Abstract:
In this PhD by publication, the author’s work concerning what it is to be a
psychologist operating - sometimes simultaneously - within different ethical domains
will be examined using conference papers, journal publications and book chapters.
This material, which spans a period of 20 years, demonstrates a fundamental
concern with the normative ethical question of “what we ought to do” as
psychologists in complex situations; it will be argued that this work has contributed
to the academic debate and influenced policy and thus practice.
In order to position the body of work, and to introduce Codes of Ethics (which seek
to operationalise ethics within prescribed domains), the thesis begins by introducing
normative ethics. It is argued that psychology’s stance is essentially deontological,
whilst organisations are utilitarian in orientation. This implicit tension is addressed
in the author’s contributions, which are examined within their (historic) academic
context using a comparison of the British Psychological Society’s 1985 and the
significantly revised 2006 Code of Ethics. These codes, rather than the more usual
positioning within one specific literature, are used to provide a coherent narrative
concerning the development of the author’s thinking in this domain, though,
necessarily, different overlapping academic literatures are accessed depending on
context.
The cumulative academic contribution of the published work has been to advance
ethical ideas in some areas of professional applied psychology. For example, in the
1985 code, the complexity of operating within organisational contexts was barely
acknowledged; this has now significantly changed. The body of work examined here
has emphasised how psychologists must consciously and deliberately coexist and act
The contribution of ethical concepts to the development of professional applied psychology
within overlapping, and sometimes competing, professional and organisational
ethical contexts, domains and philosophical positions.
In this synoptic piece, after the presentation, positioning, and examination of the
contribution of extant published material, possible future directions for research and
practice are indicated. For instance, preliminary material will be presented
suggesting that, in occupational psychology, where complex differing ethical
perspectives are present, public ethical debate appears to be relatively neglected;
some hypothesis are presented.
More theoretically, areas for development include the extension of recent
philosophical ethical ideas to these particular domains of applied psychology,
including thinking that suggests that ethical considerations precede other kinds of
social obligation.
Finally, and linking the academic more firmly to practice and policy, a brief
theoretical examination of the possible impact of statutory registration on different
branches of psychology is briefly attempted, and potential practical and
philosophical ethical consequences for UK psychologists and psychology are briefly
outlined.