Commentary: Spontaneous expression of mirror self-recognition in monkeys after learning precise visual-proprioceptive association for mirror images

Incorporating animal agency into research design could improve behavioral and neuroscience research.

“…These protocols are used to obtain results in behavioral or neuroscience research but are problematic for several reasons. Beyond the ethical issues of such restraints for animals, these examples of experimental setups lead us to consider which possibilities and results have yet to be investigated and more importantly whether such compulsory protocols could lead to false negatives or false positives (Chang et al, 2017; Huttunen et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2017). False negatives or false positives mean that studies show respectively negative (not expected, Hypothesis 0) or positive results (expected, Hypothesis 1), but these results are not due to the tested condition (e.g., a drug, a gene, an environmental condition) but due to uncontrolled factors (e.g., stress, personality).…”