from Mark:

Boston area shrinks this month will protest the American Psychological Association’s weak stance against torture.

The APA’s ethics code (see excerpt, below) is giving shrinks a free pass to help U.S. forces commit war crimes at Guantanamo Bay, protester organizers say.

Psychologists have a long history of participating in torture.

The entire “positive psychology” movement, for example, is rooted in sadistic animal experiments by former APA president Martin Seligman, who coached  CIA interrogators (unwittingly, Seligman says) on torture techniques.

Seligman decades ago electrically shocked dogs until they stopped trying to save themselves: a state he called “learned helplessness.”

More recently, Seligman explained his theories at a CIA-organized event. At least CIA two psychologists at Guantanamo credit Seligman with inspiring their torture protocols.

Psychologists Won’t Let Go of Torture Debate – World of Psychology
“If the conflict (between a psychologist’s moral duties and a government order) is unresolvable via such means, psychologists may adhere to the requirements of the law, regulations, or other governing legal authority.” It is worth noting that this new option is absolute and unqualified and applies not just to the specific requirements enumerated in the code but more generally to all “ethical responsibilities.”