Ethics and the professional practice of psychologists.Professional Psychology

We evaluate the potential relevance of virtue ethics to the training and practice of professional psy-chologists, and we contrast them with principle ethics. Typically, principles are used to facilitate the selection of socially and historically acceptable answers to the question "What shall I do? " when confronted by ethical dilemmas. Virtue ethics, however, generally focus on the question "Who shall I be? " Strengths and weaknesses of each approach are presented. The impact of each is discussed with respect to informed consent and the therapeutic construct "genuineness. " We conclude that virtue ethics are an essential component of responsible ethical training and practice. Currently, the teaching and practice of ethics in professional psychology tend to focus on the application of ethical principles to situations involving dilemmas. These dilemmas take a vari-ety of forms, but they typically emphasize the competing rights and claims of clients or institutions and the related responsibili-ties faced by service providers. An emphasis on the application of relevant principles in such settings has provided researchers and clinicians with tools to conceptualize and sort through th