The Five Ethical Principles
Not all ethical issues are clear-cut, but the APA strives to offer psychologists guiding principles
to help them make sound ethical choices within their profession.
Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
The first principle of the APA ethics code states that psychologists should strive to protect the
rights and welfare of those who they work with professionally. This includes the clients that
they see in clinical practice, animals that are involved in research and experiments, as well as
anyone else with whom they engage in professional interaction.
This principle encourages psychologists to strive to eliminate biases, affiliations, and
prejudices that might influence their work. This includes acting independently in research and
not allowing affiliations or sponsorships influence results.
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
The APA also suggests that psychologists have a moral responsibility to help ensure that others
working in their profession also uphold high ethical standards. This principle suggests that
psychologists should participate in activities that enhance the ethical compliance and conduct
of their colleagues. Serving as a mentor, taking part in peer-review, and pointing out ethical
concerns or misconduct are examples of how this principle might be put into action.
Psychologists are also encouraged to donate some of their time to the betterment of the
community.
Principle C: Integrity
In research and practice, psychologists should never attempt to deceive or misrepresent. In
research, deception can involve fabricating or manipulating results in some way to achieve
desired outcomes.
Psychologists should also strive for transparency and honesty in their practice.
When deception is used in research (which may involve the use of confederates as participants
or not fully revealing the true nature of the research), psychologists must make efforts to
mitigate the effects. This type of research deception must be justified and the possible gains
must outweigh potential drawbacks.
The use of deception should be minimal, not result in distress, and be disclosed at the earliest
possible opportunity.
Controversial and Unethical Psychological Experiments for Reasearch
Principle D: Justice
In it’s broadest sense, justice relates to a responsibility to be fair and impartial. This principle
states that people have a right to access and benefit from advances that have been made in the
field of psychology. It is important for psychologists to treat people equally.
Psychologists should also always practice within their area of expertise and also be aware of
their level of competence and limitations.
Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity
Psychologists should respect the right to dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of those they
work with professionally. They should also strive to minimize their own biases as well as be
aware of issues related to diversity and the concerns of particular populations. For example,
people may have specific concerns that are related to their age, socioeconomic status, race,
gender, religion, ethnicity, or disability.