure. The students answer questions about their preferences for several toys and then join a discussion group. Without telling the participants, she trains a group of confederates to endorse preferences that are different from the ones chosen by the research participants. When participants are asked about their preferences in the group, they are faced with indicating an unpopular choice. In the debriefing, participants are told that the confederates were instructed not to say what they really liked but to choose what the participant did not. Although many students think the study was fun, a few look perplexed. One asks the researcher why she told the group members to “lie”. Several parents object to the study and argue that it unintentionally endorsed lying, a behavior they try to discourage in their children. [Source: Kitchener (2000)]

What is/are the ethical problem(s) related to this case?

What is the most ethical way for the psychologist to conduct this study?

Dr. Yaro was a developmental psychologist with a large multiyear grant working on predictors of suicide among low-income youth. He recently accepted some additional responsibilities in the department as section head, which involved him in fundraising and other administrative obligations. Consequently, he allowed a post-doctoral research associate, Dr. Zapata, to take the primary responsibility for organizing data collection and analysis on the grant. In addition, with his consent, she began to investigate some variables that had not been a part of Dr. Yaro’s original conceptualization of the relevant issues. In fact, Dr. Zapata’s hypotheses paid off and the study produced some very interesting findings. Because Dr. Yaro was so busy with his new responsibilities, Dr. Zapata wrote the article for publication, putting her name first on the draft of the manuscript. She then gave it to Dr. Yaro for comments and suggestions. When he returned the manuscript, the first thing she noticed was that he had switched the order of their names. When she complained that she had done most of the work, and, in fact, contributed the ideas that led to the interesting results, he pointed out that it was his grant and he initially conceptualized the study. [Source: Kitchener (2000)]

What is/are the ethical problems related to this case?

What is the most ethical course of action for Dr. Zapata?

A psychologist works in a rural community where he is a member and deacon of a local church. This is an underserved community; there are very few mental health resources in the community, as well as in a 100 mile radius. People from the church he attends often seek out his services because they know him already and he understands their spiritual perspective. Sometimes they come to him after they have tried other mental health resources in the community and are dissatisfied with the quality of the help they have received elsewhere. [Source: Kitchener (2000)]

What is/are the ethical problem(s) related to this case?

What is the most ethical course of action for this psychologist?

Appendix D

Ethics Case Study Evaluation Criteria

Case Study 1

Question A) What is/are the ethical problems related to this case?

  1. 1.

    Use of deception.

  2. 2.

    Parents have not given fully informed consent for their children’s participation.

Scored as 2, 1, 0

2 = includes both 1 and 2

1 = includes either 1 or 2

0 = does not include 1 or 2

Question B) What is the most ethical way for the psychologist to conduct this study?

  1. 1.

    Modify current design/Choose another research design.

  2. a.

    Such as, telling parents the children will be assigned to different conditions, which may involve a condition of deception, but will not inform them or the children if this is the case.

  3. b.

    May also use a different type of debriefing that would be more effective in addressing the deception with the children.

  4. 2.

    Parents are given information about the deception so they can give a genuine informed consent.

Scored as 2, 1, 0

2 = includes both 1 and 2

1 = includes either 1 or 2

0 = does not include 1 or 2

Case Study 2

Question A) What is/are the ethical problems related to this case?

  1. 1.

    Authorship credit- needs to be based upon each person’s contribution.

Scored as 1 or 0

1 = includes 1

0 = does not include 1

Question B) What is the most ethical course of action for Dr. Zapata?

  1. 1.

    Address the issue of authorship credit directly with Dr. Yaro. - discussing who provided conceptual leadership and who made the greatest scientific contribution. Ideally, this discussion would have occurred before the research had begun.

Scored as 1 or 0

1 = includes 1

0 = does not include 1

Case Study 3

Question A) What is/are the ethical problems related to this case?

  1. 1.

    Potential for dual relationships.

  2. 2.

    Providing services in an underserved area. A psychologist may be forced to provide services in a less than ideal situation because there are not sufficient resources available in the community that he/she serves.

Scored as 2, 1, 0

2 = includes both 1 and 2

1 = includes either 1 or 2

0 = does not include 1 or 2

Question B) What is the most ethical way for this psychologist?

  1. 1.

    Considering the dual relationships. Is there a possibility of harm or exploitation?

  2. 2.

    Weigh the advantage of providing the services to those he knows versus not providing the services. The primary concern is the consumer’s welfare.

Scored as 2, 1, 0

2 = includes both 1 and 2

1 = includes either 1 or 2

0 = does not include 1 or 2

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Zucchero, R.A. Can Psychology Ethics Effectively Be Integrated into Introductory Psychology?. J Acad Ethics 6, 245–257 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-009-9070-7

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