High-Risk Situations and Ethical Dilemmas

The inability to deal effectively in high-risk situations can lead to the creation of an ethical dilemma as someone unprepared or unable to deal with a high-risk situation could unintentionally cause the escalation of an already difficult situation. This escalation could be caused by the practicing psychology professional’s verbal or nonverbal communication. For example, an industrial and organizational psychologist might be required to cooperate with other colleagues on occasion. If the industrial and organizational psychologist does not use professional etiquette during a disagreement with their colleague, then the situation could quickly turn from a discussion into an intense argument. Such an argument could negatively affect future collaborations and the level of productivity in the workplace. An industrial and organizational psychologist trained for handling high-risk situations would have instead remained professional and either agreed to disagree with the colleague; then, if needed, would speak to his or her superiors about not collaborating with that colleague in the future.

A writer could make use of these concepts to either explain how a situation was handled poorly or correctly by their characters. Additionally, high-risk situations can be created by a writer in order to add intrigue, grudges, and/or disagreements to the plotline in a realistic manner. The writer can choose to also compound such situations by adding ethical issues to the mix to provide the characters with an ethical dilemma that forces the characters to make a decision.

Risky Individuals

Risky individuals are typically people who present a high level of risk to the practicing psychology professional from an ethical and legal standpoint. These individuals are typically characterized by their negative personalities and behavioral characteristics such as narcissism, arrogance, entitlement and ego, emotional unawareness, and/or emotional or mental instability (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2016). The best approach to dealing with risky individuals might be to avoid working with or dealing with risky individuals; however, avoidance of risky individuals is not always possible. When avoidance is not possible, then the best way to handle risky individuals is to practice risk management by avoiding ethical problems through the meticulous adherence to the tenets of all relevant laws, policies, professional standards, and ethics codes (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2016). For an industrial and organizational psychologist, this can be done through the keeping of meticulous notes and records documenting all meetings, interactions, and communications with the risky individual (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2016, pp. 6-7). When possible, the industrial and organizational psychologist could also bring in an impartial witness to the meetings involving the risky individual and have the witness write a report of the meeting. These notes, records, and witness reports would serve to assist in protecting the industrial and organizational psychologist from any legal and/or ethical actions taken by the risky individual.

References

Koocher, G.P. & Keith-Spiegel P., (2016) Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: standards and cases, New York, N.Y., Oxford University Press

Southern New Hampshire University. (n.d.). Ethical conflicts across disciplines. Retrieved fromhttps://learn.snhu.edu/d2l/le/content/137539/viewContent/3252998/View

UCCS. (n.d.). Professional etiquette in the workplace. Retrieved fromhttps://www.uccs.edu/career/resources/students/professional-etiquette-in-the-workplace