APA Psychology and Education

Ethical decisions

Read the article by Van Houten et al. (1988) available at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1286137. Think about some difficult decisions that might need to be made when deciding what is best for someone else.  Use the article to guide a discussion of a controversial ethical dilemma, such as one of the following (or one of your own choosing): A consumer is engaging in dangerous self-injury. The only motivating reinforcer that has been found for him is ice cream, which is a typical dessert for the whole group home. The staff don’t want to withhold his ice cream on the days that he doesn’t earn it, and they don’t want to limit everyone else’s access to ice cream.