Professional Identity, Behaviour and Values : A Partial and Provocative History of the Code of Ethics of the British Psychological Society

The British Psychological Society is certainly one of the oldest and possibly one of the most influential psychological societies in the world. Through deliberately delineating and defining psychology, creating vibrant communities of practice, validating qualifications, and setting codes of ethics and conduct it has had a significant impact on the development of academic and applied psychology in the United Kingdom. It has had a broader influence on the development of European codes , and its position regarding psychology and the consequent codes that reflect this view have been considered and consulted across the world (especially in commonwealth countries and Anglophone territories) in the development of new national codes in psychology. Beyond the core discipline, it has had a significant impact on cross social science codes and, importantly, teaching and professional practice. We suggest that the minimised values-based code the BPS has arrived at defines what is, in the early part of the century, a useful description of the psychological values expected of a United Kingdom Psychologist.