Ethical standards refer to the principles that promote trust, good behavior, fairness, and govern the conduct of a person. Ethical standards are based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethical standards include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty, and those relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy.
Different professions have their own ethical standards that suit their particular aims and goals. For instance, ethical standards govern conduct in medicine, law, engineering, business, and social work. Ethical responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and professional.
The expression "basic ethical principles" refers to those general judgments that serve as a basic justification for the many particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions. Three basic principles, among those generally accepted in our cultural tradition, are particularly relevant to the ethics of research involving human subjects: the principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has its own ethical principles and code of conduct that psychologists must follow. The Ethical Standards set forth enforceable rules for conduct as psychologists, and they are intended to provide specific standards to cover most situations encountered by psychologists.
In summary, ethical standards are principles that govern the conduct of a person and promote trust, good behavior, and fairness. Different professions have their own ethical standards that suit their particular aims and goals.
