Overview
- Ethics is an extremely complex concept with many frameworks going into it. In an overarching statement, ethics is the moral guidelines of what is right and wrong. Every day we are faced with ethical challenges, where doing what is “right” may be harder than doing what is “wrong.” An example from my personal life is the option to cheat on exams in undergrad. Throughout undergrad, I was taking extremely difficult classes such as organic chemistry. One way that I managed to pass such classes was by going to study groups. However, on more than one occasion, I had gone to what I thought was a group review session, but it turned out to be a discussion on how to cheat on the upcoming test. When these instances came up, I had a decision to make to either stay and try to cheat, or leave and study on my own. If I took the cheating route, I would have been able to go to sleep early and pass the exam easily. If I left to study, I may have had to stay up very late and struggle on the exam in the morning. I always took the option to leave the group of students who were cheating and go to the library on my own. While it would have been much easier to simply pass the exam without thinking, my personal ethical code would not let me.What I have learned is that I was not just functioning under one “ethical code.” There were actually multiple frames of reference going on. While I do have my own moral guidelines that will not allow me to participate in activities such as cheating, the lectures by Dr. Little (2019-2021) taught me that we operate under multiples codes of ethics at once. Each institution that we function under has its own ethical code, such as that by the BACB. In my case, I was also working under my university’s code as well which prohibited cheating.References:Walden University, LLC. (2019-2021). What is ethics? [Video]. Walden University Blackboard. https://waldenu.instructure.com
- TO DO
- Expand on your colleague’s example of their ethical situation.
- Offer additional insights regarding the influence of the ethical situation in their lives.
Be sure to support your posts and responses with specific references to behavior-analytic theory and research. In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or the internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your posts and responses. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your colleagues’ comments.