Vision and priorities for the BPS's Ethics Committee

Ethics is quiet power. It is day-to-day. It does not ask for noise or fanfare. When it is done right no-one notices, and research/ practice ticks along without a fuss. However, ethics is not just research and professional practice.  It is wider reaching than psychology.   Societal issues of abortion, civil war, and politics all provoke ethical puzzles.  Whether questions are asked overtly or covertly, the puzzle remains to be solved. The concept of ethics falls into two different but complementary constructs: 'principle-ethics' focuses on moral rules, behavioural codes, standards - where our ethical codes of conduct sit.  'Virtue-ethics' focuses on the deeper level of moral character development.

A greater understanding of these integrating ethical philosophies pushes forward the thinking that ethics is more than just a process. Ethics is not an afterthought, but a carefully considered main focal point. Ethical application forms should create discussion among colleagues, prompt reflection, and generate novelty of thought rather than be considered a bureaucratic inconvenience in the research process. Ethics committees should be supportive yet challenging, demand more but also nourish and encourage.

Ethics is a muddy and complex topic.  The puzzles we try to solve often contain no 'right' or 'wrong' answers. Ethical decisions are based on moral reasoning strategies, where on occasions, ethical principles within codes of conduct conflict. This 'greyness' of ethics is what I thrive on.  The complexity of puzzles is what keeps me doing it. 

My vision for the Ethics Committee within the BPS is to open dialogue, discussion and debate. My priority is to shift our understanding of ethics, so it is viewed as more than just an administrative step, and an ethics committee is not the 'devil at the gate'. That being said, the greyness of ethics is not a compass to unethical research, and we should always learn from our past.

The BPS Ethics Committee has launched a working group focusing on challenging histories of psychology. This group focuses on unethical conduct in research, practice, writing, and dissemination of inquiry that is part of psychology's darker past – we must learn from the past when we look forward. Developing a forward-thinking strategy for the ethics committee, I aim to focus on 'challenging futures'. Not only are we conducting historical analysis, but we are developing future actions and learning from the past.

We will be responsive to the needs of society and our members. Academic integrity is a prime consideration of academics and student practices in data analysis, dissemination, and writing. Therefore, all of us form the ethical academy, whether we choose membership or not. In Higher Education, plagiarism is a major concern, although the ethical academy extends to the academic misrepresentation of research results for example. 'Challenging Futures' will consider ethics relating to open science, pre-registration, open data, and open-access journal articles.

I have argued that ethics committees should provide a supportive yet challenging environment. Incorporating that supportive environment, a priority of the BPS Ethics Committee will be to evaluate university practices in approving ethics for dissertations and how these practices align to the accreditation criteria. We will be exploring the 'day-to-day' of an academic's working life, offering solutions, building collaborations, training, and sharing case studies of best practice. As part of the curriculum, we will review the scaffolding and integration of ethical teaching and assessment within BPS-accredited courses, encouraging networking amongst course leaders and sharing suggestions for innovative and engaging teaching and assessment.   

What I hope to achieve as Chair of the Ethics Committee is a sustainable, forward-facing strategy that will create discussion and involve more individuals in ethics. Let's start the conversation.

*With thanks to Garrett Kennedy for reviewing and commenting on this blog.