Ethical Dilemmas - Eppp Knowledge

1. What is the ethical issue when informed consent is obtained after assessment begins due to time pressure?

   Invalid informed consent (must be obtained before services when feasible). Informed consent must occur as early as feasible to ensure clients understand services before participation.

2. Identify the ethical conflict when a principal investigator enrolls their own students in a study for course credit.

   Potential coercion/undue influence due to power differential. Authority over students creates pressure to participate, compromising voluntary informed consent.

3. Identify the ethical conflict when a therapist posts identifiable client details on social media, even without a name.

   Confidentiality breach (insufficient de-identification). Posting details that allow identification violates confidentiality standards by failing to adequately disguise client information.

4. What is the ethical term for using professional power to benefit oneself (money, favors, status) from a client?

   Exploitation. Ethics prohibit using the professional role for personal gain to maintain trust and prevent client harm.

5. Which ethical principle is most directly violated by a sexual relationship with a current therapy client?

   Nonmaleficence (and exploitation of the professional relationship). APA Ethics Code prohibits sexual intimacies with current clients to prevent harm and exploitation inherent in the power imbalance.

6. Which ethical concept requires psychologists to take reasonable steps to avoid harming clients and others?

   Avoiding harm (nonmaleficence). Principle of nonmaleficence obligates psychologists to minimize foreseeable harm in all professional activities.

7. Identify the ethical conflict when a researcher withholds key study risks to increase enrollment.

   Invalid informed consent (insufficient risk disclosure). Full disclosure of risks is essential for valid informed consent, ensuring voluntary and informed participation.

8. Which ethical requirement applies to publishing only supportive outcomes while hiding null results?

   Avoiding misleading reporting (integrity in research dissemination). Selective publication distorts scientific knowledge, breaching obligations for accurate and complete reporting.

9. Which ethical requirement applies when providing telepsychology services across state lines?

   Practice within authorization/licensure and comply with applicable laws. Telepsychology requires licensure in the client's jurisdiction and adherence to relevant laws to ensure competent practice.

10. Which action best resolves an ethical conflict between an employer policy and APA Ethics Code requirements?

    Make known commitment to the Ethics Code and take reasonable steps to resolve. When organizational demands conflict with ethics, psychologists affirm their ethical commitment and seek resolution.

11. Which research practice is ethically required when deception is used and permitted by standards?

    Debriefing as early as feasible and allowing withdrawal of data when appropriate. Deception requires post-study debriefing to explain the ruse and offer data withdrawal to respect participant autonomy.

12. What is the ethical concern when a psychologist accepts a large gift from a client during treatment?

    Potential exploitation and boundary violation (multiple relationship risk). Accepting large gifts can blur boundaries, creating dual relationships that exploit client vulnerability.

13. What is the ethical term for failing to recognize how personal issues may impair clinical judgment or effectiveness?

    Impaired objectivity due to personal problems (impairment). Personal issues can distort judgment, requiring self-awareness and steps to limit or suspend practice when impaired.

14. Which concept requires limiting disclosure to the least information necessary to achieve the purpose?

    Minimum necessary disclosure. Ethics and privacy laws mandate disclosing only essential information to minimize confidentiality risks.

15. What is the ethical issue when a researcher offers excessive payment that may cloud voluntary choice?

    Undue influence (coercive or excessive inducement). Excessive incentives can coerce participation by overriding free choice, violating voluntary consent principles.

16. What is the ethical conflict when a psychologist provides services to a client while intoxicated or severely sleep-deprived?

    Professional impairment compromising competence and risking harm. Intoxication or fatigue impairs judgment and competence, increasing harm risk and requiring practice limitations.

17. What is the primary ethical risk when a supervisor provides psychotherapy to their supervisee?

    Multiple relationship with impaired evaluation and potential coercion. Dual roles as supervisor and therapist create power imbalances that impair fair evaluation and risk coercive dynamics.

18. What is the ethical violation when a researcher copies paragraphs from another article without citation?

    Plagiarism. Presenting others' work as one's own undermines research integrity and violates intellectual property standards.

19. Identify the ethical conflict when a psychologist discloses client information to a spouse out of concern.

    Confidentiality breach (no valid authorization or legal exception). Disclosures without consent or legal basis violate confidentiality protections designed to maintain trust.

20. What is the ethical conflict when a psychologist provides a custody evaluation for a current therapy client?

    Conflicting roles (multiple relationship) compromising objectivity. Combining therapy and forensic roles creates conflicts that undermine impartiality in evaluations.

21. Which ethical issue is raised when a clinician changes a diagnosis solely to obtain insurance coverage?

    Misrepresentation (fraudulent documentation). Altering diagnoses for reimbursement misrepresents facts, violating integrity and accuracy in professional reports.

22. What is the term for having two simultaneous roles with a client that could impair objectivity or risk harm?

    Multiple relationship (dual relationship). APA defines multiple relationships as those that could reasonably impair professional judgment or increase exploitation risk.

23. Identify the ethical conflict when a psychologist uses a test they are not trained to administer or interpret.

    Practicing outside competence. Psychologists must limit practice to areas of demonstrated competence to avoid inaccurate assessments and potential harm.

24. Identify the ethical conflict when a psychologist accepts a client who is a close friend of their spouse.

    Multiple relationship with risk of impaired objectivity. Personal connections through a spouse create dual roles that may bias therapeutic decisions or harm the client.

25. Which concept requires extra safeguards when research participants have diminished autonomy (for example, minors)?

    Protection of vulnerable populations (assent and guardian permission as applicable). Vulnerable groups require assent, parental consent, and safeguards to protect those with limited decision-making capacity.

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