Extended Response Questions – Animal Research

Past Extended Response Questions

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Command terms associated with assessment objective 1: Knowledge and comprehension

Command terms associated with assessment objective 2: Application and Analysis

Command terms associated with assessment objective 3: Synthesis and evaluation

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 Objective 1

Sample ERQ (1): Define what is Animal Modelling?

It is the use of a non-human animal to study a psychological phenomenon that is similar to a human
condition.

Sample ERQ (1): Describe the use of animals in psychology research.

 Around 29 million animals per year are used in experiments in the USA and the EU
 Rats and mice make up around 80% of the total number of animals used in research
 The use of animals in experiments has fallen by half in the past 30 years as ethical
considerations have become more prominent and technology has progressed so that their
use is unnecessary
 Research into behaviourism drew strongly on animal models e.g. Pavlov’s dogs and classical
conditioning; Skinner’s rats and operant conditioning
 Animals are also widely used in the biological approach e.g. the use of pigeons, mice and rats
in understanding drug tolerance and addiction

Sample ERQ (1): Outline the three Rs Principles for animal research.
1. Replacement: This involves using alternative methods that do not require animals. For example,
in silico (computer-based) or in vitro (cell culture) methods.
2. Reduction: If animals are essential, researchers should aim to use the fewest animals possible to
obtain valid results, ensuring minimal suffering.
3. Refinement: Improving experimental techniques to minimise potential pain, suffering, distress,
or lasting harm to animals.

Objective 2
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Sample ERQ (1): Explain why use animals in research?
Around 29 million animals are currently being used in experiments in Western countries. Over 80%
of these animals are rats and mice. Here are some reasons why many experiments in Psychology
involve animals:
‒ Ease of conducting research. Lab rats are cheap and easy to store. Human participants must
be recruited, paid for their participation, and scheduled to come into the lab at a certain
time. Lab rats, on the other hand, can be experimented on at any time of the day or night,
don't have to be recruited or paid, and will have to do whatever experimental procedure you
want them to do, whether they like it or not. For instance, in Rosenzweig and Bennet's
study, some rats were placed in a cage, alone and with no stimulation, for 60 days. Could
you imagine how difficult (and expensive) it would be to pay a person to sit by themselves in
a room for that length of time?

‒ Less ethical concerns. Modern ethics committees can be very strict about enforcing ethical
guidelines in human research, and no study that causes physical or psychological harm to
people will be allowed to proceed. On the other hand, for better or worse, there are less
strict ethical guidelines when it comes to animal research. For instance, in Albert's study on
testosterone, alpha rats had their testicles surgically removed - a procedure that would
(obviously) never be allowed on humans.

‒ Ability to study behavior over the lifespan. Since most animals live shorter lives than
people, it is more feasible to study the effects of a variable over an animal's entire life span -
or even into future generations. For instance, one might study whether rats exposed to a
stressful environment in rat childhood continue to suffer effects into old rat age, and even
whether their rat children continue to suffer effects.

‒ Ease of carefully controlling variables. Although there are human research studies that span
years (even decades), it is obviously impossible to control all the variables that a person
might encounter over such a long-time span. On the other hand, psychologists can carefully
control all of the variables for a lab rat (such as diet, type of cage, etc), establishing a clear
causal link between the independent and dependent variables. For instance, in Rosenzweig
and Bennet's study, carefully controlling the environment that the rats were placed in
demonstrated a clear causal relationship between a stimulating environment and
neuroplasticity

‒ Genetic similarity between rats and humans. Rats and humans each have approximately
30,000 genes, but only about 300 are different between them. As surprising as this may
seem, rats and humans share 99% of their genes in common! In fact, humans and rats share
many of the same brain structures. For instance, both rats and humans possess a
hippocampus, the part of the brain that plays a key role in memory, and both human and rat
behavior is influenced by testosterone, as suggested by Albert's research.

Sample ERQ (1): What ethical considerations should be applied to the use of animals in research?

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Researchers are not able to apply the ethical considerations that they would use when working with
human participants e.g. it is impossible to gain informed consent from animals; animals cannot be
given the right to withdraw.

There are ethical guidelines which apply only to the use of animals as set down by bodies such as the
British Psychological Society (BPS) and the American Psychological Association (APA):

 Outweigh the cost and benefit of using animals. Researchers must undertake a cost/benefit
analysis when considering using animals in research: if the costs outweigh the benefits, then
the research should not take place
 With clear aim of using animal in research. Any study which uses animals should have a
clear aim and should be able to stand up to scrutiny as a piece of scientific research
 Possible alternatives. Possible alternatives to the use of animals in research include using
cell cultures, computer simulations or conducting a meta-analysis i.e. using work already
completed by other researchers.
 Minimise animals’ suffering. In the past animals may have been used without much
consideration for their wellbeing but it is becoming increasingly important that researchers
exercise due care and respect for their animal subjects to minimise suffering and only use
animal subjects when it is deemed necessary

Biological extension topics: “The role of animal research in understanding human behaviour”

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  The value of animal models in psychological research
 Whether animal research can provide insight into human behaviour
 Ethical considerations in animal research

Albert et al. (1986)

A: Investigate the effects of changing testosterone levels on the aggressiveness of male rats

M: Measured change in aggression in a cage with the presence of non-aggressive rats

-Manipulated testosterone levels by castration

-Compared castrated rats with two other randomly allocated conditions of no castration or sham
surgery in which testosterone levels were unchanged

-sham surgery to control for stress of undergoing surgery itself

F: Rats from the castrated condition demonstrated less aggressive behaviors such as pouncing when
an "intruder" rat was placed in the same cage as a castrated rat with lower testosterone levels

-rats with no castration and sham surgeries demonstrated more aggressive behaviors towards an
intruder rat

TSS: Testosterone, which has been previously correlated with aggression, may lead to more
aggressive tendencies since the rats with reduced testosterone levels were less aggressive than rats
with unchanged testosterone levels

*Evaluation:

1) S - Method: Tightly controlled variables and random allocation to each condition which would be
unethical to perform on humans

-cause-and-effect relationship established

2) L - Reductionist approach: only studies phenomenon through investigation of one variable: biology

3) L - Generalizability to humans: Aggressive acts demonstrated by rats in unnatural setting may not
be generalizable to acts of human aggression in real-life settings

4) S - Value of research: Led to human research in Radke et al. (2015)'s experiment on participants
with manipulated testosterone levels

-fMRI experiment: high testosterone levels led to higher amygdala activity in response to angry faces
under fMRI than those with consistent testosterone levels

5) S - Applications: understanding how testosterone can affect human aggression and developing
better solutions to reduce aggression and crime in society

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https://quizlet.com/400247933/paper-1-erq-for-hl-bloa-ext-animal-research-flash-cards/

https://www.thinkib.net/psychology/page/22437/ethics-in-animal-research

https://ibpsychmatters.com/animal-research-hl

https://quizlet.com/432246298/ib-psychology-ba-erq-hl-included-flash-cards/

https://www.tutorchase.com/notes/ib/psychology/1-5-1-pavlov-s-dogs

https://www.ibpsychmatters.com/evaluating-research

Sapolsky (2007)

A: Investigate the effects of stress from social status on physiology

M: Correlational study

-Euthanized baboons and inserted pellets of cortisol into the heads of baboons of differing social
standing in their hierarchy

-Conducted a post-mortem study to analyze their brain structure

-30 years of observations of baboons in Kenya

F: Baboons with higher cortisol levels were correlated with reduced hippocampal volume

-low hippocampal volume has been previously correlated with high stress levels in research on PTSD

TSS: Human health may also be affected by prolonged stress when it leads to increased cortisol levels

-Baboons may serve as a generalizable model for humans and how prolonged social stress from low
social status can lead to high cortisol levels that can perpetuate the cycle of stress

*Evaluation:

1) S - High ecological validity from field setting

2) L - Experimental procedures of inserting pellets of cortisol into baboons may lower external
validity of study's findings

3) S - Value of research: supported by evidence using human participants in Marmot (1990)'s

Whitehall study, which found that civic servants in London with lower rank in workplace had higher
levels of cortisol

-correlation found between baboons with lower social status and higher levels of cortisol

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4) S - Applications: understanding how stress hormones may affect our stress response in modern
work environments where prolonged activation of stress response may lead to stress-related
illnesses

Value of animal research

Rosenzweig et al. (1972)/Sapolsky (1997)

Arguments which support the use of animals to provide insight into human behaviour

 Human beings are animals, and it is only via experimentation that insight into particular
types of behaviour can be achieved, particularly at the biochemical level of experimentation.
 Using human beings as participants can only go so far, due to ethical restrictions placed on
the use of humans in research: this is when the use of animals as subjects is useful.
 There are some perceived similarities between human brains and animal brains, particularly
with higher-order animals such as chimpanzees, who share 98.8% of their DNA with humans
therefore this has real value as a model of human behaviour.
 Some animal studies involve injecting animals with hormones, lesioning part of their brain or
implementing genetic modification: all techniques that would be unethical to use on humans
but which may provide scientific breakthroughs.

Arguments against the use of animals in research to provide insight into human behaviour

 There are strong moral and ethical arguments for not using animals in research: causing
distress to the animal; depriving the animal of their natural environment; destroying the
animal for the sake of the research; using animals without considering possible alternative
solutions; the assumption that an animal life is less valuable than a human life.
 Humans and animals share similarities, but they are, clearly, not completely identical:
humans are more sophisticated in terms of their cognitions, motivations and higher-order
thinking than animals so the results of animal studies cannot be completely generalised to
humans.
 Some research using animals has been prone to methodological flaws e.g. not using random
allocation to conditions, not using a single‐blind design, baseline measurements being
unreliable, testing the animals in the artificial environment of the lab, rather than in the wild.

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Research which investigates the use of animal models to provide insight into human behaviour

 Rosenzweig et al. (1972): neuroplasticity in rats' brains

 Fadda et al. (1996): neurotransmission in rats' brains
 Shively et al. (2009): the effect of elevated cortisol on monkeys' brains
 Martin et al. (2005): the role of pheromones in red-backed salamanders and territoriality
 Weaver et al. (2004): epigenetic changes in rats
 Lassi & Tucci (2017): gene-environment interaction and attachment in mice

Worked example

ERQ (EXTENDED RESPONSE QUESTION) 22 MARKS

The question is, ‘Discuss the value of animal models to provide insight into human behaviour’ [22]

Here is the introduction to this essay: note that it provides an overview of the topic, and gives a
‘road map’ of what the essay will cover:

Some psychological research uses animals, e.g. rats, as their subjects (only human beings are
referred to as ‘participants’) in an attempt to apply the findings to human behaviour. An animal
model is used in research for the purpose of better understanding behaviour without the added risk
of causing harm to a human during the process for obvious ethical reasons (the protection of
participants). Animals have been an important feature of psychological movements such as
Behaviourism in the 1950s e.g. the reinforcement of reward on different schedules gave an insight
into human gambling behaviour. Biopsychology has tested rats’ navigation of a T-maze to highlight
the role of ACh in learning and memory, an insight which would not have been achievable with
human participants. This essay will consider the relative value of animal models in understanding
human behaviour using research by Skinner (1951) and Fadda et al. (1996).

Below you will find a sample ERQ for the question:

Discuss the value of animal models in the study of the brain and behaviour.

What are the specific ethical guidelines used in animal research?

 There are three clear determining factors which researchers must apply when using animals
in research: Replace; Reduce; Refine
 Replace: use alternatives to live animals e.g. computer simulations or existing video footage
of previous research
 Reduce: use as few animals as possible for the study and conduct a pilot study to ensure that
any flaws in the procedure are addressed so that animals are not used thoughtlessly
 Refine: procedures must be analysed to ensure that animals do not suffer unnecessarily e.g.
limit any aversive or harmful elements to the procedure such as keeping an animal in

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 isolation or interfering with its usual routines such as feeding and sleeping; avoid
overcrowding animals in laboratory cages
 Refine: study animals in the wild, living in their natural environment where possible; handle
animals with care, particularly if the animal has undergone any surgery as part of the
research process

Worked example

EXTENDED RESPONSE QUESTION (ERQ) 22 MARKS

The question is, ‘To what extent is research using animals ethical?’ [22]

‘To what extent’ requires you to consider a range of arguments regarding whether or not animal
research is ethical so that you are able to form a conclusion based on the points that have been
raised in the essay. Look at these exemplar paragraphs to give you an idea as to how to construct
relevant arguments for this exam question:

Researchers must conduct a cost-benefit analysis weighing up the decision to use animals at all, even
within the ethical guidelines, to minimise the cost to the animals. The benefits and costs have to be
considered for each piece of research. However, sometimes the benefits for treatment of humans are
not known until human clinical trials take place after the animal studies i.e. it is ultimately more
ethical to test the treatment on animals first. However, this approach can backfire and lead to
humans being harmed: Archibald and Coleman (2012) stated that, in 92% of medical cases,
treatments that worked with animals failed clinical trials with humans. Bearing this in mind perhaps
it could be argued that animal research should be abandoned as it does not serve a useful purpose.

Animal research may be unethical to a great extent in that we often cannot argue that the benefits
outweigh the costs until many animals have been used in research and probably suffered as part of
the process. Researchers have to believe that it is better to use an animal to potentially understand
human behaviour and to develop cures for human disorders than it is to use a human, even if that
human is a volunteer. Minimising the animals’ distress, using as few subjects as necessary, and
housing them as humanely as possible makes the research ethical to a greater extent than it was
before these measures were introduced. What cannot be ignored however, is the lack of
generalisability to humans which means that such research is unethical as, really, what is the point of
it? Where researchers have reasonable doubt as to the usefulness of using animals then alternatives,
such as computer simulations or cell samples should be used. In this way the research would be fully
adhering to the ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research.

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Animal studies have significantly contributed to our understanding of human behaviour, psychology,
and biology. However, using animals for research, especially in psychology, has prompted numerous
ethical concerns, debates, and guidelines to ensure their humane treatment. This section will delve
into the historical treatment of animals in research, the evolution of modern ethical guidelines, and
the ongoing controversies and debates surrounding this sensitive issue.

Historical Treatment of Animals

Early Research Practices: In the early days of scientific experimentation, there was minimal concern
for the welfare of animals. They were frequently subjected to painful procedures, deprived
environments, and extreme conditions to observe their behavioural responses.

Notable Examples:

Ivan Pavlov: While his work on classical conditioning is foundational, Pavlov's methods, like surgically
implanting devices in dogs, raised concerns.

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John Watson: Known for the "Little Albert" experiment, Watson also conducted invasive animal
experiments to study instinctual behaviours.

Shift in Perception: As societies became more concerned with animal rights and welfare, a change in
perspective towards their ethical treatment in research settings started to emerge by the mid-20th
century.

Modern Ethical Guidelines

Outline the three Rs Principles for animal research.

Replacement: This involves using alternative methods that do not require animals. For example, in
silico (computer-based) or in vitro (cell culture) methods.

Reduction: If animals are essential, researchers should aim to use the fewest animals possible to
obtain valid results, ensuring minimal suffering.

Refinement: Improving experimental techniques to minimise potential pain, suffering, distress, or

lasting harm to animals.

Institutional Review Boards

Role and Function: Many institutions have review boards or ethics committees to evaluate the
ethicality of proposed animal research. These boards ensure compliance with local and international
guidelines.

Enforcement: Non-adherence to these guidelines can lead to severe penalties, including loss of
funding or the authority to conduct research.

Legal Frameworks and Organisational Policies

Governmental Oversight: Numerous countries have legal frameworks to govern animal research.
These might dictate the conditions in which animals are kept, the type of research permitted, and
the methods employed.

Organisational Policies: International organisations, like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and
the European Commission, have laid down policies regarding animal testing, promoting more
humane practices.

Controversies and Debates

Utility vs. Ethicality

Value of Animal Research: Advocates argue that animal research has led to numerous scientific
breakthroughs, benefiting both human and animal health. For instance, the development of certain
medicines, treatments, and surgical techniques.

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Counter-arguments: Detractors believe that the benefits do not justify the means, especially when
considering the potential pain and suffering of animals. They often push for alternative methods.

Cognitive and Emotional Capacities of Animals

Brain and Behaviour: Recent research has indicated that many animals, especially mammals, have
cognitive and emotional capacities that are more sophisticated than previously believed. This
recognition has fuelled debates over their use in experiments.

Speciesism Accusations: Some argue that giving preference to humans over animals is a form of
discrimination known as speciesism. They advocate for more equitable treatment, regardless of
species.

Transparency in Research

Need for Transparency: Critics of animal research often point out that institutions are not
transparent enough about their animal research practices. They demand more openness about the
methodologies used and the outcomes of these experiments.

Reproducibility Crisis: Recent years have seen concerns about the reproducibility of many scientific
studies, including those using animals. If results cannot be replicated, it brings into question the
necessity of the original research and the ethical justification for using animals.

Balancing Welfare with Scientific Advancement

Welfare-first Approach: Some believe that while animal research may be permissible, the welfare of
the animals should always come first. They argue for a more compassionate approach to research,
even if it means slower scientific progress.

Science-first Approach: Others maintain that while animal welfare is essential, it shouldn't hinder
scientific progress. They argue that some short-term harm can lead to long-term benefits for both
humans and animals.

In conclusion, the ethical considerations surrounding the use of animals in psychological research are
multifaceted. As our understanding of animal cognition and emotion evolves, so too does the ethical
landscape, requiring ongoing reflection and adjustment by the scientific community.

Mock Questions

Explain the Three Rs principle and its significance in modern ethical guidelines concerning animal
research in psychology.

The Three Rs principle stands for Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. It was established to
promote more humane experimental procedures involving animals. "Replacement" refers to the
adoption of alternative methods that avoid using animals, such as computer simulations.
"Reduction" aims to minimise the number of animals used in research, ensuring that the smallest
number possible is used to obtain reliable results. Lastly, "Refinement" is about amending

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experimental techniques to reduce pain, suffering, and distress. The significance of the Three Rs lies
in its commitment to advancing science without compromising animal welfare, serving as a
cornerstone in modern ethical standards for animal research.

Discuss one major controversy surrounding animal studies in the field of psychology.

One major controversy surrounding animal studies in psychology pertains to the debate over benefits
versus ethical costs. Proponents of animal research often highlight the critical insights and
advancements in medical and psychological fields that have been achieved through such studies.
They argue that these benefits to human health and well-being can sometimes justify the ethical
costs. On the other hand, opponents contend that the moral and ethical implications of subjecting
animals to potential harm, suffering, or death often outweigh any benefits derived. They advocate for
alternative research methods and greater consideration of animal rights and welfare.

(HL) Discuss the value of animal models in psychological research into human behaviour.

(HL) To what extent is animal research ethical?

Practice Questions

Topic 1: Discuss two or more ethical considerations in animal research when investigating the brain
and behaviour. [22]

You must refer to research on localisation, neuroplasticity or neurotransmission.

Discuss two or more ethical considerations in animal research when investigating the hormones
and/or pheromones and behaviour. [22]

You must refer to research on hormones and/or pheromones.

Discuss two or more ethical considerations in animal research when investigating genetics and
behaviour. [22]

You must refer to research on genes and behaviour and/or evolutionary explanations of behaviour.

Discuss two or more ethical considerations relevant to the use of animals in psychological research.
[22]

You may refer to any research studies from in the biological approach.

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