Human-Animal Interaction

Currently, I am a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha pursuing a dual major in Neuroscience and Psychology. I have always been interested in human-animal interactions from multiple perspectives including the psychological, sociological, personal and ethical perspectives. From a psychological perspective, I have studied the importance of animal-assisted therapies in various clinical disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have also studied human-animal interaction in the context of violent offenders and the associated cases of animal abuse. Furthermore, I have studied human-animal interactions from a behavioral psychological approach. Great behaviorist researchers such as Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner made great strides in understanding human and animal behavior using classical and operant conditioning. Today, both classical and operant conditioning are commonly used in animal training. Last semester, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to use a Skinner Box and condition a lab rat using operant conditioning. It was an interesting experience for me; I was exposed to training and regulations proposed by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which provided insight into the strict care and interactions mandated in animal research. Throughout my academic career, I have studied much research which utilized animal testing. I have performed dissections and profusions which forced me to personally analyze my own ethics and morals in regards to animal testing. In the Behavioral Neuroscience Lab here at UNO, we conducted a behavioral experiment using lab rats. We then performed profusions, dissections, and prepared slides of the rats’ brains. It was very difficult for me to complete th...

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