VALUES, ASSUMPTIONS, AND PRACTICES - ASSESSING THE MORAL IMPLICATIONSOF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISCOURSE AND ACTION

Despite art increased awareness concerning the role of values in psych ology, psychologists lack clear guidelines to appraise the moral impli cations of their work. To address this discrepancy, the moral proposes a framework for examining the moral dimensions of psychological disco urse and practice. The framework contains 3 central elements: values, assumptions, and practices. These components may be used to articulate and to challenge the ethical, social, and political implications of t heories and practices. To illustrate its applicability, the framework is used to evaluate the moral propositions of traditional, empowering, postmodern, and emancipatory communitarian approaches. The author con cludes with a vision for addressing the shortcomings of predominant mo dels by proposing for psychology an emancipatory, communitarian approa ch that promotes the emancipation of vulnerable individuals and that f osters a balance among the values of self-determination, caring and co mpassion, collaboration and democratic participation, human diversity, and distributive justice.