Animal Research and Experimentation in Psychology? When,

¶ … animal research and experimentation in psychology? When, if ever, do you think that animal research is justified? Do you approve of current regulations concerning it? Why or why not?

One of the most horrifying images in psychology is that of a monkey, clinging to a false 'mother' monkey that looks like a piece of carpet. The monkey has been deprived of maternal companionship to compare its psychological reactions to those monkeys given adequate maternal care. The results of these experiments, unsurprisingly, concluded that animals that received such treatment were traumatized in comparison to those who did not find themselves taken away from their mothers.

Except in the most extreme cases where animal experimentation can conclusively further human life, rather than merely indulge human desire to enhance knowledge, it seems best to forego such experimentation, as often the results merely lead to conclusions about the obvious, or deal with cognitive capacities in the form of animals that are so different from humans, little objective knowledge is gleaned. Currently, in the United States, the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 merely requires scientists to provide adequate food and shelter for certain kinds of laboratory animals, no more. While "many private and government agencies that provide funds to research institutions regulate experimentation done by the institution," this leaves regulation up to the agencies, and thus guidelines vary widely. (Rowan, 2005) These regulations are also not always policed and do not always protect animals. Often, they do more to protect the experimenters. "For example, the Public Health Service ... in1992, in response to concerns about laboratory break-ins by animal rights advocates," passed a law making it a federal offense to damage or disrupt animal research. (Rowan, 2005)