Why Do Psychologists Use Animal in Research?

Why do psychologists use animal in the research? There are a lot of people who do not agree with testing on animals. Sometimes the benefits might not even outweigh the costs. However, in reality the actual benefits of using animals for research are gaining new knowledge that we do not already obtain, developing new drugs and treatments for illnesses not cured yet, and developing new technologies. By using animals in research there is so much more knowledge out there to be gained. However, there is also a lot to be lost, such as the innocent lives of animals. The main costs as a lot of animal rights activists see it, are that the animals go through a lot of pain, suffering, and distress during the experiments in which they take a part in involuntarily. Another cost, is death! In a lot of cases, when the experimenter has no more need for an animal, they are killed. Psychologists do research to learn more about behavior and how knowledge of behavior can be used to advance the welfare of people and animals. Although much research in psychology uses people as subjects, research with animal subjects continues to be essential for answering some fundamental questions. Since Charles Darwin's work, which emphasized continuity in evolution from animals to people in their mental abilities and in physical characteristics, psychologists have worked to understand the basic principles and processes that underlie the behavior of all creatures, human and nonhuman. As knowledge has accumulated, identification of characteristics that are unique to different species has yielded information that contributes to understanding and advancing the welfare of animals and people. Animal research has been the major contributor to our knowledge of basic learning processes and motivational systems, such as hunger, thirst, and reproduction. Animal research has provided critical information about the sensory processes of vision, taste, hearing, and pain perception. Studies of animal cognition have