Animal Use in Undergraduate Psychology Programs

Abstract

Educational benefits of computer-assisted instruction (CAl) were investigated. A quasi-experimental design contrasted learningoutcomes of students in an introductory psychology class that incorporated CAl exercises to students in a lecture-only introductory psychology class. A numberof potential mediating variables, such as instructor, size of class, textbook, and year in school, were controlled. Analysis of students' final examination scores indicated that students in the lecture-plus-CAI section obtained higher scores than students in the lecture-only section, and these higher scores were due to their better performance on concepts that were taught in both lecture and CAl exercises. These findings offer modest support for the use of CAl as a supplement to lecture in teaching psychology, particularly for domain-specific learning.This article describes a computer-assisted, interdisciplinary course in decision making developed to promote student participation, critical thinking, and enhanced decision making through the use of interactive experimental paradigms. The course uses Macintosh computers for simple data entryand presentation, for more complex calculations and extended graphics, andfor stimulus presentation and data collection. Students experience firsthand 20 psychology and economics exercises that illustrate a

Guidelines for psycholologists working with animals

“…W hen the use involves regulated procedures and when a variety of species can be used, the psychologist should em ploy the species that, in the opinio n of the psycholo gist and other quali®ed collea gues, is least likely to suffer, and must justify this choice in any Project Licence application. Alternatives such as video records from previou s work or computer simulations can som etim es be used, especially in teaching contexts but also for some research purposes: see Stricklin et al (1995) and Hull (1996). Advice on computer simulations for teaching can be obtained from the CTI Psychology Centre at the University of York.…”

The Foundations of Attitudes About Animal Research

“…In response to opposition to animal research, many educational institutions, but by no means all (Benedict & Stoloff, 1991;Hull, 1996), have closed or reduced their facilities for animal studies in psychology (Gallup & Eddy, 1990; Thomas & Blackman, 1992). Furthermore, some animal researchers will even conceal their occupations to avoid negative social interactions (Arluke, 1991).…”

Animal Use, Student Choice, and Nonanimal Alternatives at “America's Best” Undergraduate Colleges

“…To date, only a handful of published reports have focused specifically on the educational use of nonhuman animals in the undergraduate psychology curriculum (Benedict & Stoloff, 1991;Bowd & Shapiro, 1993;Hull, 1996;Plous, 1996). Taken together, these studies indicate that (a) between 50% to 70% of higher education institutions in the United States offer undergraduate animal-based instruction in psychology, (b) schools with graduate programs in psychology offer more undergraduate animal-based instruction than schools without graduate programs, (c) a little more than one third of psychology majors at schools with animal-based instruction and one fifth of majors nationwide report having taken animal course work, and (d) less than half the schools that offer undergraduate animal-based instruction have a policy to accommodate students who object to the use of animals in psychology classrooms.…”