Ethical Principles to Saint Leo

¶ … Ethical Principles to Saint Leo University's Core Value Statements

In today's world, most organizations, whether they are associations of professionals, schools, or non-profit organizations, have codes of conducts or statements of ethical principals. The purpose of such statements is to articulate in writing, so no question can be raised, what is expected of those who call themselves part of that organization. In addition, the statements are written in order to avoid the problems that come with the misunderstanding of ethical responsibilities. Furthermore, today's economy is a global one, and ethics and morals are objective issues. That is, they reflect upon a person's culture, religion, society, and other background elements. Thus, organizations must articulate their ethics statements in order to compensate for differences in understanding among those from different backgrounds. In this paper, the author will compare the ethical statements of two organizations -- the American Psychological Association and Saint Leo University, suggesting how organizations draft ethical statements based on their needs and backgrounds.

The American Psychological Association's (APA) 2002 ethical principles, which replaced the previous principals, written in 1992, contain guidelines specifying how psychologists are expected to conduct themselves. The principles cover professional standards and expectations having to do with conflicts, fees, registration, and the like, as well as more general ethical and moral matters, having to do with doing good instead of harm and using one's influence in a correct manner. The ethical principals are divided into two major parts: general principals and ethical standards. According to APA, general principals are quite different from ethical standards. While ethical standards are specific, carefully spelled out requirements for professional psychologists, the general principals are meant to encourage psychologists to meet even higher standards than is specified in the ethical standards portion. Thus, they are not used to evaluate psychologists, and the violation of these principals would not necessarily result in consequences for the psychologist. First, the general principals suggest require psychologists to do good, not harm. The principals acknowledges that psychologists are in a position of influence, and must be careful that they do not influence their patients negatively. Second, in the same vein, psychologists are recognized as persons who hold influence in the community. Thus, they are expected to retain a positive image in the community, refraining from engaging in conduct that could possibly influence others in a negative light. Third, psychologists are expected to be honest and exhibit a degree of integrity. In their professional and personal lives, they are not to lie, to steal, or cheat, and are to try to portray themselves in an honest manner whenever they can. In addition, they are expected to try to be the responsible people that most would enjoy to engage in personal and business relationships with -- people who meet their commitments, who stay in contact, and who try not to disappoint. Fourth, psychologists are expected to be fair in their personal and private dealings, and fifth, they are expected to respect people, understanding their rights and refrain from demonstrating any biases.

As the reader can discern, these principals are rather high, expecting psychologists to maintain standards in their personal as well as their professional lives. No person who is human could easily maintain all of these requirements, but psychologists are expected to try for a higher standard. The ethical standards, on the other hand, must be maintained for psychologists to keep their practice in good standing. First, psychologists are required to do their work in an appropriate manner, abide with all legal and ethics board requirements, report any violations, and refrain from being dishonest with their reports of misconduct and dealing with those who have reported misconduct.

In addition, the standards stipulate that psychologists must refrain from working in an area in which they are not knowledgeable and working with those with whom they would have personal issues, as well as refusing service to those who need it. In their dealings with patients, psychologists must be careful to avoid discrimination, harassment, or otherwise harmful interactions, while also being sure that they do not enter into other relationships with their patients that might harm the professional relationship. Furthermore, the psychologist is required to extend courtesies to the patient, such as finding resources for the patient in the event of an emergency that renders the psychologist unavailable. Other required courtesies include respecting the patient's privacy, being honest with patients and with other members and organizations associated with the psychologist's profession, maintaining proper records, and keeping organized and responsible payment and fee policies.

While these requirements have had, mainly, to do with the relationship between psychologists and patients, psychologists also often work in an academic aspect, publishing and teaching. In this venue, psychologists must respect their students by presenting relevant material and having accurate syllabi, working with students to insure feedback and options for required therapy, and refraining from engaging in sexual relationships with students. As researchers, psychologists must be sure that harm does not come to their research subjects and that they do their best to be accurate about their research and research process. For instance, psychologist researchers must not plagiarize, take credit or give credit where it is not due, or provide knowing inaccurate results. In addition, psychologists who review work are to do so without bias to the author. Similar requirements apply to psychologists who use assessments with their patients. In this case, they must use reliable methods, report results correctly, and maintain the patient's privacy. Thus, APA's ethical standards for psychologists cover the three major roles that they may play -- therapist, teacher, and researcher.

Another statement of ethics, the Saint Leo Core Values Statement, contains six major areas of importance: excellence, community, respect, personal development, responsible stewardship and integrity. These values require students and faculty members of Saint Leo University to have an appreciation for their community, attempting to belong to it. A part of this is respecting those with whom the members of the university work and study. This respect includes both a respect for others and their diverse backgrounds, but also for one's work. Respect in one's work calls for honesty, or integrity, to which the values statement asks the students to pledge. Finally, the core values statement requires students to continue to grow and develop as they undertake courses, be socially responsible, use resources well, apply the teachings of Jesus Christ, and make the best effort to stay committed to the goal of mastering their studies and attaining a degree.

When one views the APA values statement in light of the Saint Leo Core Values Statement, both similarities and differences can be observed. First, both documents call for some degree of honesty and integrity in academic work. The APA requires that psychologists not plagiarize, take or give credit where it is not due, or falsify results. Saint Leo University's statement asks students to show integrity, asking the students to be "honest, just, and consistent." While the university's statement is certainly more compact, both statements are very similar. They imply that dishonesty and injustice are unfair on any level, and will not be tolerated. For the psychologist, this is also true in therapy situations, and does not simply refer to publications and academic endeavors. Furthermore, the two documents share other similar themes, such as a call to respect others. APA requires this of psychologists whether they are interacting with students or with patients. While APA defines respect in many different ways, the fact that Saint Leo University uses this term to discuss those of diverse backgrounds implies that both types of respect are similar. Also, while the community on a college campus is most obviously very different than the a professional psychologist's community, the two sets of ethical value statements both discuss community. For the student at Saint Leo University, this is an expression of the core values statement's mandate of a "socially responsible environment," the inclusion of a respect for one's work, and a call to responsible stewardship and personal development to improve one's society. In regards to the APA's designation, however, community can be seen as the acts that a psychologist is mandated to do in order to remain in good standing with his or her professional community, such as reporting errors and abiding by the ethics' board's requirements.