Language: ASPPB offers a French form of the EPPP (the FEPPP) where a licensing authority legally requires one. ASPPB has not yet published the competency statements in French, so our questions and cards are in English until it does.

6.A.1

The APA and CPA codes: what binds and what guides

ASPPB's competency statement 6.A.1: Current ethical principles and codes for psychologists (American Psychological Association, Canadian Psychological Association)

Psychologists in the United States and Canada answer to two main codes: the APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, amended in 2010 and 2016, current since January 1, 2017) and the CPA's Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Fourth Edition (2017). The two are built differently. Knowing which parts are enforceable, which are aspirational, and how the CPA ranks its principles tells you what you must do and how to choose when duties collide.

Key ideas

APA General Principles: Five aspirational ideals: A, Beneficence and Nonmaleficence; B, Fidelity and Responsibility; C, Integrity; D, Justice; E, Respect for People's Rights and Dignity. They guide judgment but are not enforceable rules and are not meant as a basis for sanctions.
APA Ethical Standards: Ten enforceable sections, from 1, Resolving Ethical Issues, to 10, Therapy. They apply to activities that are part of a psychologist's scientific, educational or professional role, not to purely private conduct.
The Code above the law: When the APA Code sets a higher standard than the law requires, psychologists meet the higher standard. Under Standard 1.02 a conflict with law is clarified and resolved consistent with the Code, and since 2010 neither 1.02 nor 1.03 may be used to justify violating human rights.
The CPA's four principles: I, Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples; II, Responsible Caring; III, Integrity in Relationships; IV, Responsibility to Society. Each principle names its values (for example, informed consent under Principle I) and lists the standards that put them into practice.
The CPA ordering: When principles truly conflict, Principle I generally carries the most weight, Responsible Caring the second, Integrity in Relationships the third and Responsibility to Society the least. The ordering guides judgment in a real collision; it does not make any principle optional.

Worked example

A hospital program manager tells a psychologist to give patients joining a new coping skills group a one-page form that leaves out that the group is voluntary, because enrollment has been low. The psychologist, a member of both the APA and the CPA, wants to reason it through.

Find the enforceable standard first. APA Standards 3.10 (Informed Consent) and 10.01 (Informed Consent to Therapy) require consent to be informed, and Standard 1.03 covers a conflict between the Code and an organization's demands.
Use the General Principles to see why it matters: Principle E, Respect for People's Rights and Dignity, protects self-determination, which a form that hides the right to decline undercuts.
Apply the CPA ordering. Informed consent and freedom of consent are values under Principle I, which generally carries the most weight when it collides with other considerations.
Act under Standard 1.03: explain the conflict to the manager, make known the commitment to the Code, and propose a short form that still says joining is voluntary.

Start from the enforceable standard, let the principles explain the stakes, and use the CPA ordering only when values truly collide.

Check yourself

A psychologist's conduct is lawful in their jurisdiction but falls short of an enforceable standard of the APA Ethics Code. What does the Code say?

Practise 6.A.1

Sources

American Psychological Association (2002), Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, American Psychologist 57(12), 1060-1073 (PMID 12613157), as amended in 2010 and 2016 (the 2017 Code), Introduction and Applicability; General Principles A to E; Standards 1.02, 1.03, 3.10 and 10.01
American Psychological Association (2010), 2010 Amendments to the 2002 Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, American Psychologist 65(5), 493 (PMID 20642307), Amended Standards 1.02 and 1.03 and the Introduction and Applicability section, effective June 1, 2010
American Psychological Association (2016), Revision of Ethical Standard 3.04 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, American Psychologist 71(9), 900 (PMID 28032786), Amendment adopted August 2016, effective January 1, 2017
Canadian Psychological Association (2017), Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Fourth Edition, Introduction, ordering of the four principles; Principle I values Informed Consent and Freedom of Consent