Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

Reflection
Psychology is an academic and applied discipline that strives to understand the behavior,

mental functions and emotional processes of human beings. Because psychology strives to

understand questions that dont always have clear answers, ethical considerations surface. With

that being said there are many controversies in psychology that one should be aware of. These

controversies include, is psychology a science? Is psychotherapy a legit means of helping

someone? Should animals be used in research? Is deception ethical? And last but not least, is it

acceptable to use torture in an experiment?

When considering the general nature of the controversies in psychology, they almost

always have two sides. These two sides carry ample and reasonable evidence to support their

claims. With that being said, it is up to me to research and analyze each sides argument. There is

often truth to both sides of the controversy. I am then responsible for weighing out the pros and

cons of each side to make a reasonable and ethical judgment based on the dilemma.

When analyzing an ethical dilemma I should start with the facts. After I identify all the

facts, it is my responsibility to identify all relevant values and concepts. This means that I need

to understand that my values may affect the way that I interpret the facts. After I identify all

relevant values, I need to identify all possible dilemmas. Identifying these dilemmas can help me

see that ones own ethical dilemma can be caused by anothers actions. I then should decide what

is the most immediate ethical issue facing the individual. Lastly, I need to resolve the moral
Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

dilemma by using an ethical system. Some ethical systems include the utilitarian principle, the

imperative principle and the generalization principle.

Because psychologists study psychology they often are faced with these controversies

and ethical dilemmas. When a psychologist comes face to face with these dilemmas they look to

the American Psychological Associations Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of

Conduct. This code provides guidance for psychologists when they are stuck in a dilemma. The

Code of Ethics is intended to provide specific standards to cover most ethical dilemmas

encountered by a psychologist. The general principles in the Code of Ethics are intended to

inspire psychologists toward the upmost ethical ideals of the profession. These general principles

include beneficence, responsibility, integrity, justice and respect. The Code of Ethics also

outlines specific ethical standards in specific situations. Some specific ethical standards are

related to avoiding harm, reporting ethical violations, bases for scientific judgement, informed

consent, humane care and use of animals in research. Each of these standards relate in some way,

shape or form to the general psychology controversies. The Code of Ethics is a helpful guide on

how to act and decide what is or isnt ethical.

Because of the American Psychological Associations Ethical Principles of Psychologists

and Code of Conduct, I have learned a ton about my own ethical decision making. The most

important thing I have learned is that my own values and biases may get in the way of me acting

ethically. Because there are so many variables like skin color, age, and gender that impair our

ability to solve problems there are a couple things I can do differently in my own life to make
Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

better judgements. The first thing I can do is that once I am aware of how the mind works- and

about its strengths and weaknesses of human judgement- it is my responsibility to take action

and do something about it. Another way I can do differently in my own life is to make better

judgements and solve problems is to follow Gladwells golden rule. His golden rule indicates

that when answers are straightforward, use rational analysis. When questions start to juggle

many variables, then I should use my own conscious thought. Lastly, I should recognize the

characteristic signs of judgments fragility, as well as understanding that less information is often

of more value and to forgive those people who are trapped in situations where their good

judgement has failed.

I started specifically learning and thinking about the controversial psychology topics in

my one hundred level classes at Loras College. These one hundred level classes in psychology

typically go over the history of the subject. In my introduction to psychology course we learned

the foundations of what psychology is and well known studies that are key points in the history

of psychology. When I was learning about these key studies in history, I did not pay attention to

them as much as I should. I didnt reflect on how important these researchers were to the study

of psychology. In my eyes, many of these key points in psychologys history seemed like

mistakes. For instance, the Stanford Prison experiment by Philip Zimbardo got shut down

because of how dangerous the study was. The Little Albert Study by John Watson was unethical

because it scared the baby to the point that he was scared of anything white and fluffy. Although

these studies were unethical, we did learn something from them.

Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

Later on throughout my Loras College career I started reading research evidence from

multiple perspectives. I started analyzing the quality of the research evidence on both sides of a

topic. And most importantly, I started to process and reflect on the research I gathered. At this

point in my Loras College career, I can piece everything together. I understand that these

unethical experiments that were done in the past, laid the foundation for something greater! It

laid the foundation for the American Psychological Associations Ethical Principles of

Psychologists and Code of Conduct. It inspired psychologists to conduct themselves toward the

upmost ethical ideals of the profession. Not only did it inspire psychologists to conduct

themselves in a greater manner but the American Psychological Association recognized that

psychology has ethical dilemmas that psychologists face on a day to day basis.

But not only did I see this trend in growth with my psychology major, I also saw

it in my criminal justice minor. Psychologists, lawyers, police officers and probation officers all

have to act in an ethical manner when on the job. I was interested to find out that psychologists

are not the only profession that follows a Code of Ethics. All police stations across the United

States of America have a personalized Code of Ethics that is accessible to the public through

your local police department. In criminal justice, an ethical dilemma is understood as when an

individual is faced with at least two courses of action and the decision is difficult. For instance,

should we legalize marijuana? Or is capital punishment ethical? When thinking about these two

ethical dilemmas, it is obvious that there are pros and cons to both sides. But in order to be
Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

ethical in our actions we should study the details of the case, identify relevant material,

determine possible actions, and decide which action is most ethical in that specific situation.

Over the course of my four years at Loras College, I have become a reflective thinker and

ethical decision maker. The two subjects that most supported my growth in these two

dispositions are psychology and criminal justice. For instance, in my introduction courses I took

everything I learned at surface level. I didnt think that there could be truth to both sides of an

argument. I always thought that my opinion was true. It wasnt until I started to research basic

information of an argument where I found out that there can be truth to both sides of an

argument.

Because of my research methods and culture and psychopathology course I have become

a better reflective thinker over my four years at Loras College. In my culture and

psychopathology class I learned that no two countries experience similar mental illness

symptoms. A cultures values, social norms and ideas are what make them unique compared to

other cultures. Therefore, it is vital that a psychiatrist takes into account these differences. A

psychiatrist should reflect to connect discrete information within and across cultures as it

pertains to mental illness to help those who are suffering. In this course I chose to reflect on two

distinct cultures mental health care (India and China) and how they address it. Through my

research I found that each culture has their own unique way of addressing mental health care.

After analyzing the research I reflectively thought and chose India as having better health care

than China.
Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

Not only did I reflectively think about how it is vital that a psychiatrist take into account

a cultures differences when diagnosing a patient, but I also reflectively thought about how one

can combat depression. In my research methods class, I found out that depression is a very

prevalent mental illness in the United States. Because so many people come face to face with it, I

wanted to research what treatments have worked in the past to alleviate symptoms and devise my

own plan to combat it. After analyzing and reflectively thinking about the articles I read, I found

out that exercise is one of the best ways to treat depression naturally!

Because of my ethical considerations and senior seminar course I have become a better

ethical decision maker. An ethical decision maker discern religious, cultural and personal values

in order to act with justice and compassion. In my ethical consideration course I learned that

there is much debate around the topic of capital punishment. Through my research I learned that

the utilitarian perspective states that capital punishment is morally right if it benefits a greater

number of people. While others may say the criminal justice system can make a mistake and

sentence an innocent person to death. Based on the research I analyzed, I decided that capital

punishment was a necessary punishment for outrageous crimes if done quickly by a firing squad.

A firing squad would cause an instant death with no suffering.

But my senior seminar class also made me a better ethical decision maker. One of the big

controversies in psychology research is if it is morally right to use animals in research? Some

research states that animals should not be used in research because they suffer and there are

alternatives. Other research states that using animals for research has only helped humans
Mariah Lacina

Senior Seminar

Professor Johnson

November 30th, 2017

understand health and create new treatments for the sick. After analyzing this research I have

come to the conclusion that it is morally right for animals to be researched on because

researchers use a code of ethics to protect animal rights.

Overall I am glad to be a student of Loras College because I have grown as an individual.

Loras Colleges mission is to create a community of active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical

decision makers and responsible contributors in diverse professional and social roles. I have

found that from my first year at Loras until now I have grown to become these four roles through

the diverse class offerings Loras College has as an institution. The proof of my growth is in the

array of research papers, presentations and studies I have completed. Each of these completed

papers, presentations and studies required me to be an active learner, reflective thinker, ethical

decision maker and responsible contributor. These four dispositions are what make me more of a

candidate for a career than another individual with a different degree. I have four years of

practice in four qualities that make me a principled thinker and caring professional in a diverse

society.