Comparative psychology: the animal part of psychology

This facet of psychology studies the behavior and mental life of different species.

It has long been known that the mental and behavioral life of non-human animals is much richer than one might suppose at first glance. Comparative psychology is an effort to understand the logic behind the way these life forms act, think and feel.

However, it is also a field of study that is not free from criticism, both in terms of its use of the comparative method and its ethical approaches. Let us see what this branch of research in psychology consists of..

What is comparative psychology?

Comparative psychology has been defined as an effort to understand the behavior and mental life of animals. in general, based on the idea that there are certain characteristics of these two spheres that have evolved over time.

Thus, comparative psychology is not only a type of research in which the similarities and differences of different types of animals (including our own species) are simply compared, but it assumes that behind these similarities and differences there is a history of how the mental life and behavior of these life forms have evolved through the passage from one generation to the next and through the creation of new species.

The use of the comparative method

Thus, comparative psychology uses the comparative methodwhich consists of studying psychological processes in certain species and seeing how these conclusions can be extrapolated to other species.

In general, studies are focused on seeing at what point in evolutionary history certain psychological characteristics appear and, from there, checking how they have evolved until reaching the most "evolved" animal species in a certain characteristic.

In practice, this means that the species whose behavior and mental processes we intend to study by indirectly investigating with related species is almost always our own. However, many researchers believe that the goal of comparative psychology should not be an excuse to end up talking about the psychology of the human being, but rather that the mental life and behavior of non-human animal species is of interest in itself..

Animal experimentation or observation?

In principle, there is nothing in the definition of comparative psychology that can be assumed to rely solely on experimental method; it could also be based on field observations made in the natural terrain in which a species lives, as ethology has traditionally done..

However, in practice, experimentation is the most frequently used option in comparative psychology, for two reasons:

• It is cheaper and faster.

• It avoids possible unforeseen events.

• It allows a much better isolation of the variables.

• The fact that the influence of the natural environment specific to a species is ruled out makes it easier to draw conclusions that provide information about the behavior of human beings.

Of course, this has led to comparative psychology being heavily criticized for cases of been heavily criticized for cases of animal abuse.The first two experiments, such as Harry Harlow's experiment with monkeys deprived of contact with their mother during their first weeks of life, have been used as a model of behaviorism and comparative psychology.

Comparative psychology and behaviorism

Historically, behaviorism has been the stream of psychology that has relied most heavily on comparative psychology to make discoveries.

This is because, since behavioral researchers focused on the components of psychology that can be objectively recorded and quantified, they assumed that contingencies, which for them were the basic components of the construction of behavioral patterns, can be studied in their most basic elements in life forms with a nervous system less complex than that of humans. than the human.

Thus, for example, B. F. Skinner became well known with his experiments with pigeons, and Edward Thorndike, who was one of the forerunners of behaviorism, established theories on the use of intelligence by experimenting with cats.

Of course, Ivan Pavlov, who laid the foundation for the development of behaviorism by studying simple conditioning, experimented with dogs from the field of physiology.. Even Edward Tolman, a researcher trained in behaviorism who questioned the assumptions of this psychological current, did so by studying rats.

The possibilities of this branch of psychology

The wild appearance of animals, the absence of human-like facial gestures and language mean that we tend to assume that everything about the psychology of these life forms is simple. Comparative psychology attaches great importance to the way in which animals behave..

In any case, whether it does so through the eyes of human beings or whether it seeks a genuine understanding of the mental life of these organisms is hotly debated. There are many different animal species, and traditionally comparative psychology has basically studied non-human primates and some animals that can adapt well to domestic life. non-human primates and some animals that can adapt well to domestic life, such as rats or guinea pigs, such as rats or guinea pigs.

The possibilities of comparative psychology have to do with a better understanding of the life forms around us and also with a deeper knowledge of behavioral patterns inherited for millennia through our evolutionary lineage.

Its limitations have to do with the use of the comparative method and with the fact that we are never quite sure to what extent to what extent it is possible to extrapolate conclusions from one species to another.. And, of course, the ethical issues raised by animal experimentation have entered fully into the debate as to whether or not comparative psychology is useful.