When Rules Are Not Enough: Developing Principles to Guide Ethical Conduct (original) (raw)

Cultivating the Ethical Repertoires of Behavior Analysts: Prevention of Common Violations

Behavior Analysis in Practice

Violations of the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts occur despite coursework, supervision, and training. In this discussion, we highlight the most common violation categories identified: (a) improper or inadequate supervision/delegation, (b) failure to report/respond to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) as required, and (c) professionalism/integrity. The specific areas addressed under supervision/delegation involve behavior analysts’ standards and performance as supervisors, as well as compliance with coursework. For failure to report, the focus is on responding, reporting, and providing updated information to the BACB in a timely manner. Finally, the section on professionalism and integrity addresses multiple code elements, including integrity, professionalism, and scientific relationships, as well as methods for promoting an ethical culture and decisions involving ethical violations by others. Importantly, we provide guidance on the struc...

On the BACB’s Ethics Requirements: A Response to Rosenberg and Schwartz (2019)

Behavior Analysis in Practice

Rosenberg and Schwartz (Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 473–482, 2019) criticize a number of aspects of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts and propose, as an alternative, a decision-making process for evaluating the ethicality of behavior under a particular set of circumstances. We respond to the authors’ main criticisms and discuss the broader professional and legal context of any profession’s ethics code and enforcement activity.

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

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 2002

A primary purpose of a code of ethics is to assist members of an organization in making consistent choices when faced with ethical dilemmas. In instances where 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 (Hadjistavropoulos & Malloy, 1999). 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 (i.e., 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. A discussion of the similarities and differences between a ranking of ethical principles that was based on our participants' responses and that of the CPA code is provided. The implications of the findings for ethical decision-making are also discussed. A primary purpose of any code of ethics is to provide members of an association with guidance for making consistent ethical choices. Principles and standards are used to specify for members the nature of what the organization/association deems to be ideal and/or expected conduct (Railborn & Payne, 1990). The ethical principles listed in the code of ethics adopted by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA, 1991, 2000) are ranked in order of importance. This approach was intended to increase consistency of ethical decision-making in situations where ethical principles are in conflict with one another (Hadjistavropoulos & Malloy, 2000; Sinclair, 1998). In contrast to the CPA code, the code of ethics adopted by the American Psychological Association (APA, 1992) does not include a ranking of ethical principles. The APA (1992) code is of interest to Canadian psychologists because it reflects the practices of the largest psychological association in the world and is a highly visible and influential document within international psychology. Moreover, approximately 2,000 Canadian psychologists are members of APA (APA, 2000). The code of ethics of the american psychological association (APA, 1992) includes six ethical principles (Competence, Integrity, Professional and Scientific Responsibility, Respect for People's Rights and Dignity, Concern for Others' Welfare, and Social Responsibility). It is not difficult to think of situations in which some of these principles can come into conflict with other principles. Consider, for example, a well-meaning parent who wishes to make a choice for his child that the psychologist believes is not in the best interest of the child (Hadjistavropoulos & Malloy, 1999). In such a situation, principles that relate to client autonomy (e.g., Respect for People's Rights and Dignity) would conflict with those that pertain to concern for the welfare of others (e.g., Concern for Others' Welfare). Most codes of ethics do not provide guidance with respect to the manner in which such conflicts should be dealt with, thus, increasing the probability of inconsistent decision-making among psychologists. As mentioned earlier, the issue of conflict among ethical principles has been addressed by CPA (1991, 2000). The four principles of CPA's code are ranked as follows: 1) Respect for the Dignity of Persons; 2) Responsible Caring; 3) Integrity in Relationships; and 4) Responsibility to Society. According to the code, all principles must be considered in the resolution of ethical dilemmas but, when two or more principles are in Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 43:4

Values and the scientific culture of behavior analysis

The Behavior analyst / MABA, 2007

As scientists and practitioners, behavior analysts must make frequent decisions that affect many lives. Scientific principles have been our guide as we work to promote effective action across a broad spectrum of cultural practices. Yet scientific principles alone may not be sufficient to guide our decision making in cases with potentially conflicting outcomes. In such cases, values function as guides to work through ethical conflicts. We will examine two ethical systems, radical behaviorism and functional contextualism, from which to consider the role of values in behavior analysis, and discuss potential concerns. Finally, we propose philosophical pragmatism, focusing on John Dewey's notions of community and dialogue, as a tradition that can help behavior analysts to integrate talk about values and scientific practices in ethical decision making.

Ignorance and Cultural Diversity: The Ethical Obligations of the Behavior Analyst (with Nicole Lustig)

Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2023

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has featured an increasing concern for understanding and considering the cultural diversity of the populations behavior analysts serve in recent years. As an expression of that concern, the new BACB's Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts is more explicit and comprehensive in its inclusion of ethical obligations concerning cultural diversity. The purpose of this paper is to offer a discussion on the limitations of both our capacity and willingness to know and overcome our ignorance about our own and other cultures. We examine different ways in which our ignorance of other cultures plays out even in willful compliance with the BACB ethics code. We suggest part of the problem is that the BACB ethics code seems to operate under the assumption that practitioners are always aware or can be aware of what they do not know and of their biases. In contrast, we offer a reflection on a more complex picture of our understanding of ourselves and other cultures, where we cannot assume people are aware of what they ignore and of their biases. Ethically, we find that in some cases these blindspots are accounted for by the BACB ethics code and should be foreseen and addressed by the behavior analyst (BA). But in other cases, when a person is not aware of what they ignore, understanding the connection between cultural diversity ignorance and professional behavior requires a different approach. Our analysis suggests an attitude of being thoughtfully diligent and humble while learning about cultural diversity issues and examining the areas where we might be ignorant and not aware of our ignorance. We argue that BAs' obligations to respect the dignity of clients and their families and to provide effective treatment call for this attitude of diligence and humility that goes beyond mere compliance.

Behavioral Ethics. The Missing Piece of an Integrative Approach

This article explores the expanding field of behavioral ethics, summarizing its findings under the gap between the perceived versus actual ethical selves, intuitive versus rational decision making, and the susceptibility to internal, organizational, and situational factors. Research into these influences indicates behavioral ethics should be integrated into the military ethical training and education endeavor and is most impactful when it is taught experientially. Keywords: military ethics, behavioral ethics, ethical leadership, leadership development

The psychology training clinic: Arena for ethics training

2002

T he Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy publishes the Behavior Therapist as a service to its membership. Eight issues are published annually. The purpose is to provide a vehicle for the rapid dissemination of news, recent advances, and innovative applications in behavior therapy. Feature articles that are approximately 16 double-spaced manuscript pages may be submitted. Brief articles, approximately 6 to 12 double-spaced manuscript pages, are preferred. Feature articles and brief articles should be accompanied by a 75-to 100-word abstract. Letters to the Editor may be used to respond to articles published in the Behavior Therapist or to voice a professional opinion. Letters should be limited to approximately 3 double-spaced manuscript pages. Please contact the Editor or any of the Associate Editors for guidance prior to submitting series, special issues, or other unique formats. All submissions should be in triplicate and formatted according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. Prior to publication, authors will be asked to provide a 3.5" diskette containing a file copy of the final version of their manuscript. Authors submitting materials to the Behavior Therapist do so with the understanding that the copyright of published materials shall be assigned exclusively to the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy.

When Science Cannot Guide us: A Call to Action for Applied Behavior Analysts

Perspectives on Behavior Science

Evidence presented in the ABAI Task Force Report on Contingent Electric Skin Shock (CESS) revealed serious ethical, clinical, and practical problems with the contemporary use of CESS. As a member of the task force, I ultimately concluded that our recommended position statement (“Position A”) was a misguided attempt to uphold the field’s commitment to client choice. Furthermore, information gathered by the task force supports an urgent call to find solutions to two additional troubling issues: a severe shortage of treatment services for severe problem behavior and the near-absence of research on treatment-resistant behavior. In this commentary, I discuss reasons Position A was not a tenable stance and why we must do better to help our most vulnerable clients.