The principles underneath everything else
The four ideas the rest of the code follows from
- RBT
- BCaBA
- BCBA
What the obligation is
Both codes are built on the same handful of principles: benefit the people you serve and avoid harming them; treat them with compassion, dignity and respect; act with integrity; and work within your competence. Every specific standard is one of those four worked out for a particular situation, which is why the principles are the right thing to reach for when a situation is not covered by anything specific. They are also how the exam asks about ethics: the technician outline's first ethics task is recognising these principles and applying them, not reciting standard numbers.
In plain language
Do good and avoid harm. Treat people with respect. Be honest. Work inside your training. Every other rule comes from one of these four ideas.
What this looks like
- You hit a situation no rule covers, and you ask which choice actually benefits the learner.
- You catch yourself about to talk about a learner in front of them, and you stop.
- You tell your supervisor about your own mistake before anyone else finds it.
- You say "I have not been trained on that" instead of improvising.
Where people get caught
- Treating ethics as a list to memorise for an exam rather than a way to decide in the moment.
- Assuming that because something is not explicitly forbidden, it is fine.
- Reading "benefit others" as "keep everyone happy"; the client's interests come first, not the organisation's.
If you are not sure
Name which principle is in tension with which, then take it to your supervisor with that framing. Saying that something would benefit the learner but may sit outside your competence is a question a supervisor can answer in a minute.
In the codes
- RBT Ethics Code (2.0) Section 1 — How you conduct yourself
- 1.01 Be honest, and do not lead others into dishonesty
- 1.02 Behave professionally and own your commitments
- 1.06 Work only where your supervisor has confirmed you are competent
- Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts Section 1 — Your conduct as a professional
- 1.01 Be truthful, and build a setting where others can be
- 1.03 Be accountable for your work
- 1.05 Practise inside your scope of competence
- 1.06 Keep your competence current
On the exam
Terms used here
Situations where this comes up
Related topics
Written from
- bacb-rbt-ethics-code-2 — Core principles
- bacb-ethics-code-2022 — Core principles
- bacb-rbt-tco-3 — Task F.1
Written from the two codes' stated core principles and the RBT test content outline's ethics tasks, in our own words. No code text reproduced.
This entry has not yet been through independent review. Treat it as a draft, and read the official code for anything that matters.