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Animal research (Reasons animals are used in experiments (Easy to handle,…
Animal research
Reasons animals are used in experiments
Easy to handle
Experiments can be carried out on animals that cannot be carried out on humans
Laboratory studies can be strictly controlled
Relationship between IV and DV can be determined
Some animals have similar brain structure (rats and mice) to humans
Value in using animals in studies and relating findings to humans
Darwin's ideas about evolution suggested animals could be studies and findings apply to humans
Issues using animals in experiments
Differences in brain structure between humans and animals making generalisation difficult
Physiologically our brains differ, we have a much larger cortex proportionally than any other animal
Animal rights
Researcher must avoid pain and discomfort for the animals unless the findings have a significant benefit for humans
We have a moral obligation to protect animals as they have the same rights as us
Not certain that animals learning is the same as human learning which involves complex cognitive processes
Utilitarian argument
From a moral perspective, this argument suggests research gives human suffering priority over animal suffering, viewed as a form of discrimination
(speciesism)
Human behaviour is more than stimulus-response reaction; animal studies don't reflect complex human behaviour
Differences in animal experiments in the laboratory compared with experiments using humans
Animals have to be fed, housed, looked after and handled in ways humans do not
Practical issues in using animals in lab experiments
Animals aren't suitable in experiments where researchers need to know about thinking, attitudes or memory etc.
Animals can only act/react in certain ways, so might not be suitable at all for some studies
Their brain structure might have to be suitable
Animal experiments can involve more control than lab experiments using humans
e.g
Researchers tend to make animals hungry for operant conditioning studies which isn't easy to control in humans
Experiment for research into drugs : Animals
The link between cocaine/heroin use and renal disease
Experiments used animal to help understand prevalence of renal disease in heroin/cocaine users
Renal disease = failure of kidney function :
Experiments for research into drugs : Humans
Jaffe and Kimmel (2006)
With regard to heroin, economic conditions, behavioural practices and culture were factors more likely to relate to renal disease than heroin use
Renal disease in heroin users is not as common as it once was
Findings support animal experiments which found more of a link between cocaine + renal disease than heroin
Animal studies can be used in this way to back up humans studies