Comparative Psychology: The Animal Part Of Psychology
It has long been known that the mental and behavioral life of non-human animals is much richer than one might assume at first glance. Comparative psychology is an effort to understand the logic behind the way these forms of life act, think and feel.
Of course, it is also an area of ​​study that is not free from criticism both of its use of the comparative method and of its ethical approaches. Let’s see what this branch of psychology research consists of
Comparative psychology has been defined as an effort to understand the behavior and mental life of animals In general, starting from the idea that there are certain characteristics of these two areas that have evolved over time.
Thus, comparative psychology is not only a type of research in which the similarities and differences of different types of animals are simply compared (including here our own species), but it assumes that behind these similarities and differences there is a history. about how the mental life and behavior of these life forms have evolved through the passage from one generation to the next and through the creation of new species.
The use of the comparative method
Thus, comparative psychology use the comparative method which consists of studying psychological processes in certain species and seeing how these conclusions can be extrapolated to other species.
In general, studies are focused on seeing at what point in evolutionary history certain psychological characteristics appear and, from there, checking how they have evolved until reaching the most “evolved” animal species in a certain characteristic.
In practice, this means that the species whose behavior and mental processes are intended to be studied by indirectly researching related species is, almost always, our own. However, many researchers believe that the objective of comparative psychology should not be an excuse to end up talking about the psychology of human beings, but rather that The mental life and behavior of non-human animal species has interest in itself
Animal experimentation or observation?
In principle, there is nothing in the definition of what comparative psychology is from which it can be assumed that it depends only on the experimental method; It could also be based on field observations made on the natural terrain in which a species lives, just as ethology has traditionally done
However, in practice experimentation is the most used option in comparative psychology, for two reasons:
Of course, this has made comparative psychology highly criticized for cases of animal abuse like that of Harry Harlow’s experiment and the monkeys who are deprived of contact with their mother during their first weeks of life.
Comparative psychology and behaviorism
Historically, behaviorism has been the current of psychology that has used comparative psychology the most to make discoveries.
This is because, given that behaviorism researchers focused on the components of psychology that can be objectively recorded and quantified, they assumed that contingencies, which for them were the basic components of the construction of behavioral patterns, can be studied in their most basic elements in life forms with a less complex nervous system than the human.
Thus, for example, BF Skinner became well known with his experiments with pigeons, and Edward Thorndike, who was one of the predecessors of behaviorism, established theories about the use of intelligence by experimenting with cats.
Of course, Ivan Pavlov, who laid the foundations for behaviorism to develop by studying simple conditioning, He experimented with dogs from the field of physiology Even Edward Tolman, a researcher trained in behaviorism who questioned the assumptions of this psychological movement, did so by studying rats.
The possibilities of this branch of psychology
The wild appearance of the animals, the absence of human-like facial gestures and language make us tend to assume that everything related to the psychology of these life forms is simple. Comparative psychology attributes a lot of importance to the way animals behave
In any case, it is highly debated whether he does so with the eyes of human beings or whether he seeks a genuine understanding of the mental life of these organisms. There are many different animal species, and comparative psychology has traditionally studied basically non-human primates and some animals that can adapt well to domestic life, like rats or guinea pigs.
The possibilities of comparative psychology have to do with a better understanding of the forms of life that surround us and also with a deeper knowledge of behavioral patterns inherited for millennia through our evolutionary lineage.
Its limitations have to do with the use of the comparative method and that It is never quite known to what extent it is possible to extrapolate conclusions from one species to another And, of course, the ethical problems raised by animal experimentation have entered fully into the debate of whether comparative psychology is useful or not.
