There are several scientific reasons against using animals in psychological research. The biggest argument perhaps being that although we share 98.4% of our DNA with chimpanzees, they still behave differently and so they are not a good model of human behaviour. As well as this, as we cannot ask questions of animals we may misinterpret their behaviour. For example we may decide that an animal is displaying distressed behaviour, when they may actually be perfectly content. In addition, if an animal does get depressed, then this may be for an entirely different reason as to why a human may become depressed and therefore tells is little if anything about human psychology. Another scientific reason against using animals is the development of drugs such as Thalidomide which was tested on animals but still had an adverse reaction when used by humans.
There are also a number of scientific reasons however in favour of using animals in psychological research. One key scientific reason in favour is that there is an underlying evolutionary link between humans and other species and in actual fact the brains of rats, cats, dogs, monkeys and humans are all very similar and the neurons work essentially in the same way. Animals do have more simplistic behaviour but these biological similarities are related to the behavioural similarities and therefore using animals in psychological research can be seen as a valid way of investigating more complex human behaviours. Additionally, experimenting on animals means that psychologists have greater control of the variables compared to in an experiment with human participants.
As well as this many species of animals have shorter life spans and gestation periods than humans, meaning effects of psychologists can investigate generations of development in a relatively short period of time. Animal studies can also be used as a basis for subsequent human investigations, for example, Bowlby’s theory of attachment was partially based on Lorenz’s study of imprinting in geese.
In addition we can use animals for experiments that wouldn’t be allowed for ethical reasons to perform on humans, for example in the “flower-pot cats” experiment the psychologists carrying out the investigation deprived the cats of sleep until they eventually died. Naturally ethical issues arise out of this kind of research.
An example of an ethical reason against the use of animals in psychological research is the Utilitarian argument which argues that no one person’s happiness is more important than any others- including animals, and that all creatures have an equal interest in avoiding pain and suffering. Singer also argued that there is no moral basis for elevating the interests of humans as a species over other animals and to do so would be to commit speciesism. However the Utilitarian argument does permit research using animals if the benefits are high.
Another ethical reason against the use of animals is the animal rights argument. In contrast to the Utilitarian argument, the animal rights argument says that research using animals should never be tolerated under any circumstances. The animal rights argument argues that animals have an inherent value and should not be treated as merely renewable resources. Regan said “what we need is not larger, cleaner cages, but empty cages” and that “if abandoning animal research means that there are some things we cannot learn, then so be it”, so unlike with the Utilitarian argument no matter what the cost-benefit considerations are insufficient justification for animal research.
There are some that argue that ethically speaking animal research however is necessary because evolution placed human beings “on top” and Gray argued that speciesism is not only justified, but it is our duty to carry out research which leads to (long term) alleviation of human suffering. As well as this some argue that animals have no responsibilities and therefore no rights, and in addition there are ethical guidelines in place to protect animals so as long as these are followed can studies be still deemed unethical?
In addition to these ethical and scientific considerations, Researchers must also now take into account the cost and benefits of any intended research and it must be remembered that the benefits are only ever potential whereas the costs are almost always real.
In recent years a number of alternative methods of investigation have been developed however, one such method is using lower organisms such as fruit flies who do not feel pain in future investigations. As well as this, another alternative is to study animals in their natural environment therefore minimising the suffering of animals and provides moral justification. Those against using animals in research however argue that less invasive procedures are still procedures, and how do we know how much an animal is suffering. Finally those against using animals in research also argue that ethological fieldwork may cause disruption to animals, for example the tagging of animals.