Question

I am getting confused on finding the ethical challanges to this question. I am understanding but second guessing my answers when it come to the elements and the Ethical Code Standards.

1. Identify an ethical challenge for each element (a-d) of Dr Lux advertising plan. Which General Principles and Ethical Code Standards best help understand why these elements may create ethical problems? Explain why.

Case 5. Web-Based Advertising.

Dr. Lux, an applied developmental psycholgoist, has created his own community consulation and program evaluation business. He specializes in helping communities and service organizations set up day car programs for children aged 1 to 3 years. He wants to advertise his services on the Internet and is beginning to develop the following plan:

A) To gain maximum exposure on search engines like Google, he will name the website "SuccessfulDayCarePrograms.org"

B) As a service to potential community clients, he will put links on his website to other online information about infant mental health and social and legal services available in different communities where he might fins clients.

C) He is currently under contract with a city agency. He helped the agency design a day care origram for children of employees and is now in the process of evaluating its first year of implementation. He would like to ask a few parents whose children go to the day care program to endorse his new consulation service. He would use a picture of the parent and place the endorsement in quotes under the picture.

D) The website will include a question-and-answer blog. Individuals can post qestions to the blog about their preschool child's development (e.G., toilet training, language development, social development, etc), and he will post answers.

Answer 1

1.A. Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between 'right' and 'wrong'. This makes them distinct from moral codes as the latter may apply to a particular culture, education, society, etc. while ethical codes offer professional standards or guidelines to resolve issues of ethical dilemmas while covering individuals from diverse sexual, social, ethnic, linguistic, age backgrounds. In Psychology, the APA offers one such set of ethical codes which govern the professional activities of Psychologists and mental health professionals against any misconduct or malpractices.

In the context of Dr. lux’s manipulating his advertising campaign on the Internet, it is seen that his decision can contradict the Code for Avoidance of False or Deceptive Statements. This clause covers the use of false or misleading advertising to present their professional competence or expertise, their services, the degree of success of their services, etc. without any scientific evidence. His action thus creates a serious ethical problem as it violates the ethical principle of honesty and genuineness which entails that Psychologists do not knowingly make public statements that are false, deceptive, or fraudulent concerning their research, practice, or other work organisations with which they are affiliated.