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Animal Research: Collateral Issues Concerning Scientific Practice in the Context of Education

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Abstract

Discussions of the ethics of animal experimentation have included attacks on scientific practice, attacks that go beyond the humanitarian issues to question the enterprise of experimental psychology. Charges of pointless experiments, obvious findings, repetitious experiments, and lack of external validity reveal a misunderstanding of the aim and practice of science. These charges are considered and reasons for the apparent problems are articulated. It is concluded that students of experimental psychology should focus attention on ethical issues as a means of offsetting indifferent attitudes that may result from a tradition of analytic thinking.

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Lopatto, D. Animal Research: Collateral Issues Concerning Scientific Practice in the Context of Education. Psychol Rec 36, 145–154 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394935

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