Term
The use of non human animals in testing
introduction. |
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Definition
Human beings and non human animals have sufficient of their physiology and evolutionary past in common to justify conclusions drawn from one being applied to the other.
Animals offer the opportunity for greater control and objectivity in research procedures. For this reason much behaviourist theory was established using animal studies.Perhaps animals may be simply studied because they are fascinating to study in their own right. |
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| Experiments conducted using animals |
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Lab - Harlows monkeys & skinner box
Field - animal language & teaching human language to non human animals.
Naturalistic observation - social learning and sweet potatoes. |
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| Evaluation of introduction. |
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| Lab experiments involving animals do not always involve harm, as in the case of the behaviourist experiments. field experiments may appear to be potentially less dangerous, but may actually cause as much harm. By their nature field experiments alter the natural environment of animals in some way. Tampering with nature to understand it places great responsibility on the researcher to insure the disruptive effects of manipulation are kept to a minimum. |
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| Easier to obtain than human participants, particularly when experiments could be harmful or unpleasant. |
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| Against animal testing(AO2) |
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| This is only because they cannot defend themselves, if they were able to speak im pretty sure they would refuse to take part in these experiments. |
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| convenience, animals reproduce much quicker than humans. The effects of early experiences and selective breeding, e.g. can be assessed much more easily. |
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| Assuming in accordance with darwin, that all species are biologically related to each other through evolution, then you can also argue that behaviour patterns are related. in many ways, humans differfrom animals only in the level of complexity. so it is justifiable to draw conclusions from animal behaviour and apply them to humans. |
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But humans are qualitatively different from animals.
Koestler says generalising from rats to humans is to be guilty of RATOMORPHISM. Humans and rats are totally different. language and the flexibility of human behaviour puts us in a different category compared to any other species. |
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| Greater objectivity with animals than with our own species. If we only experimented on humans our own ideas might affect our interpretations of the behaviour of other humans. |
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| Anothropomorphism, where researchers may be unable to be objective about their animal subjects - they may attribute to them human qualities. |
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Many lab experiments conducted on animals would not be allowed on humans. Examples are:
Controlled interbreeding experiments to research genetic causes of behaviour.
effects of deprivation. |
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| Lab experiments produce responses in animals which invalidate the findings. The stress of handling, confinement and isolation alter the physiology of the animal which makes extrapolating results to humans very hard. the stress can increase susceptability to infections, tumours and increase hormone levels. |
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| greater experimental control, animals can be reared from birth with total control over diet, activity etc. |
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| Laboratory experiments lack ecological validity as they give us experimental control, but they are artificial. |
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| useful for generating hypotheses for human studies, can produce hypotheses for subsequent for testing on humans. alternatively, research which is only correlational in humans can be tested on animals, allowing you to seperate cause and effect. |
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| Field experiements have more ecological validity but you lose experimental control. Field experiments can threaten the survival of a species. |
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of great benefit to humans, e.g.
treatment of nocturnal enuresis: pavlovs work on classical conditional allowed mowrer to develop an alarm blanket for the treatment of persistent night time bed wetting. |
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generalising from animals to humans has delayed advances in knowledge.
Taking findings about the effects of drugs on animals and extrapolating them to humans has been dangerous and misleading. |
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| There has also been improvements in the care of endangered species, the welfare of farm animals and production of medicines for animals. |
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There are adequate safe guards for animals. The use of non human animals in research is covered by the animals act 1986.
Procedures causing pain and distress are illegal unless the experimenter holds an home office license.
even then there should be no alternative way of conducting the experiment. |
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| Use alternative opportunites, animal experiments could be avoided altogether if psychologists make full use of opportunities available to them. e.g. plenty of cases of naturally occuring deprivation in children - why cause intentional suffering to animals as harlow did? |
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research should be considered on three criteria:
THE QUALITY OF THE RESEARCH
well disigned? reasonable hypotheses? is there a big enough sample? does it have internal validity?
CERTAINTY OF BENEFIT
many people believe that great human suffering is worse than mild discomfort caused to an animal in the course of the research. sometimes it might be difficult to predict exactly what the benefits of research might be.#
ANIMAL SUFFERING
when threatened by danger some animals keep rigid and quiet. we may not se this is a sign of fear or stress. |
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