PSYCHOLOGY

The American Psychological Association has adopted a code of ethics, the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. In addition to governing the behavior of professionals, the five general principles and ten specific ethical standards contained in this code of ethics extend to all those who study or practice psychology.  In academia, perhaps the most relevant ethical breach occurs in the context of plagiarism, which involves taking credit for someone else’s work (thoughts, words, etc.).  Unfortunately, this practice can and does occasionally occur outside the classroom too (See the chronology in “Journalism’s Summer of Sin Marked by Plagiarism, Fabrication, Obfuscation (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.”). Although most people recognize word-for-word copy and paste presentation of work constitutes an act of dishonesty, a variety of additional practices may be construed as plagiarism as well.  Review “The Plagiarism Spectrum: Instructor Insights into the 10 Types of Plagiarism (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.” and watch the video “Plagiarism 2.0: Information Ethics in the Digital Age”.