Premium
Ethical social justice: Do the ends justify the means?
Author(s) -
Liang Belle,
Chung Agnes,
Diamonti AlfredJohn,
Douyon Christina M.,
Gordon Jena R.,
Joyner Emily D.,
Meerkins Tera M.,
Rene Kirsten M.,
Sienkiewicz StephanieAnn,
Weber Amanda,
White Allison E.,
Wilson Eva S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of community and applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.042
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1099-1298
pISSN - 1052-9284
DOI - 10.1002/casp.2323
Subject(s) - compassion , economic justice , torture , psychology , social psychology , terrorism , ethical decision , social justice , community psychology , ethical code , sociology , engineering ethics , criminology , public relations , law , political science , human rights , engineering
This article offers an ethical decision‐making model, informed by community psychology values, as a means for guiding psychologists when engaging in social justice‐oriented work. The applicability of this model is demonstrated through a case analysis elucidating how America's psychologists individually and collectively arrived at the decision to endorse torture—ostensibly as a means for preventing terrorism. Critics have wondered how the American Psychological Association succumbed to these involvements, and how to prevent such ethical lapses in the future. Unfortunately, the American Psychological Association's ethical codes fail to provide explicit guidance for psychologists' involvement in social justice work that impacts communities and systems. To address this gap, we present a values‐driven, ethical decision‐making framework that may be used to guide psychologists' future practices. This framework infuses fundamental community psychology values (i.e., caring and compassion; health; self‐determination and participation, human diversity, social justice; and critical reflexivity) into a 9‐step model.