EPPP ethics: the APA and CPA codes compared

Ethics is a fifth of the integrated EPPP, and its blueprint names two codes, not one. Ethical and Professional Practice carries 20% of the exam, and its first statement of knowledge lists "Current ethical principles and codes for psychologists (American Psychological Association, Canadian Psychological Association)." The American Psychological Association's (APA) Ethics Code and the Canadian Psychological Association's (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists are built differently and answer some questions differently. This guide sets the two side by side: how each is built, the CPA's four principles and their order, its steps for ethical decisions, who enforces each code, and where they part ways.

The short answer

• The blueprint names both codes, so expect questions on each, and on the differences.
• The APA Ethics Code has five General Principles, which are aspirational, and Ethical Standards in ten sections, which are "enforceable rules for conduct as psychologists."
• The CPA's Canadian Code has four principles, ordered by the weight each generally gets when they conflict: I, Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples; II, Responsible Caring; III, Integrity in Relationships; IV, Responsibility to Society. Principle I comes first except where there is "a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm to someone."
• The CPA Code sets out ten steps for ethical decisions; the APA code gives no sequence of steps.
• Enforcement differs. APA can sanction its members under the code; the CPA does not investigate complaints, which go to provincial and territorial regulators.

Why the EPPP asks about both

The EPPP is the licensing exam for boards in both the United States and Canada, and the blueprint's ethics domain says what it covers: it "requires knowledge of ethical codes and professional standards, the laws and regulations that govern its practice, and application of this knowledge to (a) professional practice and (b) the scope and limit of one's own competence." Its first statement of knowledge then names the APA and the CPA.

Items are also checked for both countries. For today's Part 1, ASPPB's report on doctoral programs says items are evaluated for, among other things, "freedom from bias (including equal relevance across both Canada and the United States)," and at its town hall of December 2025, ASPPB listed "Does this apply across all jurisdictions?" among the questions each person who works on an item considers. On our reading, a question that names neither code is written to have one answer under both; a question that names one code wants that code's answer. For what does differ for Canadian candidates, from test centers to French, see our guide to the EPPP in Canada.

The APA Ethics Code

The APA's code is the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, adopted in 2002 and amended in 2010 and 2016, with the current text effective January 1, 2017. It has four parts: an Introduction and Applicability section, a Preamble, five General Principles and the Ethical Standards.

The split between the last two is the heart of the code. "General Principles, as opposed to Ethical Standards, are aspirational in nature," and "General Principles, in contrast to Ethical Standards, do not represent obligations and should not form the basis for imposing sanctions." The standards are the opposite: "The Ethical Standards set forth enforceable rules for conduct as psychologists."

The five General Principles are:

• A. Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
• B. Fidelity and Responsibility
• C. Integrity
• D. Justice
• E. Respect for People's Rights and Dignity

The Ethical Standards come in ten sections: Resolving Ethical Issues; Competence; Human Relations; Privacy and Confidentiality; Advertising and Other Public Statements; Record Keeping and Fees; Education and Training; Research and Publication; Assessment; and Therapy.

Three more lines from its Introduction matter on the exam. The code has limits of scope: "This Ethics Code applies only to psychologists' activities that are part of their scientific, educational, or professional roles as psychologists." It binds members: "Membership in the APA commits members and student affiliates to comply with the standards of the APA Ethics Code and to the rules and procedures used to enforce them," and "APA may impose sanctions on its members for violations of the standards of the Ethics Code, including termination of APA membership." And it reaches further than APA: its standards "can be applied by the APA and by other bodies that choose to adopt them," and in making decisions "psychologists must consider this Ethics Code in addition to applicable laws and psychology board regulations."

The CPA's Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

The CPA's code is in its fourth edition, of 2017. It "is organized around four ethical principles to be considered and balanced in ethical decision making." Each principle opens with a statement of its values, and standards follow that apply the principle; they "range from minimal behavioural expectations (e.g., Standards I.28, II.29, III.30, IV.26) to more idealized, but achievable, attitudinal and behavioural expectations (e.g., Standards I.12, II.12, III.9, IV.6)."

What sets the code apart is its order. The principles "have been ordered according to the weight each generally should be given when they conflict":

The code explains the order in its own terms. Responsible caring "should be carried out only in ways that respect the dignity of persons and peoples." Integrity's values, such as openness and straightforwardness, "might need to be subordinated" to the first two principles in some circumstances. And responsibility to society, though it must be considered in every decision, "needs to be subject to and guided by" the other three.

The fourth edition changed some of this wording. In the third edition of 2000, Principle I was "Respect for the Dignity of Persons," its exception covered "a clear and imminent danger to the physical safety of any person," and Principle IV "generally should be given the lowest weight." Study the 2017 text.

The ten steps for ethical decisions

The CPA Code describes a process for issues that are not easily resolved, in ten steps. It begins with "Identification of the individuals and groups potentially affected by the decision," moves through the ethically relevant issues, one's own biases and self-interest, alternative courses of action and their risks and benefits, choosing and acting, evaluating the results and taking responsibility for the consequences, and ends with "Appropriate action, as warranted and feasible, to prevent future occurrences of the dilemma." The code expects psychologists in time-consuming deliberation "to consult with the individuals and groups affected by the ethical problem when appropriate."

Who enforces it

The CPA is a voluntary association, not a regulator. Its page "Reporting Unethical Behaviour" is plain: "The CPA does not investigate complaints of alleged unethical behaviour against its Members or Affiliates," because licensing and regulating psychologists is "the responsibility of the provincial/territorial regulatory bodies of psychology under their respective statutory laws." The code itself says that "Psychologists are expected to respect the requirements of their provincial/territorial regulatory bodies," and that it is also meant to serve "as an umbrella document for the development of codes of conduct or other more specific codes."

Side by side

Where the differences show up on the exam

A conflict between principles. When a question pits two values against each other and names the Canadian Code, the order decides: dignity before caring, caring before integrity, all three before responsibility to society, unless someone faces a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm. The APA code gives no such order, so an APA question turns on the standards instead.

What to do first. A question that asks for the first step of an ethical decision under the Canadian Code points to its step 1, identifying who is affected, before weighing options.

Aspiration against obligation. Because APA's General Principles "do not represent obligations," a complaint resting on a General Principle alone has no basis for a sanction under the APA code. The Canadian Code's standards are written under its principles, and the same idea can sit in a principle in one code and a standard in the other, as the question below shows.

Who acts on a complaint. Under the APA code, APA itself can sanction a member; under the Canadian Code, a complaint goes to the provincial or territorial regulator, since the CPA does not investigate.

A good way to study is to learn APA's ten sections of standards with an example of each, the CPA's four principles in order with the exception, and its ten steps in sequence. The course's Ethical and Professional Practice domain has a lesson on each code, among its twelve.

A question to try

The course's questions look like this one: a situation, a lead-in that names the task, four options and one best answer, with the reasoning and its source. It comes from Ethical and Professional Practice, 20% of the integrated EPPP.

Where to start

• Find your starting point. A free account starts with a short diagnostic, 18 questions in about 25 minutes, and builds your study order from the exam's weights and from what you already know.
• Know the blueprint. Our guide to the EPPP's domains walks through all six, Ethical and Professional Practice included.
• Plan the weeks. Our guide to studying for the EPPP turns the weights into a plan, and the plan on the EPPP page comes by email, week by week to your exam date.
• Practice at length. Full access opens all 85 lessons, the twelve ethics lessons among them, with their 2,902 questions and the timed 215-question mock.