Key Q - Biological Flashcards
What is the Key question?
Can the use of animals in psychological research be justified?
Why is the issue relevant to today’s society?
- Society wants it scientists to be ethical which is done by reduction, refinement and replacement
- Ethical considerations of using animals are important to society
- Credibility of psychology is at stake
- There are high costs to animals
What did Kilkenny (2009) find about the use of animals in animal research which means the Credibility of Psychologists are at Stake?
271 US and UK studies found that only 59% of the studies mentioned the number of animals they had used
How are Rats Different to Humans?
- Different genetic structure
* Different balance in senses so perceive the world differently - e.g. sense of smell is better than humans
How are Rats and Humans Similar?
Brain structure + neurotransmitters are similar
How are Humans Different to Rats?
- Behaviour more complex
- Different motivations - e.g. may wish to please the researcher
- Superior cognitive abilities including self awareness
What are the 3 Main Arguments Against using Animals?
- Not generalisable to humans
- Alternatives to animal research are improving w/ technology
- It’s argued that the environment + stress animals endure in the labs can affect their behaviour
How is Alternatives to Animal Research are Improving with Technology a reason Against using Animals?
- Computer models + virtual reality can be used instead
- It’s a better way of isolating + controlling variables
- So, use of animals in some research is redundant in the future
How is the Environment + Stress Animals endure in the labs a reason Against using Animals?
- It affects their behaviour
- So, results obtained arent a good rejection of the animals natural behaviours
- So, results from lab experiments with animals are meaningless
What is Human Behaviour Influenced by?
- Complex emotions
- Cognitions
- Social interactions
What did Ferrari (2003) study which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Link between neurotransmitters + aggression in rats
What was Ferrari’s (2003) Procedure in his Study which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- Rays fought for 10 days - this was done by introducing an ‘intruder rat’ into test rats cage
- 11th day - no intruder rat was introduced
- Researcher mesures the levels of serotonin + dopamine in the test rats brain
What was Ferrari’s (2003) Conclusion in his Study which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- The test rats serotonin levels decreased
* As, they were anticipating a fight
What was the Problem with Generalising the Results to Humans of Ferrari’s (2003) Study which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- Humans have more complex social + cognitive functioning than rats
- If you replicated the study with male humans - they wouldn’t fight as they would think more clearly about the situation + work out the best cause of actions
Why is Generalisability used as an Argument Against using Animals?
Animals aren’t similar enough to humans to ensure that research results allow valid generalisations to humans
What are the 3 main Arguments for Using Animals?
- Animals used in psychological research have shorter lifespans than humans
- Use of animals allows better science
- Humans + animals have enough similarities in their physiology + evolutionary past in common to justify conclusions drawn from animals being generalised to humans
Why is Animals having a Shorter Lifespan than Humans an Argument for using Animals?
Developmental processes are easier to observe
Why are Humans + Animals having enough Similarities in there Physiology + Evolutionary Past to be Generalisibale an Argument for using Animals?
- Humans have evolved from animals
- Humans are just more complex animals
- So, it makes sense to study more simple organism first + then generalise the results to humans
Why is the use of Animals allowing Better Science an Argument for using Animals?
- They are good participants
- Highly reliable - standardised lab experiment-easy to replicate
- They are more controllable than humans
- Research is more empirical
- Controlled, reliable, empirical experiments are characteristics of good scientific research
- This kind of research can lead to important practical applications
How are Animals good Participants which Supports the use of Animals allowing Better Science which is an Argument for using Animals?
- They don’t understand the purpose of the experiment
* E.g. the effects of demand characteristics are low compared to research w/ humans
How are Animals more Controllable than Humans which Supports the use of Animals allowing Better Science which is an Argument for using Animals?
- Research w/ animals uses well controlled, lab experiments
* Easier to manipúlate variables
How is Research more Empirical with Animals which Supports the use of Animals allowing Better Science which is an Argument for using Animals?
Neurobiological changes can be seen in animal brains in response to controlled manipulations
What did Van den Oever’s study (2008) Find which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- Neurobiological changes in the medial prefrontal cortex as a result of exposing rats to heroin associated cues after training the rats to self-administer heroin
- Other rats that weren’t exposed to heroin associated cues + were trained to self administer sucrose - didn’t have the same neurobiological changes
What did Van den Oever’s Research Show(2008) which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Shown an empirical neurobiological change as a result of a precise manipulation w/ control over extraneous variables
Why Couldn’t have Van den Oever’s study (2008) be done on Humans which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
It required decapitation + removal of the rats brain in order to analyse the neurobiology
How is Van den Oever’s study (2008) Beneficial for Society which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Offers a potential target for drug therapy for heroin addicts, who are prone to relapse
What did Wagner’s study (1979) Observe which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Aggression levels of Male mice over a number of sessions
How did Wagner (1979) Measure the Aggression Levels of the Male Mice which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Measured by biting attacks on other mice
What did Wagner’s study (1979) Find which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- After castration - aggression levels dropped
* When castrated mice are injected w/ testosterone - their aggression levels rose back to pre-castration levels
What did Wagner’s Findings (1979) Suggest which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Testosterone is a cause of aggression in mice
How is Wagner’s study (1979) a Practical Application which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
Drugs that reduce testosterone levels may reduce aggression
What is an Example of How Wagner’s study (1979) is a Practical Application which Supports the Argument Against using Animals?
- Drug to treat violent sexual offenders
- The drug: ‘Medroxyprogesterone acetate’
- It reduces levels of testosterone
- So, offenders report a reduction in sexual fantasies/impulses
- Technique is referred to as chemical castration
What is the Main Value of Using Animals?
Allows procedures that wouldn’t be possible in humans
What is an Example of a Therapeutic Advance in Psychology that couldn’t have happened Without Animal Research?
The treatment of Parkinson’s disease
What does Parkinson’s disease effect?
The Basal Ganglia - an area of the brain that controls movement
What was the Deep Brain Simulation Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease which was a Therapeutic Advance in Psychology that couldn’t have happened Without Animal Research?
- Insert an electrode into the patients brain in the area that has the neuronal damage
- An electrical impulse sent to that area to compensate for the damaged neurona
- Resulting in a decrease in the shaking symptoms
What Animal is Used to test Deep Brain Stimulation Treatment?
Monkeys
What was Benazzouz’s (1993) study into the Deep Brain Simulation Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease which led to Further Research?
Induce Parkinson’s disease in monkeys + reverse the shaking symptoms by stimulating a specific area in the basal ganglia
Why was Benazzouz’s (1993) study Ethical into the Deep Brain Simulation Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease with Monkeys?
As it’s unethical to test on humans due to the uncertainty of the impact
Why was Benazzouz’s (1993) study Unethical into the Deep Brain Simulation Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease with Monkeys?
- A monkeys life is just as important as a humans
* They are harmed - they’re physically + psychologically harmed - animals killed after the study is finished
Why is High Costs to Animals an issue Relevant to today’s society?
- A lot of animals are used + killed for research
- They need to be compared to benefits of treatments that may be developed
- E.g. neurological disorders
Why Ethical Considerations id Using Animals an issue Relevant to today’s society?
People care about animals as they don’t want them to be harmed
