As members of academic societies and acting in accordance with a professional-ethical code, psychologists are required to realise principal ethical values connected with their profession, which include dignity,
subjectivity and autonomy of a human being. Moreover, in relations with representatives of different fields of
knowledge, psychologists attempt to promulgate such types of relations, based on the aforementioned values.
The recent development of the media has provided many psychologists with a unique chance to popularise
psychological knowledge. Nevertheless, while spreading it, every psychologist is obligated to check if the
content of presented facts is in accordance with contemporary science, taking into consideration not only the differences between hypotheses, but also substantiated claims. Special attention is paid by every psychologist
to a careful present
a
tion of the facts which are at variance with the common psychologi
cal knowledge or are
susceptible to various interpretations. Therefore, practical capabilities of the modern psychology are pr
e
sented
by psychologists in an honest way.
Psychologists disseminate knowledge through a variety of media. Their main focus is on
writing sc
i-
entific and popular scientific articles, but sometimes also psychological articles for advice sections or ps
y-
chological columns of the daily press. What is more, the r
a
dio, the television and the Internet provide
a great possibility of populari
sing psychology. Neverth
e
less, it should be emphasized that there are a lot of
dangers of moral nature, hidden behind almost unlimited possibilities offered by the above
-
mentioned inn
o-
vations. Hence, there appears a demand for an ethical refle
c
tion on the
risks of the media involvement