Psychologists live in a globalizing world where traditional boundaries are fading and, therefore, increasingly work with persons from diverse cultural backgrounds. The Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists provides a moral framework of universally acceptable ethical principles based on shared human values across cultures. The application of its moral framework in developing codes of ethics and reviewing current codes may help psychologists to respond ethically in a rapidly changing world. In this article, a model is presented to demonstrate how (...) to use the Universal Declaration as a guide for creating or reviewing a code of ethics. This model may assist psychologists in various parts of the world in establishing codes of ethics that will promote global understanding and cooperation while respecting cultural differences. The article describes the steps involved in the application of the model and provides concrete examples as well as several useful comments and suggestions. This guide for the application of the Universal Declaration may also be used for consultation, education, and training relative to the Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists. (shrink)

General health conditions are related to a great number of factors, including the socio-historical ones. As human beings are part of the social field, personality is also affected by them. Due to this, the main Ethics Codes of psychology, all around the world, remark in their preambles the importance of social responsibility in the practice and training in psychology. Argentina is confronted with several social problems that have severely influenced people’s mental health. In countries like Argentina, the ethical practice of (...) psychology should respect what is explicitly stated in ethic codes about psychologists’ social responsibility, and psychologists should get more involved in promoting this issue in educational training and in national health policies. (shrink)