Resolving a Conflict between APA Learning Goals and APA Ethical Principles

Although American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Standards make it clear that instructors cannot require students to disclose personal information in class-related activities, an APA learning goal for undergraduate psychology students is that they reflect on their experiences to develop insight into their behavior and mental processes. Thus, there is a conflict between APA learning goals and APA ethical principles. To increase awareness of this conflict and generate a discussion of ways to resolve it, I present one method of resolving it by having students convert papers that involve self-reflection into anonymous, unreadable papers before submitting them.