04. Animal Practical Issues Flashcards
Describe the practical benefits of using animals in research as the full progress of disease can be seen quickly.
-Breeding can occur quickly, and inheritance of symptoms monitored.
-The gestational period for a litter of mice is approximately 19-21 days and females give birth to a litter of 3-14 babies. One female mouse can have approximately 5-10 litters of
young per year, so mice reproduce very quickly.
What are the practical benefits of using animals in research in terms of internal validity?
-Animals do not show demand characteristics and evaluation apprehension in same way as humans.
-Can control for genetic inheritance across a sample through selective breeding.
-Can keep animals in controlled environments so all experiences are documented and taken account of.
What are the practical benefits of using animals in research in terms of generalisability?
-Rats have 21 pairs of chromosomes.
-Rhesus monkeys 93% DNA.
-Mice 90% DNA.
What are the disadvantages of using animals in research in terms of ecological validity?
-Lab and controlled conditions is artificial.
-Animals are not in their natural habitats, so behaviour will not be natural.
What are the disadvantages of using animals in research in terms of cost?
When not being studied animals must be housed, fed and watered in a suitable way, as well as being given space and companionship
appropriate to their species, which is very expensive.
What are the disadvantages of using animals in research in terms of generalisability (lack of anthropomorphism)?
It is also argued that, in spite of our evolutionary similarities, we cannot
generalise from animal experiments to humans because our thought
processes and behaviours are simply too different:
-Different brain structures.
-Not same 100% DNA.
-Different cognitive processes.
According to the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986, what are the 3 important ethical principles for animal research?
- Replacement
Replace the use of animals with different techniques such as computers or studying videos of previous research. - Reduction
Reduce the number of animals used to a minimum (maximum data with minimal numbers of animals). - Refinement
Refine the way experiments are carried out, make sure that animals suffer as little as possible. This includes better housing and improvements.
Summary of AO1 for animal ethics.
-Humans have a duty to help other humans to improve their lives over the rights of animals. Gray (1991) argues that we have a special duty of care to humans. However, Singer (1975) believes that animals should never be treated as objects. Humans are not more important than other species.
-The researcher must adhere to the Home Office 3R’s protocol (replace with non-sentient beings or reducing number of animals and refine procedure to minimise suffering) therefore it is ethical to do animal research. Also they must apply for 3 types of licence from the home office to do animal research.
-Ethical Cost-Benefit Analysis must be done to assess whether to justify the research. Bateson’s decision cube helps only allow research which benefits the greater good and is high quality.
the greater good and is high quality.
-The BPS has produced guidelines for the use of animals in research, so it can be done ethically.
Describe the Bateson Decision Making Cube for ethical decisions.
Prof Patrick Bateson (1986 and 2012) has suggested a convenient way of weighing up ethical decisions about animals in research.
There are 3 sides to the cube⬇️
1. The degree of animal suffering: ethical research minimises this.
2. The benefits of the findings: ethical research will have clear benefits.
3. The quality of the research: ethical research will be highly valid and reliable.
Ideally, the cube should be as “hollow” as possible. Ethical research will be highly beneficial, high quality research with minimal suffering to the animals; on
the other hand, painful, low quality research without clear benefits must be avoided.
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: legal requirements.
Research must not break the law regarding endangered and protected species. This particularly restricts research involving great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans).
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: replacement.
Where possible, live animals should be replaced with research alternatives, like videos and computer simulations. Animals should only be used as a last resort.
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: choice of species.
Species bred in captivity are ethically preferable to creatures taken from the wild; research should be minimised if it involves highly sentient (thinking, feeling) animals, like the great apes.
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: reduction.
The number of animals used should be minimised as much as possible; this involves carefully designed experiments and good use of statistics to get the maximum amount of data from the smallest number of animals.
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: animal care.
When not being studied, animals must be housed, fed and watered in a suitable way as well as being given space and companionship appropriate to their species.
Describe the guideline for psychologists working with animals: disposal.
When the research is over, animals should be disposed of humanely; ideally they should be kept alive for breeding or as pets.
