Abstract

This study investigated doctoral graduate students' awareness of ethical principles and willingness to apply these principles when faced with an ethical dilemma. Awareness of ethical principles was measured by asking the participants what they "should" do according to the APA Ethics Code which was provided. Willingness to apply these principles was measured by asking the participants what they "would" do given the same choices as the previous "should" question. Three types of ethical violations were presented; Sexual Relations with a Client, Therapist Alcohol-Impairment, and Boundaries of Competence across two person-of-reference formats; "Acquaintance" and "You" . ;One hundred twenty four doctoral level graduate students participated in this study. Fifty seven participants were first year and 67 participants were in their final year . All of the participants completed a modified version of the Willingness to Apply Understood Ethical Principles , and a brief demographic questionnaire. ;The design of this study was a quasi-experimental multivariate 2 x 3 x 2 factorial design. This study hypothesized that there would be significant differences found between groups across each scenario and person-of-reference formats regarding their "should" and "would" responses. ;The results indicate "Graduating" participants were significantly more aware of the action they "should" take when ethical violations are presented and were significantly more likely to follow through on their chosen "should" action than the "Entry-level" participants. Both groups total "should/would" mean scores were significantly higher for the person of reference "You" scenarios, than "Acquaintance" scenarios. Thus, both groups responded they were more likely to apply ethical principles when, they, themselves were involved in an ethical violation than when an acquaintance made the same ethical violation. Across scenarios, both "Graduating" and "Entry-level" groups total "should/would" means scores were highest for the "Sexual" scenario than for "Acquaintance" and "Competence". Total "should" scores were found to be the best predictor of total "would" scores when entered into hierarchical multiple regression with other possible predictors such as internship experience, age, program, and ethics experience. ;Additional findings were discussed as well as practical implications. Limitations of this study were acknowledged and suggestions for future research were offered