Ethics as an undergraduate psychology outcome: When, where, and how to teach it

Abstract

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently approved a new set of Guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major, version 2.0 (APA, 2013a) which addressed ethics specifically. Yet the teaching of ethics receives little attention in publications, national and international institutes, and conferences. Few guidelines for when, where, and how the teaching of ethics is best integrated into the undergraduate curriculum are available. The typical psychology undergraduate will encounter issues related to ethics in courses such as research methods, and more generally in course syllabi under the topic of Academic Honesty. This is hardly an effective introduction to the complex personal and professional ethical decisions the psychology student will encounter after graduation. This report proposes when, where, and how to teach ethics in the undergraduate psychology program and presents a case example demonstrating the intentional integration of ethics into the psychology undergraduate curriculum to prepare students to become ethically literate citizens.