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Discussion: Ethical Codes
Ethics in any area of study are fluid and change due to things like technological influences and the altering of cultural norms. Regarding the latter, as cultural norms change in society, ethical principles also change. For example, in the past there were no ethical principles regarding non-discrimination due to sexual orientation. In fact, the field of psychology even called homosexuality a psychiatric disorder in the not-so-distant past. Now, however, the psychology profession considers discrimination based on sexual preference to be unethical.
In the realm of research, a good example of evolving ethical principles is the Helsinki Declaration, which provides medical doctors with guidelines on the use of human subjects when conducting biomedical research. This original document was created in 1964. Since its creation, it has been revised in 1975, 1983, 1989, and 1996. A similar document included in this week’s Optional Resources is the Belmont Report. This document was the product of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research and was released in 1979. The tenets of this document were used in drafting the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 45 (public welfare), Part 46 (protection of human subjects), as well as CFR Title 21 (food and drugs), Part 50 (protection of human subjects) and Part 56 (Institutional Review Boards). Over a dozen agencies that fund or conduct research with human subjects have adopted variations of these codes.
Both the American

Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) have developed ethical codes that govern the practice of psychology, and some of these codes pertain to psychological research.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review Chapter 3 in your course text, Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Pay particular attention to ethical standards related to psychological research.
Review this week’s DVD program, “Ethics.” Think about the ethical principles that are important to follow when conducting forensic psychology research.
Review the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and the American Psychology-Law Society’s (AP-LS) Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists. Focus on the ethical principles, standards, and guidelines that apply to research.
Select two ethical principles, standards, or guidelines that apply to research and that you believe might or should be revised in the future.
Think about how the two ethical principles, standards, or guidelines you selected could or should be changed and why.
With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 4
Post by Day 4 your prediction of how the two ethical principles, standards, or guidelines you selected from the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct or AP-LS’s Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists might be revised in the future, why they might be revised, and what the revision might look like and why.
sources – https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index
https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/forensic-psychology