Intrusion upon people rendered relatively helpless, withholding of information and abuse of confidentiality, are examples of behaviour by psychologists which point to an element of presumption in their manner of operating. The rights of clients are not respected by this type of professional practice. In both research and professional work, psychologists have employed techniques involving coercion, deception, concealment and stress. Such practices have been perpetuated by psychologists' concern with status, by their allegiance to institutions as clients, in a word, by the professionalization of psychology. The remnants of the classical behaviourist paradigm, with its emphasis upon behaviour under exclusive external control, continues to produce serious limitations in contemporary psychological theorizing. As a result, problems arise concerning the “ethics” of psychologists' conduct. But because the behaviourist paradigm is arguably at the base of this problem it may be better to conceive the issue not so much in terms of morals as of methodology.
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