50. Ethics in Psychology – Honeycutt Science

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APA Code and Belmont Report

In the early 1970s psychiatry developed a specific Code of Ethics to address the unique ethical dilemmas and complexities arising in psychiatric practice. Also, an ethics report – The Belmont Report – was published in 1978. Psychology majors learn about the code of ethics and The Belmont Report.

The APA code of ethics says to be helpful and not hurt anyone, be loyal and responsible, be honest, treat people fairly, and respect other people’s rights and feelings. The actual words are complicated sounding, but mean the same thing: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people’s rights and dignity.

The ethical principles in The Belmont report are respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The principles are very similar to the APA code of ethics.

APA Ethics

The Belmont Report

Ethics the Instituional Review Board

What is an IRB?

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a group of people who make sure that any research involving people is done safely and fairly. At a university, they review proposals for all research projects that are done by university faculty, staff, or students, whether on or off campus. This also applies to anyone else who wants to do research associated with at a University. Before anyone can start a research project that involves people, they have to go through the IRB process to make sure everything is done right.

Even if a research study is funded by a private organization, it still has to be reviewed by an IRB if it involves people as participants. The IRB process makes sure that the research is done in a way that is safe and fair for the participants. This means that the research follows certain ethical standards and does not cause harm to the people who participate in it. The protection of human subjects is very important, no matter where the funding for the research comes from.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations include general requirements for IRB approval of clinical investigations involving human subjects as well as additional requirements for studies involving investigational drugs.

Large universities have their own IRB processes. The processes are usually very similar to each other. Examples of IRB processes are described by Liberty University in Virginia, Oklahoma University, and Wichita State University in Kansas. These are just three examples out of hundreds.

Advarra is an example of a research service that helps researches with following ethical practices. Their video (4:12) explains “What is an Institutional Review Board?” There are many other similar companies.

Not all research requires an IRB review. Only research that deal with human participants require IRB review. Examples of research that does not require IRB approval include: Internal management projects, such as program evaluation, quality assurance, quality improvement, marketing studies, or political polls (see Business Psychology).

Questions

What might happen if the effects of treatments for mental health are ignored for patients?

How can doctors make sure they are helping their patients while also being careful about the risks of treatments for mental health?

What can be done to make sure treatments for mental health are fair and safe for patients, and always put the patient first?

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