Contents
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What is Comparative Psychology?
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Animals Studied
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Core Studies from Physiological Psychology: Thorndike (1911) and Pavlov (1927)
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Contributions to Psychology
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Advantages and Disadvantages
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Summary
Comparative Psychology
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Comparative psychology is the study of the behaviour and mental life of
non-human animals. Comparative psychology should, but rarely does,
involve the use of a comparative method in which similar studies are
carried out on animals from different species.
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There has been a recent reversal in its approach. In the past researchers
have looked to apply findings from animals to humans, but
researchers are now taking principles uncovered in the study of human
cognition and testing these principles on animals.
Animals Studied
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Dogs. Pavlov's classical conditioning experiments.
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Cats. Thorndike’s early work on operant conditioning
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Rats. Thorndike’s operant conditioning work and current day work
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Pigeons. Skinner’s learning theory
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Primates. Harlow’s study of maternal deprivation/ Intelligence in animals/Language development.
Core Studies from Comparative Psychology
1) Pavlov (1927) Classical Conditioning. Classical conditioning is learning by association.
Aim: To demonstrate that animals learn by association.
Design: Laboratory
Procedure: A dog was placed in a harness and fed food in a bucket. Each time the dog ate a bell
rang. A salivation recording device measured salivation.
Results: The dogs started to salivate before the food bucket arrived, often at the sights of the food
bucket or the sound of the bell. The dogs had learnt to associate new external stimuli (e.g sights and
sounds) with the original stimulus (food). This shows us that animals can learn by association.
Thorndike (1911) Operant Conditioning Experiments
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Aim: To demonstrate that cats learn through operant conditioning. (Learning through the
consequences of behavioural responses)
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Design: Experiment
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Procedure: Cats were placed in a puzzle box and had to learn to escape. Their escape entailed
pulling a string inside the box which released the catch on the door and provided escape. (a desirable
consequence)
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Results: Cats gradually learnt how to escape from the box. Each time the cat was put in the box they
escaped more quickly by using methods that had previously provided a desirable consequence
(escape) and they avoided behaviours that led to an undesirable effect. This is known as the Law of
Effect.
Contributions to Psychology
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An animal's psychological condition is recognised as an important part of its well being in captivity.
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Significant advances in our understanding of memory, problem solving and other cognitive abilities
in animals.
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The Development of Learning Theory
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Recognition of the following causes of disordered behaviour in animals kept in captivity: lack of
stimulation, inappropriate stimulation, or over stimulation.
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Recognition that a dog’s character and breed will determine how they will react to stimulation
problems
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Dogs are prone to psychological problems if they are violently treated.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Comparative Psychology
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Useful Findings. Learning and language
theories.
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An interesting insight into the animal world
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The Ethics of animal testing.
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Can you really generalise results from
animals to humans?
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Subjectivity Researchers working with
dolphins and primates have been criticised for
become overly attached to the research and
exaggerating findings.
Summary
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Comparative Psychology looks at animals.
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It has helped us to understand basic learning and it has provided an insight into animal psychology
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It has been accused of being unethical and lacking in generalisability to humans.