There are important ethical and scientific reasons why animals are sometimes used in psychological and behavioral research. This preliminary research cannot be done ethically with human subjects. Animals are typically used when time requirements, risk, or other conditions make it impossible to use humans.

Ethical Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research

• Respect for animals’ dignity.
• Responsibility for considering options (Replace)
• The principle of proportionality: responsibility for considering and balancing suffering and benefit.
• Responsibility for considering reducing the number of animals (Reduce)

Animal studies are more properly known as “research involving non-human participants” and they play an important role in Psychology: from Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rats to more recent studies involving the language abilities of apes, animals feature heavily in all the main approaches, but especially the Learning …

Experimenting on animals is always unacceptable because:

• it causes suffering to animals.
• the benefits to human beings are not proven.
• any benefits to human beings that animal testing does provide could be produced in other ways.

Animal experiments are considered acceptable only if the benefit of the proposed experiment outweighs the suffering of the animals. Ethical review of animal experiments will likely benefit the animal and improve the quality of animal-based research.

All major reasons for failure in clinical trials can be attributed to the use of animal models, which due to inherent genetic differences, do not accurately reflect safety or efficacy endpoints in humans.

The authors proposed the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement – most often referred to as the 3Rs. The principles of the 3Rs are accepted internationally and provide a framework for ethical decision making in the use of animals in research and teaching.

Why do psychologists study animals and is it ethical to experiment on animals? Many psychologists study nonhuman animals because they find them fascinating. They want to understand how different species learn, think, and behave. Psychologists also study animals to learn about people.

Terms in this set (4)

• They must have a clear and specific purpose.
• They must care for and house animals in a humane way.
• They must acquire animal subjects legally. Animals must be purchased from accredited companies.
• They must design experimental procedures that employ the least amount of suffering feasible.

The goals of animal research are to be able to understand how different species learn, think, and behave. Psychologists also study animals to learn about people.

APA’s 2002 Ethics Code, which takes effect June 1, mandates that psychologists who use animals in research: Acquire, care for, use and dispose of animals in compliance with current federal, state and local laws and regulations, and with professional standards.

Research ethics are important for a number of reasons. They promote the aims of research, such as expanding knowledge. They support the values required for collaborative work, such as mutual respect and fairness. They support important social and moral values, such as the principle of doing no harm to others.

Ethical Issues Concerning Animal Research Outside the Laboratory Introduction. As the other articles in this issue illustrate, research outside the laboratory can take the form of clinical research, research in agricultural settings, or field studies; and each form Animals Used in Research. Other Factors. Role of the IACUC. Conclusion.

No responsible scientist wants to use animals or cause them unnecessary suffering if it can be avoided, and therefore scientists accept controls on the use of animals in research. More generally, the bioscience community accepts that animals should be used for research only within an ethical framework.

However, there is an ongoing debate about the ethics of animal experimentation. Some people argue that all animal experimentation should end because it is wrong to treat animals merely as tools for furthering knowledge. According to this point of view, an animal should have as much right as a human being to live out a full life, free of pain and suffering .

A major ethical issue with animal testing is that it involves pain, suffering and discomfort under some circumstances. While researchers do address the potential for pain by measures to minimise it whenever possible, they aren’t able to completely prevent any pain from occurring.