Is it ethical to use animals for psychological research?

Is it ethical to use animals for psychological research?

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.

Are animal models useful?

Animal models have greatly improved our understanding of the cause and progression of human genetic diseases and have proven to be a useful tool for discovering targets for therapeutic drugs.

What ethical considerations must be taken when doing research with animals?

Humane consideration for the well-being of the animal should be incorporated into the design and conduct of all procedures involving animals. Surgical procedures require close supervision and attention to humane considerations by the scientist. Aseptic techniques must be used on laboratory animals whenever possible.

What makes a good animal model?

The selection of any model, but particularly animal models, for research should be based on the following considerations: 1) appropriateness as an analog, 2) transferability of information, 3) genetic uniformity of organisms, where applicable, 4) background knowledge of biological properties, 5) cost and availability.

Why is animal research bad?

Animal experiments prolong the suffering of humans waiting for effective cures because the results mislead experimenters and squander precious money, time, and other resources that could be spent on human-relevant research. Animal experiments are so worthless that up to half of them are never even published.

Why can’t alternative methods replace animals in research?

Studies that do not use animals can produce much valuable information, but they cannot completely replace the information gained from animal experiments. Only animals can demonstrate the effects of a disease, injury, treatment, or preventive measure on a complex organism.

How are ethical principles in research applied in animal subjects?

Ethics in Animal Experimentation. In order to prevent undue suffering, ethical considerations in animal studies are important. Generally, before experiments on animals are conducted, the research protocol must be reviewed by animal ethics committees. The guiding principle of these committees is usually the 3 Rs.

Are animal studies reliable?

Because animal tests are so unreliable, they make those human trials all the more risky. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has noted that 95 percent of all drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials because they don’t work or are dangerous.

Why do researchers use model organisms?

Model organisms are non-human species that are used in the laboratory to help scientists understand biological processes. They are usually organisms that are easy to maintain and breed in a laboratory setting.

Which animal is often used to model human body systems?

mouse

Can animal research be applied to humans?

Yes, even if an illness is induced artificially in a laboratory animal, the individual processes generally follow a similar pattern as if the disease had occurred naturally. For this reason, it is possible to draw inferences for the situation in humans.

What are the limitations of applying animal research to humans?

Animal testing is used in pharmaceutical and industrial research to predict human toxicity, and yet analysis suggests that animal models are poor predictors of drug safety in humans. The cost of animal research is high—in dollars, delays in drug approval, and in the loss of potentially beneficial drugs for human use.

How model animals are chosen?

Often, model organisms are chosen on the basis that they are amenable to experimental manipulation. This usually will include characteristics such as short life-cycle, techniques for genetic manipulation (inbred strains, stem cell lines, and methods of transformation) and non-specialist living requirements.

What are animal models used for?

Animal models are used to study the development and progression of diseases and to test new treatments before they are given to humans. Animals with transplanted human cancers or other tissues are called xenograft models.

Should animals be used for research pros and cons?

Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons

  • Helps researchers to find drugs and treatments: The major pro for animal testing is that it aids researchers in finding drugs and treatments to improve health and medicine.
  • Improves human health:
  • Helps ensure safety of drugs:
  • Alternative methods of testing do not simulate humans in the same way.

Should humans use animals for psychological research?

In addition, the scientist must justify the numbers of animals that they use, insuring they are using the smallest number possible. Animal research continues to play a vital role in psychology, enabling discoveries of basic psychological and physiological processes that are important for living healthy lives.