| dc.description | The Code of Ethics of the Canadian Psychological Association is based on four ethical principles that are ranked in a hierarchy of importance. The code states that when the principles conflict, decisions should be made based on their relative rank order. It is also suggested that the code incorporates sophisticated forms of moral reasoning, defined according to Kohlberg's (1981) theory of moral development. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses that, (1) participants would make choices consistent with the ranking of principles recommended in the code and that, (2) more sophisticated moral reasoning would be associated with making choices consistent with the code. In the first study 99 undergraduate students completed two questionnaires: one presenting dilemmas in which the code's principles are in conflict; the other assessing three dimensions of moral reasoning. Results were ambiguous regarding the first hypothesis and there was weak support for the second. In the second study, 30 undergraduate psychology students completed the moral reasoning measure and an expanded version of the ethical dilemma questionnaire. Results indicated that participants made choices in a statistically significant pattern of decreasing frequency that was consistent with the ranking. There was no relationship between making such choices and moral reasoning measures. Results are discussed with regard to aspects of training in professional ethics. | en_US |
