The discipline of psychology is moving beyond the myth of detached neutrality to discover virtue and to recognize politics as forces which determine ethical behaviour. Humankind has struggled over the centuries to discover the nature of good and evil and to define the rightness and wrongness of human behaviour. Psychology has a short history in formalizing codes of ethics and codes of conduct. Current and historical events, concepts and values, including those based on philosophy and religion, have influenced the development of psychology's scientific and professional codes. The ethical behaviour of psychologists may be inspired by values, regulated by rules, determined by external pressures, or any combination of these. Emerging issues and challenges in today's changing and turbulent society require an incorporation of moral principles in finding acceptable strategies to achieve acceptable goals. May virtue and politics go hand in hand in creating a better world.

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The International Union of Psychological Science is searching for ethical principles that are universal for the discipline of psychology. Codes of ethics adopted by other international organizations are reviewed, as well as recent comparisons of psychology codes across national boundaries. Distinctions are made between declarations of human rights and professional codes of ethics, between ethical principles as overarching values and as rules of conduct, and between Euro-North American and non-Western cultural values. Organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International work for the elimination of abuses of human rights. Professional associations establish guidelines to promote the ethical behavior of their members. The hope for articulating universal ethical principles for psychologists is based on respect for our common humanity while still respecting the diversity of beliefs in different cultures.

The provision of competent and beneficial service to the public requires keen awareness of ethical issues and standards. However, a psychologist in Canada or the United States sometimes feels that, in the name of protecting the public, there has been an over-generation of standards, regulations, and requirements defining how the psychologist may practice. This activity has included the generation of mechanisms for investigation and punishment of psychologists who do not conform, and, in our increasingly litigious society, psychologists' concerns have expanded. A previously perceived straightforward concern about how to provide the most competent, ethical service has grown to include a concern about how to avoid what is perceived to be a plethora of possible complaints and violations. In some areas of practice, psychologists believe that the question is not if but when allegations of professional misconduct will be made, and they are concerned how they will defend themselves. How did all of this come about? A Historical Perspective on ProfessionsThe concept of profession has developed over time. In previous centuries, the only occupations awarded the status of a profession were theology, "he content of this chapter has been borrowed significantly from Sinclair, C. (1993). Codes of ethics and standards of practice. In K. Dobson & D. Dobson (Eds.), Professional psychology in Canada (pp. 167-199). Seattle, WA: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Copyright 1993 by Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Adapted with permission of the publisher.This chapter contains a review of the broad historical context of ethical codes and licensure for professions in general, as well as an outline of the development of ethical codes and licensure for psychology. For a detailed discussion of current codes for psychologists, see chapter 4.

There are very few formal evaluations of the impact of instructional practices on the effectiveness of strategies for learning professional ethics. The assessment of ethical knowledge and skills is important in current discussions of professional mobility across North American jurisdictions. The present study investigated adult learners' perceived level of helpfulness of seven strategies when learning seven different ethical content areas. Adult learners rated interactive strategies as more helpful for learning compared to traditional didactic methods. Adult learners rated the helpfulness of various strategies differently for different content areas, indicating that several strategies may be useful. We conclude by making recommendations for further investigation of the effectiveness of various learning strategies in terms of knowledge gained and subsequent behaviour.