A Catalogue of Shame: The British Psychological Society as a Dysfunctional Organisation.

Abstract

David F Marks

The purpose of this opinion piece is to discuss the legitimacy of the British Psychological Society as a learned society in light of evidence of a crisis of dysfunctionality. 1 In this author’s opinion, judging from past and present actions, the Society of today is not fit for purpose. It has lost its moral compass and become a fraudulent organisation. 2 A ‘Catalogue of Shame’ consists of multiple ethical and academic betrayals. The Society’s core business is to serve the members, accredit degree programmes, produce scholarly publications and protect the public from misinformation, false therapeutic claims and malpractice. The Society’s legitimacy to perform these functions is compromised by its negligence of ethical probity and academic values that include human rights, equality and freedom of expression. I discuss three specific failures: i) the failure to fulfil the first object of its Charter to disseminate the science of Psychology in an impartial and even-handed manner; ii) the failure to apologise for its long and sordid track record of institutional racism, eugenics, and classism; iii) the failure to investigate allegations of fraud in the research publications of one of its most distinguished members. These failings suggest that the Society is incapable of serving its members in an equitable and respectful manner and of protecting the general public from harmful therapies and misinformation in the Society’s duty of care.

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