1 Making Connections: Introducing the Sustainable Development Goals for Students in Psychology
By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar
Introducing the Sustainable Development Goals for Students in Psychology
Welcome to Week 1 of PSYC100 at Queen’s!
This week, your required readings focus on exploring the discipline of psychology as a science. We approach psychology as a science in this course, and this is new for many students! Don’t worry—you don’t need a background in science to succeed in this course. We will teach you everything you need to know.
In every unit, you will find an introductory landing page like this. Each week, we will open with broad connections for psychology. In addition to the science of psychology, we want to ensure you also see the “big picture” of how our discipline fits into broader conversations.
Many weeks, these connections are global, connecting our content with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were established by the United Nations in 2015 and are a guide for how we can collectively achieve peace and prosperity for people and the planet. There are 17 specific goals to help us get there. The below video introduces the concept of the SDGs. We will revisit connections between Psychology and the SDGs throughout the course. As you get started, consider what you know now. How do you think psychology is related to the goals discussed in the following video?
As you will learn, individuals working in the scientific research, practice, and education of psychology in Canada are required to abide by the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists from the Canadian Psychological Association. The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists includes students! This ethics code has four principles (pp.4):
“Principle I: Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples. This principle, with its emphasis on inherent worth, non-discrimination, moral rights, distributive, social and natural justice, generally should be given the highest weight, except in circumstances in which there is a clear and imminent danger of bodily harm to someone.
Principle II: Responsible Caring. This principle generally should be given the second highest weight. Responsible caring requires competence, maximization of benefit, and minimization of harm, and should be carried out only in ways that respect the dignity of persons and peoples.
Principle III: Integrity in Relationships. This principle generally should be given the third highest weight. Psychologists are expected to demonstrate the highest integrity in all of their relationships. However, in some circumstances, Principle III values (e.g., openness, straightforwardness) might need to be subordinated to the values contained in the Principles of Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples, and Responsible Caring.
Principle IV: Responsibility to Society. This principle generally should be given the fourth highest weight of the four principles when it conflicts with one or more of them. Although it is necessary and important to consider responsibility to society in every ethical decision, adherence to this principle needs to be subject to and guided by Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples, Responsible Caring, and Integrity in Relationships. When the welfare of an individual or group appears to conflict with benefits to society, it is often possible to find ways of working for the benefit of society that do not violate respect for dignity, responsible caring or integrity. However, if this is not possible, the dignity, well-being and best interests of persons and peoples, and integrity in relationships should not be sacrificed to a vision of the greater good of society.”
At this level, you are not expected to know The Code in detail, but you should know that it exists and the general principles that it contains. Professionals in psychology, especially clinicians, receive formal training on how to work in accordance with The Code. This training includes how to engage in ethical decision making if there is ambiguity in the next ethical step.
Many professions have ethical codes, and they can vary a lot. Whether you are hoping to pursue psychology or another discipline, it is good to consider the ethical frameworks by which you will have to work. As you think about content in this course and make connections with broader topics such as the SDGs, consider the role that ethical codes play regarding the United Nations quest for peace and prosperity.
About the Making Connections series in this book: This is a big course that covers a lot of content in the broad field of psychological science. The foundations covered in this course can be applied in many ways. High quality application later in your career requires mastery of the foundational details addressed in this class, but it can be hard to make connections between the many nuanced details you will encounter in this class and their potential applications. In this Making Connections series, we share content to facilitate connections between details being covered in this course, and broader applications. The content in this series is more general than our course content, intentionally curated to help make connections between details in our course and broad applications, at an introductory level. We hope that this series will help facilitate your excitement for psychological science and provide examples across many contexts of where psychological science has a big impact. Accordingly, you will notice that many of the videos in these Making Connections series are marked as optional. Our intention in this series is to facilitate students making personalized connections with areas of interest. This is not true of the content-based chapters in this book: all videos are required unless otherwise stated.
Importantly, in Canada, the term “psychology” is a protected and regulated term. Generally only licensed Clinical Psychologists can call their work “psychology.” This restriction of the use of the word “psychology” is intended to protect the public interest (ACPRO, 2026). But, as you will learn, the science of psychology is everywhere. Because the term “psychology” is restricted for those licensed and registered to practice in Clinical settings, you will often see terms such as “behavioural science” and “cognitive science” used in contexts where psychological science is being applied. It is for this reason that you won’t likely see a job hiring for an “environmental psychologist,” even though the skills and knowledge being sought for are associated with environmental psychology. At the end of each unit, in a series we call Applications, we will provide insights on careers that apply psychological science (both clinical, and non-clinical!). There are many exciting pathways, and we are excited to share some of them with you.
References:
Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organization. (2026). Psychology in Canada. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116139
Canadian Psychological Association. (2017). Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (4th ed.). https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Ethics/CPA_Code_2017_4thEd.pdf
UNICEF Georgia. (2018, April 25). UN sustainable development goals – Overview [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-iJM02m_Hg
How to cite this using APA Style:
Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections: Introducing the sustainable development goals for students in psychology. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-introducing-the-sustainable-development-goals-for-students-in-psychology/
