The main objective of the course is to offer the knowledge, and the relative applications, necessary to understand and contextualise the regulatory and deontological frameworks associated with the psychology profession, its regulations and respective references in terms of Human Rights and ethical and deontological principles. The main perspective of the course is to present what are commonly seen as bureaucratic constraints of the profession, as useful and agile tools at the side of the future psychologist.
At the end of the course students will be able to: a) know the regulatory framework of the psychology profession b) be familiar with the Code of Ethics of Italian Psychologists c) identify the ethical and deontological principles within psychological work d) to understand the link between rights and ethical principles and to identify their operational impact e) to face a dilemmatic decision (f) to know what factors and mechanisms influence ethical decision-making (g) to apply an ethical decision-making model to concrete cases of psychological work
Course Prerequisites
Understanding the topics of the course does not require the student to have any specific knowledge.
Teaching Methods
The course is conducted through face-to-face lectures, tutorials and guided practice.
To facilitate inclusive teaching and to monitor learning processes, the teacher offers the possibility of meetings, individual or group, for clarification and in-depth study, by appointment.
Assessment Methods
The aptitude test is conducted in written form with 30 closed multiple-choice questions (cut-off for aptitude = 18 correct answers; 1 point for each additional correct answer)
Materials useful for taking the test and allowed during the test: Deontological Code of Italian Psychologists, Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists
Texts
Mandatory
The content of the slides and materials uploaded on the KIRO portal
Code of Ethics for Italian Psychologists (free download) Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists (free download)
Optional readings/discussion:
Calvi E., Gulotta G., Leardini E., (2018) Il nuovo codice deontologico degli psicologi commentato articolo per articolo con decisioni ordinistiche e giurisprudenza ordinaria, Giuffrè Editore, Milano
Stampa P., Giannini M. (2019) Psicologia, etica, diritto prospettive, criticita' e problemi aperti. Franco Angeli, Milano
Corradini A. (2019) Elementi di etica e deontologia per psicologi, Carocci, Milano
There is NO differentiation between attending and non-attending students with respect to materials
Contents
The course, starting with a review of the Italian ethical and legal frameworks of psychological work, traces the history of the professional board and draws the link between Human Rights and ethical-deontological principles. On a theoretical level, it then goes through the entire Deontological Code of Italian Psychologists, article by article, through examples, practical cases and illustrative modelling. Finally, an operative decision-making model is proposed to address the most common doubts and dilemmas of acting deontologically correctly and to structure the contractual relationship of the professional psychologist within a deontologically correct framework that protects the rights of all those involved. All contents are always presented in the perspective of deontology as an indispensable tool and guide to professional work.
