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•Extrapolation
(use of animals in studies)

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•Extrapolation
(use of animals in studies)

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There is a long history of experimentation on animals and many new drugs and cosmetics were first tested on non-humans to see what their effects were. If there were no obvious harmful side effects then human trials would often follow.

In psychology, the method is often favored by those who adopt a nomothetic approach (e.g. Behaviorism and the biological approach).

For example the behaviorists argued that the laws of learning were the same for all species. Pavlov's (1897/1902) studies of classical conditioning in dogs and Skinner's studies of operant conditioning in rats are therefore seen as providing insights into human psychology.

Some would even go so far as to claim that the results of such studies provide a justification for reorganizing the way in which we teach children in schools.

Another application of comparative psychology is in the study of child development. Konrad Lorenz and Harry Harlow are just two of the best-known researchers into the effects of maternal deprivation.

Lorenz (1935) studied imprinting in ducks and geese. He found that there was a critical period in infancy when the duckling would become attached and that if this window of opportunity were missed it would not become attached in later life.

Harlow (1958) found that infant rhesus monkeys that were separated from their mothers (and from all other monkeys) suffered irreversible social and emotional damage.

Many psychologists have argued that human infants also have a critical attachment period and that they too suffer permanent long-term damage if they are separated from their attachment figure.

Strengths

In some respects humans are similar to other species. For example we exhibit territoriality, courtship rituals, a "pecking order". We defend our young, are aggressive when threatened, engage in play and so on.

Many parallels can therefore be drawn between ourselves and especially other mammals with complex forms of social organisation.

Studying other species often avoids some of the complex ethical problems involved in studying humans. For example one could not look at the effects of maternal deprivation by removing infants from their mothers or conduct isolation experiment on humans in the way that has been done on other species.

Limitations

Although in some respects we are like other species in others we are not. For example, humans have a much more sophisticated intelligence than other species and much more of our behavior is the outcome of a conscious decision than the product of an instinct or drive.

Also humans are unlike all other species in that we are the only animal to have developed language. Whist other animals communicate using signs we use symbols and our language enables us to communicate about past and future events as well as about abstract ideas.

Many people would argue that experimenting on animals is completely ethically reprehensible. At least human subjects can give or withhold their consent. The animals used in some pretty awful experiments didn't have that choice.

Also, what have we gained from all the suffering we have inflicted on these other species. Critics argue that most of the results are not worth having and that the ends do not justify the means.

References

Harlow, H. F. & Zimmermann, R. R. (1958). The development of affective responsiveness in infant monkeys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 102,501 -509.

Lorenz, K. (1935). Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels. Der Artgenosse als auslösendes Moment sozialer Verhaltensweisen. Journal für Ornithologie, 83, 137-215, 289-413.

Pavlov, I. P. (1897/1902). The work of the digestive glands. London: Griffin.

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Comparative psychology is the study of animals in order to find out about humans. The underlying assumption is that to some degree the laws of behavior are

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Jo, Ryan, Amy
The extent to which a research method is culturally biased. The tendency to judge other cultures by your own culture. Milgrims obediency study (i.e all Americans). Nomothetic approach.

Ones own group or self is centre of research and everything and all others scaled/rated with reference to it.

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Androcentrism refers to theories that are centred on, or focused on males, conversely gynocentrism refers to theories that are centred on, or focused on females.

This can lead to bias, and theories have often been crafted based on the assumption that the male view is the norm for all people.

For example, Kohlberg based his stages of moral development around male moral reasoning and had an all-male sample. He then inappropriately generalized his findings to women.

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Nature refers to the pre-wiring genetics from the biological  parents passed onto their child, whereas nurture would be related to enviromental and social factors that could change the outcome of a person's beliefs and behaviour . For instance, there was a study named 'The Jim Twins' in which monitored the differences between two twins which were seperated from birth and then placed in two seperate enviroments, one rich and one poor. The outcome supported the theory that nurture can influence the behaviours of each individual, however there were several similarities between behaviour of each twin which too, supports the nature aspect.

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Kirsty and Vimbai
is based on morals , knowing the difference between right and wrong and what humans ought to do , obligations and a humans conscience. For example religion and those beliefs we create from our parents when learning right from wrong in childhood.

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Determinism vs free will revolves around how our behavior is the result of forces over which we have no control or whether people are able to decide for themselves whether to act or behave in a certain way.

Free will is the idea that we are able to have choice in how we act, allowing us to be free to choose our behaviour.
as an example: people can make a free choice as to whether to commit a crime or not.

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Reductionism focuses on just one particular factor while the holistic approach looks beyond just one factor to explain behaviour. For example,it tries to break things into their simplest parts. A holistic approach can look at things as a whole for example the different psychological factors, different biological factors and different social factors. Reductionism might simply focus on hereditary genes so the analysis of the behaviour is greatly simplified.
https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/1890/A-Level/Psychology/What-is-the-reductionism-vs-holism-debate-in-psychology/

Sally & Beccy