Ethical Dilemma WIKI Page for Behavior Analysts: Three Conditions, Personal Values and Pure Dilemmas (with Example)
10 min read Midterm: Ethical dilemma WIKI page
For your midterm, you will write about an ethical dilemma that you have experienced in your professional career. This dilemma will be examined by a classmate of yours for their signature assignment.
Create your own WIKI Page (Found in the week 6 assignments folder). Please review the instructions for creating a WIKI page. Think about an ethical dilemma that you have personally faced within a professional setting. Do not include a dilemma that involves your personal family or friendships.
Use the What is an ethical dilemma article to help you identify the dilemma you want to talk about. Even though this description is written to social workers, the information holds true for ABA providers. As you read, replace the words “social worker” with “behavior analyst”.
On the WIKI page, fully describe the situation you faced, using pseudonyms and protecting confidentiality by not giving specific locations or agencies.
Use the above article (What is an ethical dilemma) to:
- explain and justify your situation as an ethical dilemma by describing the three conditions:
- an agent had to make decision
- there were multiple courses of action that could be taken
- ethical principles that were compromised (do not list specific ethical codes as that is what your colleague will do).
- Explain why this is an ethical dilemma and not a personal value.
- Describe why your dilemma is an “absolute” or “pure” dilemma.
Understanding the key ideas from “What Is an Ethical Dilemma?”
Allen (2012) explains that a situation is an ethical dilemma only when three conditions are present:
A professional (the “agent”) must choose which course of action is best
There are different possible choices
Whatever is chosen, some ethical principle is compromised; there is no perfect solution
| Concept | Meaning (Allen, 2012) | ABA application |
|---|---|---|
| Ethics vs. personal values | Ethics are the profession’s standards and rely on logical reasoning; values are personal ideals with an emotional component; morals are personal codes of conduct. A conflict between personal and professional values is not an ethical dilemma. | A behavior analyst who personally dislikes a family’s parenting style faces a value conflict, not an ethical dilemma, because the profession’s standards still guide the decision. |
| Absolute (“pure”) dilemma | Two or more ethical standards apply and conflict with each other. | Respecting a client’s dignity and assent conflicts with providing effective treatment that protects the client’s health. |
| Approximate dilemma | A complicated situation involving conflicts among values, laws and policies, but no true conflict between ethical standards (for example, a mandated abuse report versus confidentiality, which the code already resolves). | A behavior analyst must report suspected abuse; it feels like a dilemma, but legal duties and the code already settle the course of action. |
How to choose your dilemma
- Choose a real professional situation in which you, or a supervisor you worked with, had to make a decision. Do not use situations involving your own family or friends.
- Check the three conditions: Was there a decision? Were there several options? Would every option compromise an ethical principle?
- Make sure the conflict is between two professional ethical principles, not between your personal values and professional standards.
- Protect confidentiality: use pseudonyms, change identifying details, and do not name agencies, schools or locations.
- Describe principles in plain language, such as “client welfare,” “dignity” or “competence,” without listing code numbers, since your classmate will identify the specific codes.
Sample WIKI page
The following is an illustrative example written in the first person to show structure and depth. Your WIKI page must describe a dilemma you personally faced; use this only as a model.
When the Most Effective Treatment Meets a Client’s “Stop”
Description of the situation
I was the supervising behavior analyst for “Maya,” a 13-year-old girl with autism who was referred for severe food selectivity. Maya ate only four foods, all crunchy snacks, and her pediatrician had documented weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. Her parents, “Mr. and Mrs. Lee,” were frightened that she would need a feeding tube if her eating did not improve.
After a feeding assessment and consultation with her physician, our team began a feeding protocol that included presenting small bites of new foods and not allowing Maya to escape the bite until she accepted it. This approach has strong research support for increasing food acceptance. Within the first sessions, however, Maya cried, turned her head away, pushed the spoon and repeatedly said “Stop” and “I don’t want to.” She began refusing to come to the therapy room and showed distress when she saw the feeding materials.
Her parents urged me to continue: they had seen small gains and feared what would happen to her health if we stopped. Her physician supported continuing the intervention. At the same time, Maya, who could communicate her wishes clearly, was withdrawing her agreement to participate, and the procedure was clearly aversive to her. As the behavior analyst responsible for the treatment plan, I had to decide what to do next.
Why this is an ethical dilemma: the three conditions
1. An agent had to make a decision. As the supervising behavior analyst, I was the agent responsible for designing, modifying and approving the treatment plan. I could not avoid a decision; continuing without change was itself a decision.
2. There were multiple courses of action.
- Continue the current protocol as written, as the parents and physician requested.
- Stop the feeding intervention entirely, honoring Maya’s refusal.
- Modify the protocol to a slower, assent-based approach (for example, giving Maya choices, more breaks, smaller steps and stronger reinforcement), which might be more acceptable but slower and less certain to improve her nutrition.
- Pause treatment and refer Maya to an interdisciplinary pediatric feeding program with medical, nutrition and psychology staff.
- Hold a team meeting with the family, physician and Maya to explore options before deciding.
3. Ethical principles would be compromised whatever I chose.
- Client welfare and avoiding harm: stopping or slowing treatment risked further weight loss and possible medical intervention, such as a feeding tube.
- Providing effective, evidence-based treatment: the protocol in use had the strongest evidence; replacing it with a less established approach could reduce effectiveness.
- Respect for dignity, autonomy and client assent: continuing meant overriding a capable adolescent’s clear and repeated refusal and continuing an aversive procedure.
- Minimizing risk and using the least restrictive effective procedures: continuing an aversive procedure while the client was distressed raised concerns about restrictiveness and emotional harm, including the risk that Maya would develop lasting aversion to eating and to therapy.
- Respecting the rights and wishes of caregivers and collaborating with stakeholders: stopping against the parents’ and physician’s wishes would compromise collaboration with the family and medical team.
No option satisfied all of these principles at once. Continuing protected Maya’s health but compromised her dignity and assent; stopping honored her assent but placed her health at risk; modifying the protocol was a compromise that partially sacrificed effectiveness and speed.
Why this is an ethical dilemma and not a personal value conflict
Personally, I found it upsetting to see Maya cry, and I might have felt like stopping simply because the situation was uncomfortable. That emotional reaction reflects my personal values, and on its own it would not make this an ethical dilemma (Allen, 2012). What makes this an ethical dilemma is that the conflict exists between professional ethical obligations that any behavior analyst in my position would share: the duty to protect client welfare and provide effective treatment, and the duty to respect client dignity, assent and the use of the least restrictive procedures. Even a behavior analyst who felt no personal discomfort would face the same conflict between these professional principles.
Why this is an “absolute” or “pure” dilemma
Allen (2012) describes an absolute, or pure, dilemma as one in which two or more ethical standards apply and conflict with each other. This is a pure dilemma because the conflict is within the profession’s own ethical standards, not between ethics and a law or policy. No law or agency policy told me which choice was correct, and no single standard settled the matter: the standards requiring effective treatment and protection of client welfare pulled in one direction, while the standards requiring respect for dignity, assent and least restrictive practice pulled in the other. Unlike a mandated abuse report, an “approximate” dilemma in which the code already recognizes legal obligations, there was no rule that resolved this conflict for me. I had to weigh competing ethical standards and choose the course of action that compromised them the least.
Tips for writing a strong WIKI page
- Describe the situation fully: setting (in general terms), your role, the client and stakeholders (with pseudonyms), what happened, and what made it difficult.
- Use the article’s language: “agent,” “courses of action,” “ethical principles compromised,” “pure dilemma” (Allen, 2012).
- List at least three courses of action and show that each one compromises some principle.
- Name principles, not code numbers: for example, client welfare, dignity, competence, confidentiality, honesty, avoiding multiple relationships, effective treatment.
- Distinguish clearly between your personal feelings and the professional standards in conflict.
- Do not resolve the dilemma unless asked; your classmate will analyze it using the BACB Ethics Code.
- Protect confidentiality: remove names, specific locations, agency names and other identifying details.
Other examples of pure dilemmas in ABA
| Situation | Competing ethical principles |
|---|---|
| A rural family requests help for a child with severe self-injury; the only available behavior analyst has limited experience with severe self-injury | Practicing within competence vs. client welfare and access to needed services |
| A client’s teacher asks for progress information that would help the client at school, but the guardian has not given consent | Confidentiality vs. collaboration that benefits the client |
| A small community where the behavior analyst’s child attends the same school as a client, and the family invites the analyst to social events | Avoiding multiple relationships vs. maintaining the therapeutic relationship and access to services |
| Insurance authorizes far fewer hours than the assessment shows are needed | Providing effective treatment vs. honesty and accuracy in billing and documentation; client welfare vs. stakeholder rights |
Related reading: BACB Ethics Code Section 4 in the news and mentalistic vs. behavior analytic statements.
Conclusion
An ethical dilemma exists when a professional must choose among several courses of action, each of which compromises an ethical principle (Allen, 2012). A strong WIKI page describes a real professional situation in detail while protecting confidentiality, shows how all three conditions are met, separates personal feelings from professional obligations, and explains why the conflict is between ethical standards themselves, making it a pure dilemma. Written this way, it gives your classmate a clear, meaningful case to analyze with the BACB Ethics Code.
References
Allen, K. (2012). What is an ethical dilemma? The New Social Worker, 19(2). https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/What_Is_an_Ethical_Dilemma%3F/
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts. https://bacb.com/wp-content/ethics-code-for-behavior-analysts/
