Monitor - September 2014

supervisors can think aloud when they are confronted with situations that require ethical reasoning and demonstrate how they are linking their behaviors to the values of the profession. These kinds of demonstrations will help students develop judgment and the ability to apply overarching ethical principles of the profession appropriately, depending on contextual factors.

3. Be transparent. Strive for greater transparency with patients and colleagues in your ethical decision making and openly articulate your reasons for decisions. Transparency means more than just identifying the relevant rules, laws and standards — it also means discussions regarding how to implement these rules in ways that promote overarching ethical principles or virtues, such as the welfare of patients, respectfulness and justice. Openly speaking about your questions may reduce the tendency for ethical issues to be driven underground and may reduce the discrepancy between descriptive norms (how people actually behave) and injunctive norms (how people are expected to behave); it may also promote ethically excellent behavior (Handelsman et al., 2009).

4. Respond to feedback. All of us have blind spots (Bazerman & Tenbrunsel, 2011) that can lead us to act in a less-than-optimal manner for reasons outside of our conscious awareness. We can accept the fact that all of us will make mistakes, and when we do, we should acknowledge and try to correct them (Tavris & Aronson, 2007). As part of our lifelong education in ethics, we can strive for humility, use think-aloud processes and welcome feedback. n

This article is adapted from “The dark
side of professional ethics,” which
appeared in the December 2013 issue
of Professional Psychology: Research
and Practice, Vol. 44( 6), 371-377. To read the
original article, which includes all references,
visit www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/
pro-a0035110.pdf.

Authors
Samuel Knapp, EdD, is director of
professional affairs for the Pennsylvania
Psychological Association.
Mitchell M. Handelsman, PhD, is professor
of psychology and a CU President’s Teaching
Scholar at the University of Colorado Denver.
Michael C. Gottlieb, PhD, ABPP (Family) is in
independent practice in Dallas.

Leon D. VandeCreek, PhD, was formerly
a professor at the School of Professional
Psychology at Wright State University.
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