Psychological research involving animal subjects should be proscribed due to a number of fundamentally humane and ethical issues. For instance, most psychological researchers inflict intense shock to the nonhuman animals in the testing process. The mutilation of the animals’ body parts like limbs, and related mistreatments related to deprivation of food and water at the expense of experimental psychology is unethical (American Psychological Association, 2018). Therefore, the experimentations are inaccurate and occasionally produce inflated results because the laboratory conditions cause unnecessary stress to the animals. Again, unqualified scientists usually cause massive discomforts and ultimately compromise the animals’ wellbeing and health in general.
Therefore, nonhuman animals have an inherent value that proves their use in psychological research as an unethical behavior. Despite the benefits associated with the research, psychological scientists have no legal right to use animals for research. Even though this argument seems flimsy, animals have strict protection policies that address their welfare (American Psychological Association, 2018). Such laws usually exist albeit they have always been undermined through weaker implementations and the setting of standards under which the scientific community can conduct animal research. Even with the scientific guidelines, most scientists still lack respect for animals’ welfare; thus, embark on experimental missions without anticipating on clear outcomes as regards safety of the animal subjects (American Psychological Association, 2018).
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Hence, the lack of concern about the fundamental needs and welfare of nonhuman animals justifies why they should not be used for psychological research. This concept related to the poor feeding, housing, and watering in filthy conditions that cause disturbances as compared to when in their natural environments. The utilitarian arguments regarding animal rights and the inherent value of animals protect them from unnecessary sufferings associated with shock and mutilation in the experimental research.
Reference
American Psychological Association. (2018). Guidelines for use of nonhuman animals in behavioral projects in schools (K-12). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/science/leadership/care/animal-guide.aspx
