Preview

Compare and contrast how Skinner and Harlow have used non-human animals in behavioural research.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1454 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare and contrast how Skinner and Harlow have used non-human animals in behavioural research.
Compare and contrast how Skinner and Harlow have used non-human animals in behavioural research.

In the following essay I will compare and contrast the works of both Harlow and Skinner when looking into behavior and how both used non-human animals in their research. Harlow was born on 31st October 1905 and named Harry Frederic Israel. His parents were Mabel Rock and Alonzo Harlow Israel and he was the second youngest of four boys. Harlow became an American Psychologist after he achieved his PhD in 1930 and changed his name from Israel to Harlow. Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on 20th March 1904. He grew up with one brother. His father had his own law firm and his mother was a housewife. Skinner was an American psychologist who accomplished his PhD in 1931 and became Professor of Psychology at Harvard University in 1958.

Both studied non-human animals and they both made the assumptions that the work they were investigating applied across different species. They differed in the explanations they gave for the behaviour they were investigating, but both concluded their findings could also be correlated to the behaviour of humans. I will discuss some of the similarities and differences and I will also consider the extent to which they were able to speculate their findings across animal species.

Comparing Works of Skinner and Harlow

To state the obvious Both Skinner and Harlow conducted experiments with non-human animals, skinners preferred animal species to study were rats and pigeons where as Harlow most famous theory revolved around the experimental research of rhesus monkeys.

Skinner pursued the foundation of behaviourism (also referred to as stimulus-response psychology), which suggested that psychology should only study observable, measurable behaviour. Skinner investigated the observable processes of learning. Learning is said to occur as a result of associations being made between stimulus and responses that didn’t exist before learning takes

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Assessment Cypop30

    • 4413 Words
    • 18 Pages

    B.F. Skinner, born on March 20th 1904, was an American behavioural psychologist who carried who carried out many experiments based on how behaviour is shaped and that all humans will regurgitate the things they enjoy doing and avoid those they dislike. He understood that creative people will be rewarded positively in order for that person to take an interest in that particular activity and develop further. He based his theories on self-observation, causing him to support behaviourism, believing that people should be controlled through systematic rewards. Skinner discovered and advanced the “Rate of response” as a dependant variable psychological research. He was criticised as many scientists are, but was called both “evil and hateful” yet also “warm and enthusiastic.”…

    • 4413 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dfa7130 Assignment 2

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the 19th B. F. Skinner he believed that the results he discovered with rats in his ‘Skinner Box’ would be transferable to humans, that is our behaviour responds to a stimuli, whether praise or disapproval.…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. Skinners theory is based on the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behaviour.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When it comes to animal research I feel there are to major dilemmas that arise that play a major role in how we determine the research methods as ethical or not: (1) do certain non-human species have changed consciousness and (2) to what extent do the animals suffer or experience death and how that influences their overall “well-being.” I pose these to issues because as rational, logical creatures we are capable of answering these two questions for ourselves and discuss our thoughts and feelings with one another, but we are unable to converse with or tap into the psyche of other species in a similar manner. Essential, we cannot determine with certainty if non-human species truly have a consciousness or evaluate their overall state (aside from…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    B. F. Skinner Importance

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Skinner 's research he developed a device called the “cumulative recorder”. It was used to show the rates of a test subjects responding. The device proved other psychologists ' work to be a fluke. The behavior of others didn 't depend on preceding stimulus as John Watson and Ivan Pavlov had shown in their studies. Skinner found that it was dependent upon what happens after the action occurs. An example of this would be a kid doing good in school, getting an “A”, and later being rewarded for it by his/her parents. It has been proven or shown that operant conditioning has been in place which is the contribution Skinner has gave to Psychology. Which explains why in 1990 he was giving an award known as the “Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Harlow

    • 1948 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Harry Harlow was a Psychologist who provided an innovative understanding of human behavior and development. Harlow studied the social behaviors of monkeys in his experiments. His research contributions in the areas of learning, motivation, and affection have grave importance in the field of general and child psychology.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In psychological testing of animals, alternatives are being used more frequently in this day and time. A scientist can “use a computer to model a rat’s behavior” but prefer observing a live animal. A computer is not able to correctly calculate how the rat would react to certain environmental changes based solely on a few…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Animal Testing

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This article goes over how much humans and animals differ and why these animals are still used for research and testing. It also goes over what these animals are tested to find, and what models are best for this type of research. This article is ok in that it gives good examples of what exactly is studied, and how it does briefly go over possible opposing viewpoints.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    dfsa

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The methodology that Skinner used for his research was an experiment. He used the Skinner Box that consisted of a cage or box that is empty except for a dish tray into which food may be dispensed to experiment with pigeons and their behavior. Skinner Box is an apparatus for studying instrumental conditioning in animals (typically rats or pigeons) in which the animal is isolated and provided with a lever or switch that it learns to use to obtain a reward, such as a food pellet, or to avoid a punishment, such as an electric shock.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Animal experimentation

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Supporters of the use of animals in experiments, such as the British Royal Society, argue that virtually every medical achievement in the 20th century relied on the use of animals in some way,[9] with the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the U.S. National Academy of Sciencesarguing that even sophisticated computers are unable to model interactions between molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, and the environment, making animal research…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    yfsdfdfsdfdfdsfs

    • 456 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Introduction: Two principles that define the biological level of analysis are that patterns of behavior can be inherited and that animal research may inform our understanding of human behavior.…

    • 456 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ob Theoretical Framework

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Initially psychology was developed using the mental thinking expressed by persons interested in developing the subject of psychology. But John B. Watson differed from that approach and he pioneered the approach in which visible behavior and visible environmental stimulus became the subject of study. B.F. Skinner developed this behavioristic framework further by bringing in the contingent environmental consequences. Behavior is not the outcome of stimulus alone, but it is an outcome determined by the stimulus as well as the contingent environmental consequences of a behavior. This means, there are alternative behaviors for the same stimulus and which behavior is exhibited by a person depends on expected environmental…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of animals in experiments can be extremely helpful in understanding humans. Animals have similar physiology, genetics, similar learning and emotional processes as humans. I believe animal experiments are necessary in order to advance medical, biological, and behavioral knowledge. The type of animal used is important depending on the purpose of the research. Typically mice, rats, monkeys and dogs are used in research.…

    • 530 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Animal Experimentation

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There has been a controversy between animal rights supporters and scientists about whether it is right to use animals in experimental research. Also, it is very debatable whether using animals for such research results in finding a cure for diseases. From my point of view, if there are no other alternatives, and if it is possible that this will contribute to science, animals may be used for experimental research.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Experiments done on animals i.e. non-human animals is said to be animal experimentation. The main reasons for animal experimentation are developing new drugs and studying of different diseases using animal as a model.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays