The Use of Non-Human Animals in Psychological Research

The Use of Non-Human Animals in Psychological Research

Animals used in research have proved to be an important factor for the

uses of medicine, for example Flemming found the use of penicillin was

an effective antibiotic when it was used on mice.

Since 1822, legislation has limited how scientists use animals. In the

UK, the use of animals in psychological investigations has been

constrained by ethical and moral guidelines. Current UK legislation in

the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 states that all animal

research must only take place in a laboratory that are institutionally

licensed for animal research. It must be apart of an approved research

project. The license will only be given out if the potential results

could justify the use of the animals and if the research cannot be

done using non animal methods. Also the research must be done with

minimum numbers of animals and if discomfort and harm is also kept

minimal. This act has been enforced by a team of inspectors who visit

the research laboratories approximately eight times a year to make

sure they are sticking to these rules.

The “three Rs” was published to reinforce the humane treatment of

laboratory animals. Reduction aimed to reduce the number of animals

used in the experiment. Replacement involved using other research

methods such as more scan and use of computer simulation instead of

using animals. The final R is refinement which involves using

procedures that minimises animal suffering. The three Rs has proved to

be very successful , for example in the Netherlands over 5000 monkeys

were used to produce polio vaccines in the 1970’s during 1990 this

number ...

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...xperiments on animals have made an important

contribution to advances in clinical psychology that have brought

about improvements in the health of human beings. As a result it would

be morally wrong not to make use of animals in research. Human species

are seen as being the most complex animal. Therefore this makes it

easier to understand the behaviour of other species assuming that they

are similar to our own. This argument is used by behaviourists to

justify why rats were used in their experiments.

On the other hand animal research has been conducted at the expense of

suffering of animals. Although the cost benefit analysis of individual

research projects should ensure the costs, animal suffering, and the

benefits, medical advances, are predictable, this cannot be entirely

certain before the experiment takes place.