Do
you find it objectionable to participate in psychology animal labs? If
so, then you are part of an increasing number of psychology students who
find the use of animals in these labs unacceptable. The labs you may
take part in might require you to watch a rat run through a maze, to
shock a rat, to starve mice, or even remove part of the brain of a small
mammal. Whatever the case may be, you are entitled to refuse to do such
procedures.
The Student Rights Option
As a student, you have the power of choice. You can act on your
conscience. When you are asked to participate in any procedure involving
an animal that makes you uncomfortable, you have the right to say NO.
The experiment might be painful, crippling, or fatal to the animal; or
it might be as simple as observing a confined animal. But no matter what
is being done, you have the right to say NO.
As more students have exercised their right to say NO, student
rights have been pushed into the public eye. Jennifer Graham, a high
school biology student in California, refused to dissect an animal which
had been killed for that purpose. She took her case to a federal court,
resulting in national media coverage.
Psychology students are objecting too. A group of undergraduates
at a Colorado university were told to perform mutilating surgery on
rats. They said NO. Students at a Connecticut college were required to
participate in a lab in which rats were deprived of food, conditioned
and killed after the lab. They said NO. Other students have objected to
pro-animal research bias in exam questions, professors' refusal to
support thesis proposals on animal welfare topics, instrumental
attitudes towards animals conveyed in textbooks, etc.
Laws and Policies
California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maine, New
York, and Louisiana have passed laws or advisories which require high
schools (but not colleges) to provide an alternative exercise to
students who object. Thirty percent of colleges and universities also
have taken the sensible and humane step of adopting student rights
policies. If you take a psychology course at one of these institutions,
your professor must 1) inform you of your right to refuse to participate
in animal labs and 2) provide a suitable alternative. If you go to a
school that does not have such a policy, there are a number of things
you can do - see below.
What can I do in the Classroom?
If you feel the least bit uncomfortable with the way lab animals are being used in a lab you should:
- Arrange a meeting with your professor
- Explain how you feel about seeing animals used in the classroom. Be polite but firm.
- Ask your professor to excuse you, without penalty, from the lab
- You might suggest some alternatives such as those listed below.
- If your professor will not accommodate you, protest to the following:
• First, the head of the Psychology department
• Next, your school or university's Animal Care and Use Committee (required by all schools that conduct animal research)
• Finally, the Dean of the College
Standing your ground
Remember: Your refusal to participate in animal labs is
protected under the free exercise of religion clause of the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution. Requiring you to harm,
cripple, kill, or use animals in any way violates your rights if your
objection is based on a sincerely held belief. Don't be intimidated by a
professor's threats to fail you, or by peer pressure to participate in
labs where animals are being used. You are on sound legal and ethical
ground.
What if my School doesn't have such a Policy?
If you are interested in helping to put together a student
rights policy at your school, call Society & Animals Forum at
301-963-4751 or email us at kshapiro@societyandanimalsforum.org . We
have speakers to send to your campus, tips on how to organize, and
sample student rights policies - all of which can help you get a policy
established.
Alternatives: By Course
Learning
- Sniffy, the Virtual Rat. Operant conditioning. Brooks/Cole Publishing, Monterey , CA 93940
- OpRat. Operant conditioning. Crofter Publishing, 4546 South Semoran, #690 W, Orlando , FL 32822
- Shaping Behavior. Life Sciences Associates, 1 Fenimore Rd. , Bayport NY 11705-2115
- The World of Sidney Slug and His Friends. Shaping, differential reinforcement, punishment, extinction.
- Associates in Analysis of Behavior, 16-2330 Harbor Rd. , Sudney , BC V8L 2P8 Canada
- Laboratory in Classical Conditioning. Includes suppression, taste aversion. Conduit, U. of Iowa - Oakdale, Iowa City , IA 52242
- CC Dog. Classical conditioning. Includes higher-order
conditioning, variable inter-stimulus interval. Crofter Publishing, 4546
South Semoran, #690 W, Orlando , FL 32822
- Alley Rat Pack. Hullian learning principles. Crofter Publishing, 4546 South Semoran, #690 W, Orlando , FL 32822
Animal Behavior
- Animal Behavior Data Simulation. 25 animal experiments. Oakleaf Systems, PO Box 472 , Decorah , IA 52101
- FIRM: Vol III, Comparative Psychology. Simulates six
data-generating research models, e.g., behavior genetics, hormones and
aggression. Conduit, University of Iowa - Oakdale Campus, Iowa City , IA
52242
Physiological Psychology
- NeuralSim. Simulates properties of nervous system of squid. Starpak, 237 22nd St., Greeley, CO 80631
- Neurosys. Simulates basic parameters of nerve cell function.
Herbert Levitan, Zoology Dept., Univ. of Maryland , College Park , MD
20742
- Physiological Stimulation Software. Includes concepts of pharmacology. James E. Randall, 609 S. Jordan, Bloomington , IN 47401
- Psychology Video Lab Series. Neuroscience and physiology. Allyn and Bacon, College Division, Rockleigh , NJ 07647
- Anton, B.S. (April 1995). The Biology Project: Self-monitoring
as a laboratory for physiological psychology. Teaching of Psychology,
22, 2, 130-131. Regulative physiology problems using student as their
own subject.
Experimental Psychology
- ABI - 1,2, and 3. Animated simulations of psychological
experiments. Artificial Behavior, Inc. 2124 Kittredge, Suite 215 ,
Berkeley , CA 94794
- MEL Lab: Experiments in Perception, Cognition, Social
Psychology, & Human Factors. Simulates 27 classic experiments.
Psychology Software Tools, Inc., 511 Bevington Rd. , Pittsburgh PA 15221
- START: Tools for Experiments in Memory, Learning, Cognition, and
Perception. Contains 15 programs of computer-aided instrumentation in
conducting research, e.g., tachistoscope, memory drum. Conduit,
University of Iowa - Oakdale Campus, Iowa City , IA 52242
- Psych Lab. Perception, memory, and learning. Queue, Inc., 338 Commence Drive, Fairfield , CT 06430
- For a listing of available software see Computer Use in
Psychology: A Directory of Software. (1992, 3rd edition). American
Psychological Association, 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002
|
