APA Principles And Code Of Ethics - Assignment Example

APA Principles Of Ethics Importance of the APA principles of ethics As the largest global association of psychologists, APA provides guidelines and ethics that must be followed and/upheld by all psychologists. Although some people might consider the stipulated values and principles as being too stringent and restrictive, it is essentially intended to support ethical and accountable research in psychological disciplines (Hadjistavropoulos et al., 2002). Notably, psychological research majorly uses animals for testing.

Without the rules, psychologists would have conducted research without considering the detriment that it has on nature, a factor that would have hampered the harmony that exists between man and nature.I fully concur with the ethical guides and principles stipulated by APA as they are an inordinate part in ensuring a responsible translation of the results of research for policy-makers and members of the public (Howard et al., 2007). The APA ethical stipulations ensure that psychological research is not used to dupe affiliates or take an unjustified advantage of the public or animals used in the research.

For instance, it safeguards human beings by strongly illegalizing the use of people in research unless under special conditions.Rather than deterring scientific discoveries, APA allows professional judgment and prevalence of ethical and/or justifiable research(Howard et al., 2007). The modifiers used in the standards of ethics jettison inequality and/or injustices that would otherwise be prevalent and depress psychological or scientific exploration. It also ensures that there is some constancy across a broad range of psychological research activities.

Additionally, the APA ethics code sentinels against a set of rules that might hastily be obsolete(Hadjistavropoulos et al., 2002). Without the APA rules and guides, research would be hasty and too free thus disadvantaging the public. APA guides also ensure that any personal and/or professional conflicts that arise in the process of conducting research are resolved in an apt manner while perpetuating the basic values of human rights.Example of a research where ethics were violatedThe “Stanford prison experiment” conducted by a team of psychologists under the supervision of Philip Zimbardo is one experiment where the ethical standards were greatly violated (Carnahan& McFarland, 2007).

The experiment conducted at the Stanford University was aimed at establishing the mental effects of becoming a prisoner and understand the cause of conflict between prison guards and prisoners. The results of the experiment indicated that prisoners become depressed and the guards become sadistic. The results of the study showed that people are likely to comply once provided with legitimizing ideas and social support.Apparently, the outcomes of the research have been used to develop several concepts in psychology but the participants underwent undue stress that consequently harmed them physically and psychologically.

The prisoners and guards were deceived by giving them consent forms that were incomplete and did not disclose all that was to take place(Carnahan & McFarland, 2007). The surprise arrests and invasion of privacy also significantly affected the participants psychologically. Outrageously, the research had profound negative effects on the participants who had not consented to the undisclosed procedure. The effects that the study had of the participants were very adverse and long-term. It might permanently affect the participants and make them develop a very adversarial perception against prisons and the overall correction system.

Though the research was necessary, it should have been conducted in a ‘safe' prison environment that would have enabled the researchers to obtain the same results without necessarily harming the participants. Psychologists should and must strive to avoid afflicting human beings in the name of conducting research. The value and self-worth of humanity must be endorsed.ReferencesCarnahan, T. & McFarland, S. (2007). Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment: Could participant self-selection have led to the cruelty?

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 5, 603–614.Hadjistavropoulos, T., Malloy, D. C., Sharpe, D., Green, S. M., & Fuchs-Lacelle, S. (2002). The Relative Importance of the Ethical Principles Adopted by the American Psychological Association.Canadian Psychology-Psychologie Canadienne.Howard, G. S., Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2007). Research Productivity in Psychology Based on Publication in the Journals of the American Psychological Association. American Psychologist.