essay on 8 marker about ethical issues in animal research in learning theories
evaluation question: 2 PEEL paragraphs and a balanced conclusion for top band marks
Paper 1 2023 section E
Q12) Assess the ethical issues involved when using animals for research in learning
theories. (8)
One argument for animal research in learning theories having ethical issues is the potential
harm to animals. Research on animals is conducted if it would have been too unethical to
carry out on humans. Anthropomorphism is the term given when animals are mistakenly
attributed with human qualities. For example, Pavlov (1927) tied up a dog into a harness in a
sealed container to stop it from moving and associating any other sounds besides that of the
metronome with the food the researcher gave them. The dog was cut off from other humans
and dogs so that it would have been easier to draw cause and effect conclusions between
the sound of the metronome and the salvation of the dog. This might have been unethical as
the dog may have experienced discomfort and potential psychological harm. This is due to
most people thinking that dogs also experience pain and suffering as do humans, therefore
they regard animal research as unethical as this ignores the principle of reducing harm to
dogs. On the other hand, there were no ethical guidelines in the early 20th century, which
allowed unethical research and suffering to animals.
One argument against animal research involving significant ethical issues is the cost-benefit
analysis of such research. This is because it could be argued that humans have a right to
protect their own species and improve their own quality of life by whatever means. This may
allow potentially unethical research to be carried out as the benefits of it may outweigh the
potential harm caused to the animals involved. Therefore, to minimise these ethical issues,
the Scientific Procedures Act on animal research (1987) was put into practice. This states
that the study and the researcher must be licensed so as for animal research to be carried
out. This is so that the researcher is aware of how to minimise harm to animals such as by
reducing the number of animals used and refine the procedures that cause little harm. This
may make animal research more ethical. Skinner (1950) used rats to investigate operant
conditioning. He placed the rat in a box, and the animal soon learned that the lever was a
means of obtaining food after accidentally pressing it. This ensured that the rat repeated the
action of lever pressing as it has been positively reinforced with food pellets. This research
has been useful in demonstrating that behaviour repetition is driven by rewarding outcomes,
hence these principles have been used to shape behaviour in the real world. For example, a
reward system in schools and workplaces can encourage people to work harder which can
bring personal and economic benefits. In this way, the ethical issues of animal research may
be outweighed by the benefits of the findings to society. However, Skinner’s box had an
electrified floor that administered electric shocks to the rat in order for it to press the lever.
This might have harmed the animals, although positive and negative reinforcement of
behaviour is now better understood due to this research.
In conclusion, animal research may be unethical by exposing animals to harm, however
without this, behaviour repetition due to reinforcement and punishment would not have been
studied properly.
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