My oral presentation today is based on the ethical issues associated with using animals in psychological research. .
For generations, psychologists have used animals in forms of research. Animal studies have provided us with a better understanding of solutions for many human problems.
Though what's strange is that if I were to ask the absolute number of animals used in psychological research, it is not 100% and usually not available.
And if I was to also ask for an accurate estimation of the numbers of psychological researcher facilities using animals, it is also not available.
Animals are sought for all types of research, from that on aging, anxiety, drug, addiction, side effects, withdrawal to self mutilation, vitamin defiency disorders and many more. But the ethics are just not there. .
Ethics are an important part of the understanding of the science of psychology. Ethics in psychological research may effect you more personally if you at some point, participate in a study. In that event, you need to know about the responsibilities researchers have in assuring that these rights are looked after. As behavioural scientists, there are two types of ethical responsibility. 1 - truthfulness and 2 - humane treatment of participants whether it be animals or humans. But what we really need to ask ourselves is - is it ethical to use animals in research? .
If it were your life at stake you probably wouldn't have much trouble making up your mind. But sometimes the choice isn't so easy. Atleast 20 million cats and dogs are abandoned each year in the US. Half of them are killed in pounds and shelters, and the rest are hit by cars or die of neglect. Less than 1 /10 000 as many dogs and cats were used in psychological labs in the past years. Relatively few of these studies require subjecting the animals to painful or harmful manipulations. Take a look at these pictures and you"ll know just what i think.
