Ethical Issues and Non-human Animals

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Ethical Issues and Non-human Animals

• Likely Question
• Discuss ethical issues in the use of non-human
  animals in psychology

psychlotron.org.uk
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Moral Justifications for Non-human animal research

• So, should we experiment on animals?
• Gray (1987) YES - We have a moral obligation to
  help humans before other animals balance human
  benefit v animal suffering.
•  

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Moral Justifications for Non-human animal research

• Singer (75) SOMETIMES He argues this is
  Speciesism similar to racism, but if it
  results in the greatest good for the greatest
  number animal research is justified
• Regan argues that we should NEVER do animal
  research on mature mammals, because they have
  inherent value.

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You decide

• Look at this research and decide who you agree
  with
• Sheridan King (1972) Electrocuting Puppies
• Lashley (1929) Removing parts of rats brains
• Seligman (1967) Electrocuting dogs
• Selye (1956) Stressing rats
• Jouvet (1967) Cats on Flowerpots REM

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You decide

• What Criteria did you use?
• Hopefully
• Importance of the research
• No alternatives to animal research
• Minimum numbers of animals used
• Suffering kept to a minimum

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Arguments for Animal Research?

• Animals are well-protected by law eg
  Animals(Scientific Procedures)Act(1986) and the
  BPS Guidelines of the same year.
• The Principle of the 3Rs Replace, Reduce,
  Refine.
• But Dunayer argues this is like having laws on
  how to keep slaves
• AND See Kilkenny et al (2009)

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Arguments for Animal Research

• Animals are convenient to do research on, so we
  should try to use them (because Humans are WORTH
  MORE which is a moral question).

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Arguments for Animal Research

• Animal research has given a lot to both practical
  and theoretical psychology eg Learning Theory
  (Skinners rat and pigeons), Parental Deprivation
  (Harlows Monkeys)

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Moral Arguments against using non-human animals
in research

• Animals suffer which goes against their rights,
  often unjustifiably because the knowledge gained
  is relatively limited.

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Moral Arguments against using non-human animals
in research

• Animals are qualitatively different (both
  physically and mentally)from humans, which makes
  it wrong for us to do research on them when it
  will only give limited insight into human
  behaviour.

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Moral Arguments against using non-human animals
in research

• Singer(1991) argues that there is no
  justification in using animals for research and
  those who do are guilty of speciesism. He argues
  it is wrong to do research on any organism that
  can feel pain, because an animals pain is as
  important as human pain.

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Essay Plan Paragraph 1

• Define what we mean by an ethical issue how do
  the interests of human and non-human animals
  clash.
• The key question is whether human benefits
  justify animal suffering summarise Gray, Singer
  and Regan

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Essay Plan Paragraph 2

• Moral arguments for animal research
• Animal research has given a lot to psychology
  eg, Parental Deprivation (Harlows Monkeys)
• SHOW HOW THIS research has benefitted humans and
  improved human life eg the importance of a good
  bond between mother and child in the years after
  birth

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Essay Plan Paragraph 3

• Animals are convenient to do research on, so we
  should try to use them (because Humans are WORTH
  MORE which is a moral question).
• Show how Skinners research on rats and pigeons
  could not be done on humans and why it is
  justified

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Essay Plan Paragraph 4

• Animals suffer which goes against their rights,
  often unjustifiably because the knowledge gained
  is relatively limited.
• Describe Jouvets research and the limited
  knowledge gained from it does it justify the
  suffering of the cats?

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Essay Plan Paragraph 5

• Animals are qualitatively different (both
  physically and mentally)from humans, which makes
  it wrong for us to do research on them when it
  will only give limited insight into human
  behaviour.
• Does Selyes research into how rats respond to
  stress really tell us how humans will respond to
  stress?

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Essay Plan Paragraph 6 can be used for or
against

• Do Constraints Work
• Animals(Scientific Procedures)Act(1986) and the
  BPS Guidelines of the same year.
• The Principle of the 3Rs Replace, Reduce,
  Refine.
• But Dunayer argues this is like having laws on
  how to keep slaves
• AND See Kilkenny et al (2009)

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Kilkenny et al (2009)

• 271 animal studies in UK and USA (not all
  Psychological studies)
• Only 59 mentioned number of animals used (
  inconsistent numbers in report)
• CONCLUSION Either
• Ban Animal Studies constraints dont work
• Or Improve constraints and research

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Essay Plan Conclusion

• Write a conclusion based on the paragraphs you
  have already written can animal research be
  justified morally?

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