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The Use of Animals in Psychological Testing

The Use of Animals in Psychological Testing. Why it is morally, scientifically, and ethically wrong. Colleen Gannon Mary Kate Mulry. http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/testing.asp. Our presentation. History of animals in testing Are we that different? Animal physiology Animal morality

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The Use of Animals in Psychological Testing

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  1. The Use of Animals in Psychological Testing Why it is morally, scientifically, and ethically wrong Colleen Gannon Mary Kate Mulry http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/testing.asp

  2. Our presentation • History of animals in testing • Are we that different? • Animal physiology • Animal morality • Counterargument • Class activity • APA code of ethics • Alternatives to testing • Discussion

  3. History of Animal Testing • 1859- Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution • 1876-Cruelty to Animals Act passed in G.B. • 1890- Ivan Pavlov’s Behaviorism Experiments • 1966- US passes Animal Welfare Act • 1975- Peter Singer publishes Animal Liberation

  4. How different are we? • Cognitive Consciousness • The capacity of all organisms which have nervous systems for self acknowledgment • In some way or another animals with a nervous system will respond to noxious stimuli • Stress? • Evolution: How did we become who we are? • Ability to assess others (Chimpanzees) • Cooperative communication (dogs) • Animal Morality

  5. “More Humane Today”?Stress in animals • “In essence, there is no such thing as a humane animal experiment” • Routine procedures terrifying • Handling, blood collection, force feeding • Blood draws, stomach tubes • Creates fear, panic • Health risks • Data contaminated –Dr. Jonathon Balcombe, Ph.D., independent animal behavior research scientist, author, and lecturer.

  6. Environment: What are we creating? • Social Isolation • Strenuous work • Invasive tests • Dmitri Belyaev’s foxes

  7. Animal Physiology • Animal models are DIFFERENT than humans! • “The response to medications can vary widely between breeds of the same species…” • Drug testing on animals: • Predict fewer side-effects than a coin toss • 9 out of 10 drugs that pass animal tests fail human tests • “Side effects of prescription medicines - all tested for safety on animals before they can be administered to humans - are now the fourth biggest killer in the western world.”

  8. Benefits? • Hasn’t it helped us in the past? • Tested for many years • Polio Vaccine • Could have made these discoveries by other means • Advancements in technology • How much do we waste on ineffective tests?

  9. What about the Polio vaccine? • Animal Research actually postponed the development of the Polio vaccine! • Must determine where the infection enters • Ignored human data for monkey data • A ‘vaccine’ was developed • Autopsies tests disproved the nasal theory! • John Enders discovery of tissue growth • What about penicillin? • Discovery in Petri dish • Tested on rabbits: DID NOT WORK • Set aside for a decade • Finally tested on humans! • Can it help us with other diseases? • “The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn't work in • humans.”

  10. Animal Morality • Speciesism- the prejudice that favors one’s own species over every other. • Richard Ryder (1970) Peter Singer (1975) • BASIC principles of equality • Moral right- not a legal debate • Rights not exactly the same • Capacity for suffering • Asking the right question • Can they… • Reason? Talk? Suffer? Harry Harlow’s Study on Rhesus Monkeys

  11. The Other Side… • “Humans are of far greater value than animals, and the result of not using animals for medical experimentation would be greater human suffering” • Carl Cohen • “I am apt to suspect the animals to be naturally inferior to humans…. There is no ingenious manufacture among them, no arts, no sciences.” • David Hume

  12. "What good does it do you to test something (a vaccine) in a monkey? You find five or six years from now that it works in the monkey, and then you test it in humans and you realize that humans behave totally differently from monkeys, so you've wasted five years." (1) "I cannot recall a single instance where my clinical judgment was even remotely influenced by the results of a psychological study using animals as subjects or 'models.' " (2) Experts in the field say… "Giving cancer to laboratory animals has not and will not help us to understand the disease or to treat those persons suffering from it." (3) The best guess for the correlation of adverse reactions in man and animal toxicity data is somewhere between 5% and 25% (4)

  13. Scenario 1 Part 1: You have the chance to cure Alzheimer’s Disease! At least, potentially... You have been selected because your mannerisms and genetic make-up most closely resemble those of the patients who suffer from this disease. In order to observe your brain functions, you will have to have a surgery to have electrodes placed. Brain surgery is high risk, yes- but the scientists may be able to find the cause of Alzheimer's . Part 2: The scientist think they have found the origin of the disease. They have now created a drug which they hope will stop Alzheimer’s once and for all. Once again, they want you to be their test subject; this time, to see if the drug is effective. Sure, you are not exactly the same as those suffering from the disease…but you are as close as they can get without testing the drug on the patients directly. The scientists suppose your reaction has about a 25% chance of predicting the reaction. No one knows the risks of the drug at this time.

  14. Scenario 2 Now pretend there is a new species on earth. This new species is similar to us, except more advanced. They have emotional capacity like us; yet, they are able to store and retrieve information like computers. Physiologically they are similar to us as well. This advanced species is now experiencing an outbreak of a new disease and thousands of them are losing their lives. The diseases is spreading at an alarming rate. This species would like to use us, humans, for experiments to try to find the cause and cure for this horrible disease. Since we are physiologically similar to them, there is a chance our reactions and experiences to this disease and its treatments will be similar to theirs- but, chances are our bodies will react differently. They do no want to use themselves for the initial trials because they do not want to accidentally cause their kind more harm in the process of finding a cure. Using us, they believe, makes more since because we are not as advanced and therefore our lives are not as valuable. This way they could at least see some reactions of the drug/disease before testing it on themselves.

  15. APA Code of Ethics* A. Psychologists acquire, care for, use, and dispose of animals in compliance with current federal state and local laws and regulations, and with professional standards. B. Psychologists are responsible for animals comfort, health, and humane treatment. C. Researchers must have working knowledge of how to work with animals D. Reasonable efforts made to minimize harm of animal Reduction Replacement Refinement *Adapted from December 2002 edition of American Psychologist http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/may/05/highereducation.uk

  16. Alternatives to testing M O R E A C C U R A T E M O R E H U M A N E L E S S E X P E N S I V E • "Synthetic skin," called Corrositex • Computer modeling • Improved statistical design* • The Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA)* • Human Studies • John’s Hopkins Research Center (CAAT) 1981 • FRAME adapted from: http://altweb.jhsph.edu/resources/faqs.html

  17. Class discussion • Is using animals in testing for “the greater good” of all? • Compare and contrast “speciesism” to racism or sexism. How are they similar, and how are they different?

  18. Conclusion

  19. References • Archibald, K. (2006, May 5) It’s time to test the testers. Guardian. retrieved fromhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/may/05/highereducation.uk • Carlson, N.R. (2007). Physiology of behavior (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. • Doctors Speak Out Against Animal Testing. http://www.ohsukillsprimates.com/quotes.htm • Gartner, J. (2005). Vioxx suit faults animal tests. Wired News. http://www.wired.com/print/medtech/health/news/2005/07/68260 • Hare, B. (2007).  From nonhuman to human mind: What changed and why.  Current Directions in Psychological Science,16(2), 60-64. • http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/default.aspx • News Medical. Net. (December, 2004). Research animals experience severe stress response at slightest contact with researchers. http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/12/28/7048.aspx?page=2 • Pellicer, F. (2007). Bioethical guidelines for the study of chronic pain in animals: A paradox. Salud Mental, 30(6), 20-24 • http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Animal%20Testing/DrugsSaferWithNoTests.htm • http://www.redorbit.com/news/video/health/4/animal_testing_progress_or_pain/25899/ (this one is the video)

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