Ethical Codes In South Africa

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It is generally agreed upon that psychology and the development of a universal ethical code is culturally embedded and subject to the ebb and flow of a regions’ social, political, cultural and economic environment. The necessity and the components of an ethical code are mitigated by cultural shifts. Specifically, “…ethics codes in psychology emerge from a complex interaction of micro and macro events and focuses, ultimately reflecting the values and traditions of the normative systems in which they are constituted” (Stevens as cited in Stevens, 2010, p. 2).
Ethical Cultural Conflict in the Application of Psychological Ethical Codes
Even though international ethical codes have been devised using collaborative processes with an adherence to …show more content…

“The dramatic changes in the social context of South African society have brought into sharp focus issues of the relevance and appropriateness of psychological practice” (Vogelman, Perkel & Strebel, 1992). Its past, steeped in slavery, colonialism, racism and more recently apartheid is inseparable from South Africa’s development and practice of psychology. Traditionally, psychology in South Africa was segregated and dismissive of the needs, desires and well-being of a majority of its citizens. Apartheid as an institutional practice created and formed the basis for awe-inspiring ethical paradoxes and human rights …show more content…

A single indigenous South African was admitted to the organization in 1962, prompting a number of its members to form an all-white offshoot of the agency (PIRSA). While the two organizations eventually collaborated in 1970 and 1983, ushering in the formation of the Psychological Association of South Africa; during this time, public services were substandard, quality services were beyond the price range of the average individual of color, and services were not structured to suit the psychosocial needs of is its citizens. As a result, the unique problems faced by South Africans were not targeted by psychology professionals and a substantial portion of individuals were inappropriately diagnosed. Given that continued impact of institutional racism during this time period, the development of psychology in South Africa remained under the influence of Afrikaans men until it became a democratic nation in 1994 (Cooper as cited in Leach, et al, 2012; Vogelman, et al, (1992).
As Cooper explains (as cited in Leach, et al, 2012), since the abolition of apartheid in 1994, “The burgeoning development of psychology as a profession in the southern African region has resulted in a quest to create ethics frameworks in those countries where psychology has legal recognition, using international benchmarking”

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