Are Human Rights Redundant in the Ethical Codes of Psychologists?

Abstract

The codes of ethics and conduct of a number of psychology bodies explicitly refer to human rights, and the American Psychological Association recently expanded the use of the construct when it amended standard 1.02 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. What is unclear is how these references to human rights should be interpreted. In this article I examine the historical development of human rights and associated constructs and the contemporary meaning of human rights. As human rights are generally associated with law, morality, or religion, I consider to which of forms of these references most likely refer. I conclude that these references in ethical codes are redundant and that it would be preferable not to refer to human rights in codes. Instead, the profession should acknowledge human rights as a separate and complimentary norm system that governs the behavior of psychologists and should ensure that they have adequate knowledge of human rights and encourage them to promote human rights.

Keywords:

• code
• dignity
• ethics
• human rights

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An earlier version of this article was presented at the 30th International Congress of Psychology Cape Town, South Africa, during July 2012. I thank Wei Zhong Beron Tan for his assistance as a research assistant, and Maria Allan, Robyn Carroll, and Jean Pettifor for comments on previous drafts of the article. The opinions expressed in the article are, however, my own.

Notes

¹Although not in common use, the term was used, for example by president Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) during his Sixth Annual Address to Congress (Jefferson, 1806), and Human Rights was the name of the journal the American Anti-Slavery Society published between 1835 and 1839 (Wyatt-Brown, 1969).

²Although the wording of the definition is clear, it seems to make the reference to moral rights in General Principle A of the APS code redundant. This principle provides that psychologists “engage in conduct which promotes equity and the protection of people's human rights, legal rights, and moral rights.”

³The word dignity appears in the 1953 APA Code but was used to describe how psychologists should act when they inform the public of their services.