4-2 Journal: The Ethics of Language and Communication

Module Overview14.html

Ethical Conflicts Across Disciplines

Behavior is a mirror in which every which everyone displays his own image.

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Figure 4.1 (shrm.org)

Module Four introduces you to relationships with others. You will have many opportunities in your career in psychology to work with colleagues, students, supervisees, and employees. You may decide to supervise those working toward a clinical license in psychology. You might teach graduate courses and supervise graduate students in their practicum, in research, or in a number of other ways. When engaged in research, you will work with others. The field of forensic psychology requires well-honed skill sets for working with multiple stakeholders and many passionate perspectives. You need certain skills to work well with others.

Professional etiquette is often described as a form of professional manners where one adheres to prescribed norms and behaviors. Everyone learns manners from some source, whether it is parents, grandparents, school, a boarding school, or even college. Professional etiquette is about behaving according to convention or prescribed norms where the goal is that of presenting a positive professional image. You may be wondering what etiquette has to do with ethics.

Imagine a situation where you have published a noteworthy book on a new theory that describes why people fall in love and were invited to be a guest on a popular talk show. The host asks what you think of another psychologist’s recent book on the same subject. You say, “It was poorly researched and represents all that is bad about psychology.” Would this be considered an example of professional etiquette or of good ethics?

For another example, imagine you are working for a large corporation where you are consulting on issues to do with employee productivity and job satisfaction. You are the third psychologist hired over the past year by this large company. One of the middle-tier managers says, “Did you know Dr. Margi Nolittle? She smelled like booze every afternoon.”

You did know Dr. Nolittle and heard she had some issues with alcohol. Let’s assume you say, “Yes, I have heard she has a problem.” Does this response show professional etiquette and attention to ethics?

In another example, imagine you received a new referral to your professional counseling practice. On the first appointment, the young man tells you that he did not like the therapist he had been seeing. You ask if he is comfortable telling you about the problem. He tells you that his prior therapist made him really nervous. He goes on to tell you that the therapist would give him big hugs throughout the session and at the end of each session he would “hug me for just too long.” The new client asks you how to report the other therapist to the licensing board for the hugging. What would you do?

All of these examples of professional etiquette and manners come up alongside ethics. We have a responsibility to our profession. Even in our time out of the office, we are encouraged to engage only in behaviors that would not bring embarrassment to the profession. When we experience problems with colleagues and other professionals, we seek to discuss the problems with them. If there are ethical concerns and a discussion does not lead to a correction of the problem, we are required to report one another to the licensing boards. However, we do not involve clients, consultees, students, supervisees, or research participants in the drama that unfolds. We work as professionals with professionals to resolve issues and avoid contaminating things for those who we serve.

References

Tumisu. (2017, December 2). File: Ethics-Right and Wrong [Image].Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ethics-RIGHT_AND_WRONG.webp. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0). March 25, 2020 at 20:43pm EDT.