title: The ethical ideologies of psychologists and physicians: a preliminary comparison.
abstract: The ethical ideologies of psychologists (who provide health services) and physicians were compared using the Ethics Position Questionnaire. The findings reveal that psychologists tend to be less relativistic than physicians. Further, we explored the degree to which physicians and psychologists report being influenced by a variety of factors (e.g., family views) in their ethical decision making. Psychologists were more influenced by their code of ethics and less influenced by family views, religious background, and peer attitudes than were physicians. We argue that these differences reflect the varied professional cultures in which practitioners are trained and socialized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada S4S 0A2. thomas.hadjistavropoulos@uregina.ca
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hadjistavropoulos
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Malloy
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharpe
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuchs-Lacelle
mesh_terms: D032781:Codes of Ethics; D003657:Decision Making; D004517:Education, Professional; D028781:Ethical Relativism; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D004995:Ethics, Professional; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D035863:Moral Development; D010820:Physicians; D011584:Psychology; D012962:Sociology, Medical