TITLE

American Psychological Association Bans Members From Military Interrogations

DESCRIPTION

This report, in the Chronicle Of Higher Education on the APA 2015 Convention in Toronto, restates the problem discovered in the APA’s collusion with the military to participate in activities related to torture.   The APA site lists a number of articles including the Hoffman Report on the issue.    The article provides the history of the problem and a final resolution for the reworking of the ethical principles.  “The resolution states in part that “psychologists shall not conduct, supervise, be in the presence of, or otherwise assist any national-security interrogations for any military or intelligence agencies, including private contractors working on their behalf, nor advise on conditions of confinement insofar as these might facilitate such an interrogation.”

SOURCE

Chronicle Of Higher Education, August 7, 2015, by Ian Wilhelm

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://chronicle.com/article/American-Psychological/232255/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

(shortened URL)   http://tinyurl.com/nh9h78x

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•These issues are further discussed in the Psychology Update (August 10, 2015).
•Discuss, in general, why a professional organization has an ethics code.  The code can be found at:   http://apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
•Discuss how the ethics code forbids harm to others.
“3.04 Avoiding Harm
Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable.”
•Discuss the role of career psychologists in government agencies such as DOD and CIA.  Discuss conflict between work expectations and ethical codes of conduct.
“3.06 Conflict of Interest
Psychologists refrain from taking on a professional role when personal, scientific, professional, legal, financial or other interests or relationships could reasonably be expected to (1) impair their objectivity, competence or effectiveness in performing their functions as psychologists or (2) expose the person or organization with whom the professional relationship exists to harm or exploitation.”
•Discuss the findings that Psychologists did in fact engage in intensive extensive extreme interrogation techniques and how this is a violation of long standing policies.
•Discussion the findings that the APA Executive Committee did in fact rewrite the ethics principles which would permit collusion with the Bush administration.
•Finally discuss findings that these interrogation techniques do not actually yield useful information.