Ethics of psychological research: New policies; Continuing issues; New concerns

The implementation over the past year within Canadian universities of the n ew Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Hum ans (TCPS) ushers in a new era in the oversight of the ethics of psychologi cal research in Canada. Although these new policies apply to all human rese arch, our interest is how they apply to psychology, primarily to deception, undergraduate subject pools, and other continuing concerns. Why have the g ranting agencies decided that government regulation of research ethics is n ecessary and what is the relationship between federal regulations and disci pline codes? The history of CPA's involvement in protecting psychology's in terests in the final revisions to the TCPS is recounted. In spite of what h as been achieved, many psychologists feel that the TCPS has created new con cerns for the discipline. Although there is the potential for startup probl ems, it is in our collective and individual best interests to make the poli cy work, thereby ensuring that escalation of government regulation or legis lation will not be pursued.