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Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category

Distance Learning Doctorate Psychology

Long distance learning doctorate psychology courses provide the students with opportunities for clinical experience and a heightened level of awareness of integrating conceptual and theoretical scholarship with applied psychology. While clinical psychology PhD courses are specializations that enable psychologists to practice in health care settings and community mental health centers, counseling psychology prepares psychologists to deal with functional relationships, healthy lifestyles and work on their clients’ strengths. The General Education Psychology PhD degree courses have tracks in Educational Psychology and research evaluation. The long distance learning doctorate psychology courses in Health Psychology is a specialization for practice in medical centers, research settings, business and industry, government and military as well as in sports and fitness centers.

The Curriculum

Long distance learning doctorate psychology courses explore every modality that guides assessment and intervention practices. Some universities provide hands on experience with practical training and internships on campus. Hence program availability depends on location. Other universities examine the total matrix of factors that influence psychological and physical health and offers PhDs that emphasize research, preparation of scholarship and systematic enquiry culminating in a dissertation. The application of theory for problem solving and conflict resolution expands the definition of health across individuals and cultures. The flexible programs are well suited to persons engaged in careers in health, teaching, clinical work, community development, consultation, mediation and so on.

The Universities

The North Central University Online has a long distance learning doctorate psychology program in Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine. It uses a biopsychosocial approach to psychology. The Industrial/Organizational doctorate degree prepares learners to work in a variety of settings in different kinds of organizations. The skills imparted include the conduct of basic and applied research, problem solving for organizational and human health. The Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center has a program that is designed for practitioners who operate in non-traditional environments and their practice embraces expanded definitions of health.

Walden University has several PhD programs that address social issues that impact on societies and communities and equips the practitioner with the necessary skills for operating in their area of specialization. The Fielding Graduate University offers a PhD degree in Clinical Psychology with elective concentrations in Neuropsychology, Health Psychology and the Psychology of Violence. Apart from the above there are a number of “contract learning” courses conducted by the Long Island University Southampton, where seminars are conducted on campus for part of the course and the rest of the course is off campus. Argosy University conducts a number of courses in Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology, School psychology, Sport Exercise Psychology and General Psychology.

It other words, the choice of course depends on the student’s need for the tools and practices of psychology as they relate to their business, education and professional practice.

Online Psychology Degrees

Psychology is a field of study that is gaining much popularity in almost every part of the world. There are an increasing number of online schools and institutes in India and abroad, which offer Psychology Degree Online. Online degrees in psychology are available at the graduate as well as undergraduate level. Various online schools also offer online doctorate degrees in psychology. To become a licensed counselor or a school psychologist the minimum qualification required is a master’s degree in psychology. A Psychology Degree Online allows you to do a full-time job while earning a degree in your spare time. About online degrees in psychology Online Degree in Psychology provides students with a plethora of knowledge on the different branches of psychology. There are many specialized areas in psychology such as child psychology, criminal psychology, clinical psychology, industrial/organizational psychology and more. The different online degree focuses on specialized areas of psychology. For example an Associate of Arts degree in Psychology degree focuses on theories of personality, positive psychology, human sexuality, psychological disorders, social interactions and the physiological and neurological basis of human behavior. Likewise MS in Psychology program focuses on the general instead of clinical psychological study of individuals, including their thought processes, behaviors and emotions. Scope on Online Psychology Degrees There is an increasing demand for psychologist in almost every sector whether it is corporate, educational or social sector. Getting an online psychology degree offers plenty of employment scope. Depending upon aptitude and interest you can specialize in the various fields of psychology. A person with an online psychology degree can find great employment opportunities in a number of sectors. These include Colleges and Universities; Government and Public-Sector Organizations and Market Research Firms. Some of the Institutes offering Online Psychology Degrees. There are several Institutes abroad that offer Psychology Degree Online. Some of the schools and universities offering online psychology degrees include: Walden University – School of Psychology- Baltimore, MD,US Capella University – Minneapolis, Minnesota, US American InterContinental University Online-Illinois, US California University of Pennsylvania – California, PA These universities offer various online psychology degrees like MS in Mental Health Counseling, MS in Psychology, MS in Human Services, PhD in Psychology, PhD in Human Service and more.

Psychology Career Interview Tips

Interview tips may relieve recent psychology graduates that are anxious about interviewing for jobs. While a student’s grades may be stellar and extra-curricular activities may be numerous, the market can be tough and a successful interview is the one conduit to getting an actual job. But it is possible to have a leg-up on other candidates in the psychology field by preparing for the interview in advance, utilizing interview tips and learning how to shine on a job interview.

Rehearsing for the Interview

Consider some of the questions an interviewer may ask before heading off to an interview. Research the hiring association and jot down some helpful reminders in case one of the questions asked regards the organization. Rehearse answers to some of the more frequently asked interview questions as well. Questions often asked of candidates include:

• What are the candidate’s strengths?
• What are the candidate’s goals?
• Why did this person leave their former organization?

Answer Questions Intelligently

While this may be a no-brainer, candidates can often come across poorly by answering questions improperly. Practice answering questions to some of the above questions and perhaps even ask a friend or family member to listen and evaluate the answers. Speak slowly and make eye contact with the interviewer. Take a breath (or two) before answering the question and think about the answer before blurting it out. Watch out for body language in an interview. Slouching in a chair, leaning on the desk, shoving one’s hands in their pockets or fidgeting with clothing may be construed erroneously.

Dress for Success

Keep the trendy clothes on the closet hanger when heading out on an interview. The key, when trying to fit in at most organizations, is to focus on dressing conservative. If possible, try to discern the dress code at the organization, possibly by driving by before the interview or even calling the receptionist and asking. When in doubt, wear a suit – either navy or gray. Make sure the suit is clean and pressed as is the shirt or blouse underneath. Keep accessories to a minimum – no big jewelry, especially items that make noise such as clanging bracelets or tons of necklaces or chains.

Here is a common sense interview tip. Grooming is crucial before an interview. It is unlikely that candidates who appear slovenly will be asked back. Keep finger nails short and clean and keep hairstyles conservative. Be careful with perfume or cologne as well – don’t spray on too much. Pop in a breath mint right before walking into the interview.

Communication

Always bring the most up-to-date resume to the interview. Even if one was mailed to the organization prior to the interview, it shows professionalism to have an additional copy on-hand in case the interviewer doesn’t. After the interview, be sure to send a thank-you note to the interviewer. This is an acceptable and necessary practice that also serves as a reminder to the interviewer as to who the candidate was.

To recognize a person for a person is a lie, he must know the person, the psychology of lying, because the plot and understand. In fact, with the knowledge of the psychology of lying may help you become more attentive to the different signs of lying, just like the mentality that goes with it. This is necessary to avoid contact with feelings of doubt or emotional stress when you’re facing its usefulness. Fear one of the reasons why a person is lying is involved because of fear of possible consequences if telling the truth. This psychology of lying is very common in the younger generation if it has something to hide sensitive punished by their friends and family members – the decision to lie rather than tell the truth. It is a sign of leakage hardly possible that the act of the truth is told. Self-ImageImproving his own image in the eyes of their friends and their families is one reason why people are. To increase their social on equal footing with others, a person would often create stories, usually set up to ensure that the other party is driven from the scene. This psychology of lying is only a temporary increase in the social scale, and is often replaced by embarrassment when the truth comes out. Damage OthersAnother goal is to attack other people, indirectly, by a lie about it. In fact, it is often seen, felt by prominent figures in society. To view the status or career of the individual is at least one person is often a lie, the other will be in a state of doubt about their own beliefs and truths. In summary, thanks to people being afraid of the consequences if they tell the truth in order to increase their self-harm inappropriate, or deliberately others. With the help of the psychology of lying, you will be able circumstances, if people do not treat the truth.

Construction and operation of a business offers many challenges to their psychological work. We believe that many companies at an early stage, because these challenges become too fail and lead to disappointment, demotivation and, finally, simply abandon. Success can be achieved if these psychological problems are identified and controlled. Fortunately, done much to reduce their negative impact. Scientific research has a number of useful strategies – and, as psychologists, we have experienced the benefits first-hand at creating our own university spin-outs. Tips for wealth and health Here are a few tips that have shown to lead to resistance and superior performance in all areas of life – especially business. Remember the 80/20 rule, but first: a large part of our efforts have little effect on the bottom line, and it is often said that 20% of the results of the efforts of 80% success . Regardless of the exact figure, it is important to distinguish between activities that make a significant difference and that only a small difference. This is particularly true when problems arise: we are inclined to be too focused on their thoughts to the exclusion of more positive steps to improve performance. What we can do is deal with problems and how to keep in perspective is discussed below. First Goal Setting: It is one of the most effective ways to achieve and maintain a positive direction and motivation. Besides the obvious use in planning activities, it has a number of psychological benefits: Clarity of objectives allows us to make more effective decisions Develop an action plan produced proactive, results-oriented, behaviourMonitoring the success of a plan to help discern which practices are most effectiveMajor waste reduction thinking ( ie door) to promote a sense of control over events and pay motivating2. Make lists and write things on paper, a real psychological benefits and is an excellent way to stop worry constantly about labor issues. Winston Churchill used this strategy to great efforts. Every night he would make three lists: (a) the things he could do nothing (so it is unnecessary, yet they do not think), (b) those things that require attention for day, and (c) those things that seemed important, but so were written much less important. Focus on thinking of things that can make a difference for your business, not with thoughts that lead nowhere (except a sleepless night!) To get busy. 3rd Be a doer “not a thinker” Cultivate the habit of action-oriented – the thought is of course important, but not as a substitute is always on the tasks at hand (think too often results unproductive worries). Allocate a “cooling off” every week if you are not disturbed, and if you and your colleagues to participate in strategic planning focused on the task. Next, decide on an approach, the wear and monitor its success. As of the fourth positive thinking: Hold (effective) ways of thinking, such as: Management problems at once: they can not rot! Recognizing that when bad things happen (and they do), it is not recognizing a reflection on you as a person (if you made a mistake then learn from it and move forward) Set place a strong positive attributional mind: Assign unfortunate events to external causes, and then if you do not blame (wrongly) assumes that you make similar mistakes in future such events is well to internal causes situationsAssign ( you) do, and I think we have very good influence future events in a variety of different situations5. Use negative feelings: frustration, disappointment, etc. are common throughout the world, especially in the business world. These feelings can be a useful source of information that indicates that something must change. Spend a little time to explore these emotions and their causes, but then put on a positive course of action to change things. Avoid (too) negative thoughts. If negative thoughts running around my head, then by force and replace them with positive ideas to feel better that what is based on the results to more options. Negative thoughts will only lead to impaired performance motivation: make your servant, not you, master! 6th Sense of purpose and control: A great way to avoid negative thoughts and emotions associated is learning to develop a proactive mind on your business. waiting to happen, not only for things – that only makes you feel out of control and spend a victim of circumstances – to do so in your behavior positive good things in your business and life. 7th Encouraging Creativity: Welcome to the new and unusual experiences. Do not try to force creativity, as contained in the rule on time. It is facilitated by an open and positive attitude to life and appear in a poor state of arousal – for creative solutions are often in the middle of the night or upon waking in the morning. 8th Trust your own abilities not get the affairs of dependence on “experts”. Learn from them, but to develop your business sense and become your own expert. Again, it will create a sense of meaning and control over events. If the multi-billionaire Warren Buffett wants economic advice, he looks just in the mirror (perhaps that is what success in the first place!). 9th Dealing with unpleasant tasks: Do unpleasant tasks at once and without delay. This will not only take it out of your mind, but also a real sense of power and control the completion of a cycle of motivation, wellness and positive.

Watson, Skinner & Tolman: Their Contributions to Psychology

The science of psychology as a whole has its earliest roots in Greek Platonic philosophy which studied the functions of the mind (Grider, 1993). From the beginning of its history and throughout its development as a science the form, function, application, and relevance of psychology has been hotly debated by many venues of the scientific and academic worlds (Harzem, 2004). In the late 1800s the earliest psychological research had its basis in physiological experimentation on how the nerves and the brain worked together to produce observable actions and behaviors in animals. As time went on this, what was termed “applied” psychology evolved into many other forms of experimental psychology based on the researchers’ views of how psychological testing should be conducted and applied (Hoffman, 1992). One of the strongest forms of psychology that evolved during the 19th century was that of Behaviorism. Behaviorism, although having its roots in comparative psychology, was largely an American phenomenon, as it emphasized the importance and possibility of learning through perseverance. There were many psychologists that changed and improved the theories and practices of American Behaviorism through the ages, some the most influential were John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward C. Tolman (Goodwin, 2008).

John B. Watson

In a presentation delivered at Columbia University in February of 1913, John B. Watson knowingly or not laid out the foundation of what is now called the Behaviorist Manifesto. The Behaviorist Manifesto, or “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” (Goodwin, p 342, 2008) in brief assigned psychology to the natural sciences, articulated a clear set of goals, rejected introspective based psychology, and accepted an evolutionary model of behavior (Goodwin, 2008). In 1900 Watson attended Furman University and exhibited an early interest in comparative psychology. With the added quality of an inherent love of animals, Watson soon decided that he could learn just as much from observing animal behavior as other students were learning about human behavior by observing humans. Watson began experimenting with mazes and white rats and their observable learning behaviors from birth through the fourth week of age. Eventually, while working with Harvey Carr at the University of Chicago, Watson began removing sensory organs in an attempt to establish a connection between the rats’ learning process and kinesthetic sensory perception. Watson found that the kinesthetic sensory perception was only partially responsible for learning the sensory stimulus had to be paired with cognitive processes to produce learning (Goodwin, 2008).

In 1908 Watson accepted a position at Johns Hopkins and established a wide-ranging animal behavior research program. During this period Watson began his psychophysics research which held that animals were capable of perceiving differences if not in color at least in shade because they could be conditioned to respond to one color but not to respond to a different shade of the same color. This discovery added a whole new layer in perception to animal behavior and the possible applications of conditioning. Watson held that there was no difference between training an animal and training a human being, “no dividing line between man and brute” (p 343) for this reason Watson argued that psychology should not be the focused on the study of consciousness, but rather become a science of behavior. He pointed out that just as the study of animal behavior had allowed psychologists to predict and control behavior these methods could be applicable and useful with humans as well. These arguments made behaviorism popular in America because it allowed for real life application of psychological principles.

From here Watson moved on to study fundamental human emotion and development. In a research study known as “Little Albert” Watson conducted a series of experiments on an infant in which he was able to produce a fear of a white rodent (and then rabbit) by introducing it to the child while paired with a loud noise. The loud noise elicited an instinctive emotion (fear) in Little Albert because of the pairing of the noise with the rat soon only the presentation of the rat elicited the same response. This research led to his eventual research and collaboration in systematic desensitization with Mary Cover Jones.

During the 1920s Watson lectured on behaviorism but spent a good deal of his time as a marketing executive. Watson had a large impact on business by applying scientific strategy to marketing practices such as using demographics to better target marketing efforts and developing training programs for personnel. Watson did a great deal for the concept of behaviorism by championing it everywhere he spoke and by publishing articles in his early career and throughout his professional life (Goodwin, 2008).

B.F. Skinner

Building on the work of John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner carried behaviorism to a whole new level. Skinner developed his theories of behaviorism while at Harvard in the 1930s. Skinner was a close follower of Pavlov and Watson having conducted major studies in conditioning. Skinner furthered the study by developing the theories of operant conditioning which holds that repeated behavior is directly dependent on the positive or negative consequence of a behavior whether stimulated in the same way or not, the environment being one of the man causes for determination of repeating ceasing a behavior (Goodwin, 2008). Skinner studied operant conditioning by creating highly structured and completely controlled environments that came to be known as Skinner Boxes. All actions taking place within the box were recorded cumulatively for later analyzation. Using this type of completely controlled environment Skinner was able to exhibit several various conditioning phenomena such as extinction, generalization, and discrimination all of which Skinner referred to as stimulus control. Skinner did not believe in hypothesizing and then conducting experiments to prove a nebulous theory, he preferred inductive research; studying samples of regular behaviors in order to establish general principles. By the late 20th century there were basically two forms of psychology; behaviorism and everything else (Malone, 2001). Although Skinner was never elected to the APA presidency, he is none the less one of the most noted historical behaviorists among scholars and psychologists (Goodwin, 2008).

Edward C. Tolman

Edward Chance Tolman was destined for a career in electrochemistry having graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1911. His father was a prominent physicist and Edward was headed in the same direction until he came across the writings and theories of William James. Inspired by James’ Principles, Tolman chose introductory philosophy and psychology when enrolling in graduate courses at Harvard. Although Tolman recognized the merits of Watson’s behaviorism, he did not feel that behavior could be reduced to simple muscular and glandular stimuli and response. Tolman argued that one of the key elements of behavior is cognitive purpose. Tolman emphasized a more Gestaltist overall or as he put it “molar” emphasis on studying behavior. That is to say that Tolman believed that learning and cognition could not be broken down into single elements of stimuli and muscular response but that the entire organism was involved in learning. Tolman proved this goal-directed, purposive behavior by experimenting with rats and mazes, sometimes offering food at the end of the maze, sometimes not. He found that although the rats learned the maze with or without the stimulus of food but their intensity and speed with which the rate coursed the maze was affected by the offer of reward. This discovery led Tolman to his theory of intervening variable. Expectancy then, was a huge determinant of performance whereas learning was accomplished by a process of “cognitive mapping” on a latent level. Learning occurs either way, but certain expectations are developed during the learning process. This theory is better known as Tolman’s latent learning theory. Tolman’s combination of theoretical speculation with laboratory testing proved that learning was not dependent upon reinforcement but occurred on unconscious levels in an overall cognitive and purpose driven manner (Goodwin, 2008).

Comparing Perspectives

Behaviorism has developed in many different directions because of the different perspectives of the psychologists and researches involved. With vast number of intelligent and inquisitive minds pondering the workings of the human and animal psyche it is no wonder that there was wide debate and sometimes outright dissension. Theories and research were conducted all over the world at a phenomenal pace and many researchers today theorize that some of the disagreement experienced among schools of thought may have had more to mistranslation than to actual disagreement on principles. Major works were translated in many languages, however more minor works (or those considered minor at the time) were not as widely translated or circulated (Kilgour, Murray & Wasylkiw, 2000). In America at least behaviorism kept making strides forward toward applicable use in society through the work of Watson, Skinner, and Tolman.

Psychology School Requirements

A Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree can provide you with the building blocks for a rewarding career in the psychology field. Many people continue with psychology school after completing the B.S., going on to get a master’s degree or a PhD in order to provide specialized services to patients or to teach psychology at the university level. A psychology program can be a great undergraduate choice even if you don’t plan on continuing with graduate school to become a specialized psychologist or professor, though. The requirements for psychology programs make it well suited to a number of career choices.

If you choose a psychology major as an undergraduate student at a four-year university, you will receive experience and knowledge in professional and scientific psychology. You will be required to complete the general education courses including math, science, English, history and others before you can begin taking your upper division psychology courses. You will also be advised to take some basic psychology courses during your lower division course load. Some students complete their general education requirements at a community college and transfer into a four-year university; some go in straight out of high school, and others do it all online. There are typically pretty high GPA requirements to get into a good psychology program at a top four-year university.

As you work towards your psychology degree, you will be required to take a variety of courses, many of them in a specific sequential order. Comparative Psychology, Elementary Psychology, Environmental Stress, Intro to Child Development, Loss and Trauma, Principles of Behavior Analysis, Psychopharmacology and Social Cognition are typical courses.

You can use a Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree for many careers, but you will be best off if you go on to achieve advanced professional training after completing the undergraduate degree. The employment of psychologists is expected to grow at a faster than average rate through 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. School psychologists appear to have the most lucrative future. But the first step is starting psychology school at the undergraduate level; then you can see where the career road takes you.

Institutions offering quality Child Psychology Programs include University of Phoenix, Argosy University, South University, Brown Mackie College and Hesser College.

Psychology term paper and research paper ideas

Psychology is the study to study, understand and decipher mental, cognitive and social behavior in individuals or groups. Psychology is a very broad discipline and so it is important to understand that psychological research can be segmented into many wide areas that have multiple theories, applications and uses in the real world.

As an editor on psychology, this can become tricky as you need to clearly identify and draw the line on what category to write on. One of the hardest parts of this term paper is coming up with psychology term paper ideas. Psychology essays term papers test a student’s ability to research, understand and interpret the topic or one of its many aspects. The portion below lists some interesting psychology term paper ideas.

Social psychology

For starters, you can look into Social Psychology as a psychology essays term papers idea. This field is the study and critique of the relationships among people and groups of people. Patterns of mingling, interaction and communication are observed and noted.

Child psychology

Also known as Developmental Psychology, Child psychology is the study and analysis of the mental development that takes place in humans starting from when they are born and through various stages in life. You can write on this area’s increasing practical use.

Applied psychology

Among other psychology term paper ideas is Applied Psychology. Here scientists use different psychological principles and works to identify and solve problems in various areas such as education, physical health, mental health, society and the industrial area.

Academic psychology

Another psychology term paper idea is Academic Psychology, which is that zone where the research and theories proposed by various psychologists are used in academic institutions as a teaching ground and portal for budding students. You can mention how psychology is part of most academic curriculums and how it provides direction to students interested in the field.

Psychologists

You can also provide a detailed account of famous psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundt, Hermann Ebbinghaus and Sigmund Freud. List their achievements, theories and their contribution to the field which has made them famous all over the world.

Theories

Yet another psychology term paper idea is to write about the various theories offered. You can choose one and attempt to support it or find loopholes. Popular theories and areas include Behaviorism, Existentialism, Humanism, and Psychoanalysis.

As with any psychology or related term paper, remember to proof read and cite your work by providing references and a comprehensive bibliography. This reflects well on your work ethic and keeps you free from plagiarism suspicion.

The Place Of Ethical Concerns In Psychology

Ethics plays an important role in psychology from the beginning of the treatment process through rehabilitation. There are many ethical concerns that can arise all of which must be dealt with along the way. These various concerns can also vary from one psychological setting to another. These settings include: hospitals, physical rehabilitation centers and facilities specializing in chronic diseases to name only a few. As the number of psychologists and other professionals working in this field increases, so does the need to focus on areas of ethical concern (Lucignano and Lee). The ethical issues that can arise reach far beyond the medical setting and are present in other situations as well.

Important Ethical concerns include: role delineation, working within the medical model, taking on multiple responsibilities and maintaining confidentiality (Lucignano and Lee). Before any ethical issue can be recognized it must first be clearly defined. Though this article cannot encompass them all, those listed here are commonly encountered and must be dealt with on a regular basis.

The first ethical concern that will be discussed is role delineation. This is a primary concern because it lays the ground work for the responsibilities and expectations of the psychologist; however, there is not a consensus on specifically what constitutes the role of the psychologist in a medical setting. Since many psychologists work in the medical profession, this can present somewhat of a gray area. Instead, diverse terminology has often been used to define this particular role. Terms used include: health psychology, medical psychology, clinical psychology and behavioral medicine. This has presented past arguments over whether or not this lack of clarity in actual definition of terms is more than semantic confusion (Lucignano and Lee). The primary argument here is whether a psychologists’ actions and activities are included under one of these terms that are, for the most part, considered to be unstandardized in this context.

Working within the medical model is another ethical concern that must be considered in the medical field. In these instances, psychologists are usually working on teams that include a physician, social worker, speech pathologist, physical therapist and occupational therapist. Though all teams may not include every role listed above, it is very likely there will be at least two members on each. When this is the case, it is necessary for each person to work within his or her role in order to provide maximum treatment. Ethical awareness is an essential part of providing psychological treatment within the medical model. In a hospital, for instance, unique areas of stress may be present which effect both patients and members of the treatment team (Lucignano and Lee). As a result, there may be difficulties when it comes to the overall decision making process. There may be several causes for this because many people are working to rehabilitate one person. There are several patients so that team may, in effect, be responsible for rehabilitating a wide range of people all of whom are dealing with very different situations. Team members will not always agree on everything and important issues may need to be carefully examined by each team member when it comes to resolving them.

Taking on multiple responsibilities can also bring up ethical issues for psychologists no matter where they work. When treating patients, psychologists take a look at each as an individual and treat each situation accordingly. There are, of course, many responsibilities that come with providing treatment and the solution to a particular need may not always coincide with traditional means and methods of resolution. A psychologist in this type of situation may feel pressured by the many responsibilities he or she must tackle on a daily basis and may be torn between handling a specific one through traditional means or in a way that is unique to the situation. The more administrative duties the psychologist is given, the less time he or she will be able to spend rehabilitating patients. While this may not be an issue that is of top concern, it can arise nonetheless and will need to be dealt with in a way that allows the psychologist to take care of important job-related duties and provide the best treatment possible to all patients.

Maintaining confidentiality is a very important concern. While psychologists don’t have a problem keeping important patient details confined within the facilities with which they are employed, ethical issues can arise when it becomes necessary to discuss certain situations with other professionals. When this occurs, the psychologist involved must decide whether or not the information needs to be passed onto the person requesting it or if a particular piece of information needs to be disseminated to someone else for treatment purposes.

In other situations, a psychologist may be asked for specific information about a current or former patient. While the information in question may be important in the given context, the confidentiality of the patient may be breeched if it is provided. Here the psychologist is faced with a moral dilemma of sorts. He or she knows the information is important and the person requesting it probably should be made aware, but is under a professional obligation to the patient to keep from sharing it. Should this occur, the psychologist can talk to the patient about the situation, informing him or her of the request and why it was made. The final decision of whether or not to provide the information will then be left up to the patient who will be responsible for its dissemination should this be the end result.

When it comes to solving ethical dilemmas, it is important to first understand the code that has been established. When going to work for a particular entity, psychologists will receive information that will instruct them on the various policies and regulations. In order to solve the issues that are bound to arise at one time or another, they will need to assess the individual situations and make a determination on what to do based on the ethical principles that have been set forth. Some dilemmas will be easier to solve than others and will be based around more black and white issues of right and wrong. Other times, distinguishing between right and wrong will not be so easy to do. In some cases, the answer will not lie in a simple context of right and wrong, but instead will be specific to the various factors involved. When this occurs it is often not quite so easy to make the determinations that solve these ethical dilemmas. When this happens, psychologists depend heavily on the ethical principles they have learned as well as the specific policies established by the entities for which they are employed.

One common problem that occurs is in solving particular ethical dilemmas by using the principles when the situation is not completely clear. Sometimes problems arise that call for extensive decision making based on individual factors that cannot be figured into the original ethical principles. Each situation is different and must be treated as such and therefore, will have an individual set of issues that may arise. When this occurs, the psychologist must make a determination based on the specific factors involved while using the ethical principles in a way that will solve the problem without causing an ethical conflict.

Ethics are present for a reason. They are necessary when solving a wide variety of problems that may arise on an individual basis. Though these issue are just that, individual, a uniform code is needed to help psychologists understand and deal with certain types of situations. The place of ethical concerns in psychology applies to psychologists both as researchers and practitioners. Ethics are present in every aspect of psychological practices and must be adhered to in every context. A set of ethical guidelines has been established to aid psychologists in figuring out what to do when these situations arise. All psychologists are bound by these guidelines.

Though ethical guidelines have been established, there is often a debate on whether or not certain issues fall within them and what psychologists should don when they occur. Still, the place of ethics in psychology is not newly found. Aristotle made several important psychological observations concerning the limits beyond which humans cannot control their own behavior, sanity and their capacity for emotional response (Upton). Though these principles have been studied for many years, other issues have arisen specific to new situations and debates. That is why understanding the code of ethics and why it has been established is essential to solving various issues that can, and often do occur.

The code of ethics outlines the responsibilities of the psychologist and establishes what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in regards to the practice of psychology. This code of ethics is multi-dimensional and must be adhered to in order for a psychology to maintain his or her license (Kafka). Since licenses are granted by each individual state of residence, a psychologist working in any particular location is bound by the specific practices established in that place. This practice is defined through roles and obligations a psychologist will possess so there will be consistency within the field. Likewise, the license a psychologist obtains will have meaning to the public who can easily learn what is expected of a professional working in the field.

The main goal is the psychological code of ethics is to insure that all clients and patients are treated in a professional, lawful and respectful manner when seeking treatment (Kafka). Here behaviors are defined that specify how the psychologist will handle the various situations that may arise during the course of treatment for all clients or patients. The ethical code regulates the way in which many behaviors are dealt with and how situations may be resolved. This includes both the private and institutional practice of psychology. This guarantees that anyone who receives service from a psychologist who is adhering to the code of ethics is insured professional, humane treatment that causes no psychological or physical harm. Should the ethical code be breeched for any reason, the situation is investigated and handled accordingly.

The code of ethics is also designed to protect the public from uses and abuses that may result from the mishandling of a particular situation. These protections include: physical, emotional or even financial and cover a wide range of factors related to the practice of psychology. The code contains numerous clauses that clearly specify practices that are considered to be acceptable in regards to billing procedures, file maintenance procedures and even what should occur during appropriate therapy termination. Many aspects include: job handling, office management and client handling. The acceptable versus unacceptable behaviors are defined as well as what actions should be taken if any part of the code is breeched.

The code of ethics directs both the psychologist and client or patient away from conflicts of interest. The existence of dual roles is one conflict that can occur when inappropriate relationships are established between psychologists and those they serve. The ethical code specifies how these situations should be handles and helps both parties in maintaining lawful, socially responsible behavior. This insures the psychologist will be able to treat clients or patients in a positive manner that will promote rehabilitation while clearly drawing the line for those receiving the treatment that clearly defines the appropriate relationship of psychologist and patient. While there may be many arguments surrounding specific situations and what actually constitutes an ethical dilemma, the code is clearly defined and should be closely followed at all times. There are many situations that can certainly present ethical dilemmas, but the code remains in place to help guide psychologists when they must deal with issues that may prove rather difficult. This well-established code not only serves as a guide but also as a way of protecting everyone involved in the treatment process. The ethical code is an important part of the psychological practice because it clearly defines how to deal with important issues that can arise during the course of treatment. This aids psychologists in making important decisions and helps them to better understand the psychological professional as a whole.