Regulating Professional Conduct Part II: The Professional Board for Psychology in South Africa

Abstract

In the second paper on the regulation of professional conduct the functioning of the Professional Board of Psychology with regard to ethical complaints and enquiries is examined. A relatively low number of complaints was lodged in the period 1974 to 1990, with 23 findings of guilt established. Complaints involving fees or accounts predominated, with advertising an important second category. Advertising complaints mostly were submitted by psychologists themselves, while members of the public are well represented in the other categories of complaint. The findings are discussed in terms of the functioning of a code of ethics in the professional domain: to maintain the appearance of professional vigilance for ethical transgressions, and to punish visible offences against the public more severely than intra-professional transgressions. It is concluded that codes of ethics are not particularly strong in acknowledging and enforcing the corporate obligations of a profession.