Influence of Consultation on Ethical Decision Making: An Analogue Study

• Published in: Ethics & behavior Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 65 - 79
• Main Authors: Bowers, Mary, Pipes, Randolph B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01-01-2000
• Subjects: Attitude; Bioethics; Confidentiality; Conflict (Psychology); Conflict of Interest; Consultation; Decision Making; Ethical reasoning; Ethics, Professional; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Factors; Health Personnel; Humans; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychologists; Psychology; Referral and Consultation; Students; Universities; USA; Empirical Approach; Professional Patient Relationship; Bioethics and Professional Ethics; Mental Health Therapies
• ISSN: 1050-8422; 1532-7019
• DOI: 10.1207/S15327019EB1001_5

Participants (62 students from 6 doctoral programs in professional psychology) were given 3 ethical dilemmas, asked to generate their own solutions, and asked to make judgments about a number of provided alternatives. Students were asked either to make decisions after seeking consultation or to make decisions independently of consultation. There were few significant between-group differences along a number of dimensions including participants' ratings of acceptability of provided alternatives and levels of certainty, justification, and satisfaction with personally generated solutions. For one of the vignettes, individuals using consultation, when compared with the control group, were significantly more likely to prefer their own solution to that of provided alternatives. The study was viewed as a needed first step in investigating a cherished assumption in clinical practice.