Applied behaviour analysis and animal behaviour
According to (Bekoff, 2013), behaviour analysis refers to a scientific approach that helps an individual to understand why animal and people do and behave the way they do. After studying behaviour analysis an individual develops the capacity to understand how both human beings as well as animal’s behaviours are affected by the various events that take place. This includes the event that are there in their physical and their social environments. Teacher’s researchers and parents make use of behaviour analysis to tell how the physical and social environment impacts on behaviour change.
The study of behaviour analysis will therefore assist a person to understand what they can do in order to change a given behaviour among human being and also among animal so that you can change and or improve their lives (McCagh, 2010). In addition to that the information that is obtained after behavioural analyses have been done can be used to help people live their lives happily, such that they become more productive and live productive lives. Hillix & Rumbaugh (2004) assert that this study helps people in a number of ways since knowledge in the science of behaviour as well as behaviour change technology is applicable and cuts across a number of careers.
Behaviour analysis is regarded as a field and as such it therefore entails a number of principles, concepts and techniques. There student studying behaviour change analyses have the opportunity to learn different skill that will help them understand behaviour and ways through which a given behaviour can be changed (McCagh, 2010). Among the skill that the student learns are techniques with regard to behaviour definition and measuring, creating programmes of behaviour change and finally evaluating the effectiveness of the programmes. These strategies and techniques are learnt as the student engage with the process of learning the courses where they do theoretical as well as practical learning and a combination of the two. By the end of the courses the student are well equipped with marketable skills (Pryor, 2009).
Applied behaviour analysis
According to Hillix & Rumbaugh (2004), applied behaviour analysis is used behaviours that are observable in people and in animals. Behaviour analysts concentrate on physical behaviours that are countable in some way since this is their area of interest. These include people and animals movements, where the movements took place, the number of time the movement occurred among other things.
Behaviour analysts are also interested with how behaviour is affected by the environment. In their study of behaviour they usually record what take place immediate before the behaviour and after the behaviour they are interested in (Pryor, 2009). According to them this may include an animal previous action, event taking place in the environment physically, or anything a person did or said prior to the event. It is worth noting that after a careful observation, both animals and human being show a clearly distinct pattern that takes place before the specific behaviour and other events in the environment (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008).
Pryor (2009) further points out that there is a perception that behaviour analyst deny the fact that people have feelings, thought dreams as well as emotions. However this is usually not the case since as people report on their feelings dreams, emotions and thoughts, they may not do it precisely and accurately. The behaviour analyst therefore insists on the need for them to observe the behaviour and record what exactly is taking place (McCagh, 2010). This helps them establish the relationship between a given behaviour and the events taking place in the environment. Many psychological disciplines in the past have used other ways to help them explain behaviour for instance feelings and thoughts. For instance a parent would conclude that the son quarrelled since one of them is not happy. However the behavioural analysts are interested with the environmental events that aroused the feelings and caused the behaviour (Shipman, 2011). The analyst insists that studying environmental consequences that have direct relation to a given behaviour helps obtain more information with regard to the factors that influences a given behaviour.
Analysis means?
There have been numerous attempts to influence or change a given behaviour for many centuries. People have engaged in attempts to change the behaviours of other for a long time. With regard to this, behaviour analyst’s focuses on controlled research which demonstrates what have been done or what should be done to influence or change a particular behaviour. This entails the learning of either a new behaviour or where an old behaviour is substituted with another one. In this case the objective is to establish the method that creates an impact on the human being or animal mere effectively such that their behaviours will be influenced or changed (McCagh, 2010).
Hillix & Rumbaugh (2004) state that in this situation, a number of methods that can help influence a given behaviour are tried out. Then the consequences of the method applied are analysed systematically to find the method that impacts on the subject most effectively and the impact become long lasting. The behaviour analyst therefore look forward to demonstrate how specific techniques can be applied and their underlying basis help in changing behaviour (Carroll & Overmier, 2001). Once the technique has been proved to be the most effective, it is therefore recommended to be used effectively in many other fields of application.
Applied means
For a science to be termed as applied, it means that analysts with regard to behaviour change want to study problem that are relevant socially in the natural environment that they are in. In these case the behaviour analyst does their research in the laboratory in order for them to discover basic principles in an environment that is tightly controlled (Carroll & Overmier, 2001). Applied research seeks to achieve a given objective which is how the basic principles discovered can be put to use in the society. In a nutshell, the behaviour analysts are interested in helping communities as well as individual persons in solving real problems that affect them.
Behaviour analysts have also used non-human animals in their study where the behaviour of given animals have been influenced to perform human functions. Behavioural analysts have used rats in their study, baboons, chimpanzees and pigeons to illustrate certain behavioural phenomenon. The use of non-human animal is on record to have benefited both human being and the animal (Carroll & Overmier, 2001).
B.F Skinner is one of the behaviour analysts who have used non-human animals in his researches. B.F Skinner is on record having used rats and pigeon together with his colleagues in their initial and pioneer researches with regard to behaviour change (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008). The non-human animals have continued being used and have given incredible results in behavioural research. There are many literatures that have been written in the past decades indicating the successful researches that have been done using the non-human animals by influencing their behaviour to produce specific results.
Jenkins (2004) perceives that behaviour analysts have it that animal behaviours can be used to show and tell more about human behaviour. Behavioural analysts have shown that the study of animal behaviour is the corner stone in studying experimental psychology. This helps the analyst by shedding light to them with regard to complex human emotions. It is therefore worth noting that in psychological studies animals are used in most cases to represent the model of human behaviour and mind (Jenkins, 2004). This experiments with animals have been commonly used when the analyst want to study human condition with respect to psychiatrist disorders as well as neurological diseases.
According to Coon & Mitterer (2004) states that psychologist always makes attempts and develop animal models to enable them study virtually every problem known with regard to human conditions even those that have little or remote cast in psychology. Where researchers need to enquire information with regard to mental illnesses, human cognation, drug addiction, and mental illnesses, animals have been used to obtain this information. In addition to that, when the researchers want to find out information with regard to how body systems work for instance central nervous system and sensory system animals are used (Coon & Mitterer, 2004). The researchers are said to subject animals to various experiments such as vision, pain perception, thirst, hearing, hunger foetal development and reproduction to identify the effects that they could have on human beings.
In addition, Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society (2008) point out that the researcher subject animals in most cases rat to different conditions such as stress, fear, maternal deprivation, learned helplessness, alcohol and other drug substance use and dependence, cigarette use, aggression, and environmental toxins to examine their effect and draw the conclusions. These conclusions are used to relate them to possible effects of such conditions on human beings when they are subjected to similar conditions (Coon, & Mitterer, 2004). When researches with regard to central nervous systems are being carried out by the researchers, animals are used. In this case, animals are used especially in the study of the process of recovery after neural damage has occurred. In addition to that they are used to find out the biological fear correlates and anxiety as well as stresses of other forms. Animals are also used by the scientist on behavioural changes do ascertain dependence and subjective effect as a result of psychotropic drugs. In addition to that, animals are used to ascertain the body mechanisms that are responsible for the process of motivation and those that control eating (Coon & Mitterer (2004).
Researchers have used an animal model to represent human conditions such as anxiety, depression, posttraumatic, alcoholism, schizophrenia, autism, drug addiction. Other human conditions that researchers have tested using animals are effects on spinal cord injury, and obsessive compulsive disorder. To find out the effect on human beings the animals are subjected to a facsimile with the disorder condition or the disease and the animals are induced with them (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008).
Garber (2009), assert that psychologists have also used animals in the study of experience and behaviour. To achieve the objectives, the researchers require that the animals be aware and conscious. This experiment is termed as one of the cruellest experiment on animal for the reason that the animals undergo untold pain and suffering. The research has it that the animals remain in distress for quite a lengthy period of time, due to the invasive procedure that they are subjected to. The animals are expected to undergo through the recovery process so that the desired experience and behaviours can be observed. This is in relation to the injuries that they are subjected to (McCagh, 2010).
With reference to American psychological association (2012), there are a wide range of species that the researchers use as they carry out their studies depending on the psychological study they are undertaking. With this regard, a group of animals that the researchers commonly use in their researchers are the rodents. The rodents that are used in most cases are principally mice, rats and pigeons (American psychological association, 2012). The reason as to why the researchers prefer using the rodents and the bird is that the two are not among the animals covered in the animal welfare act. In addition to that they are not part of the government statistics since they are not counted. Another reasons as to why primate such as dog, cats, and other non-human animals are not preferred when this experiment are being carried out is that they require to be subjected to protocols and procedures that are invasive in a high degree. This is in comparison to rodent such as mice and rats. As a result the primates suffer immensely and are become very distressed (Garber, 2009).
Cats, for instance, have been used in research with regard to visual deprivation. In addition to that they have been used by researchers to study the physiology of vision and colour. They are said to suffer more especially when used to study brain damage. In other studies for instance surgical alterations where for instance their eyes are sewn shut, the animals are said to suffer immensely. In other researches where animals suffer immensely are electrode implantations in their brains, eyes and in the muscles (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008).
Where researchers wanted to learn about learned helplessness and depression, the animals were commonly used are the dogs. Dogs are usually placed in a cage that has electrified floor bars. In this case, the dogs suffered immensely due to the electric shock that was inescapable. This process was repeated severally and as a result, the dogs started experiencing hopeless depression of a proportion that was psychotic and fear. Other studies that researchers have used non-human primates are the study of aggression, environmental and maternal deprivation, visual, social and drug addiction (Coon & Mitterer (2004)..
Animal behaviourist
Animal behaviourists to this present day have used the study of animal’s behaviours to improve the lives of people. For instance, animal behaviour analysts study the behaviour of animals and help farmers to understand agricultural related predator and pests. In addition to that rancher and farmers have been helped to raise quality breed where animalist behaviour identify the favourable behaviour from the animals (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008).
Applied behavioural analysis especially with regard to animal behaviour have also helped animal behaviourist be able to design healthy animal habitats for the animals (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008). This helps the researchers in protecting the animals whose natural habitats are threatened to extinction. Other animal behaviourist play a great role in establishing way through which animals and people can live together in the world that is now increasingly crowded. Another way that animal behaviour has been used to predict human behaviour is in understanding human aging and disease. In addition to that the studies of human intelligence have been carried out by different researchers using the help of animals. Animals have also been used where the researchers were interested in identifying several issue for instance human motivation towards a desired behaviour (Burghardt, Bekoff & Animal Behavior Society, 2008).
According to Carroll & Overmier (2001), animal behaviour has also been used in one way or another to illustrate how a person behaves, how a given person is behaving as well as their personalities. Animal behaviours have also been used to describe a group of people or individual behaviour. For instance stubborn people have been compared to a mule which is a human character compared to animal behaviour. Busy people have been compared to bees while destructive people have been compared to bulls.
Analysing swarm intelligence
Simon Garner is accredited for coming up with a new interdisciplinary research group that help in studying how swarm intelligence can be used in the study of large groups of animals for instance ant colonies or crowds of human beings (Shipman, 2011). In addition to that, the researcher shown the application of these study where he indicated that they could be used to solve complex problems such as pedestrian traffic organisation. The study involves observing the manner in which information is exchanged as interaction is taking place between group members. He says the study will help in identifying the emergence behaviours of the group.
Diseases affecting behaviour and emotion
Shipman, (2011) states that animal has been used in research where they have been used to mimic the conditions that would be observed in human being. Where researchers wanted to establish the condition of a person with Parkinson’s disease, a dog may be inflicted with a certain form of brain damage. This makes the dog to mimic the possible conditions similar to those of a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease. However the researchers don’t get to establish how the disease would progress in a case where human beings are involved and the possible cause (Jenkins, 2004).
Conclusion
The use of animals in research especially in psychology to help identify possible similarities in cases human being are involve have no scientific defence. One of the experiments that are quite cruel according to many researchers is the learned helplessness. Many people have challenged that act where they say the use of the dog was absolutely unnecessary since there were other ways to carry out the experiment. Other scholar criticised this experiment time wasted and high degree cruelty to the dog. However the use of animals by behavioural analyst to predict human behaviour is of great importance to both the animals and the human race (McCagh, 2010).
Human beings have benefitted in that treatment to several condition have been reached to successfully therefore improving the quality of their lives. On the other hand, animal have benefitted by having their live improved (Bekoff, 2013). The basis of the study lies on observing the animals in their natural environment and identify the pattern of their behaviours. It is after you have identified the pattern of the behaviour that the human or animal behaviour can be influenced to either teach a new one or to stop a particular behaviour. The use of animals to predict human behaviour through applied behaviour analysis is a worth exercise (Bekoff, 2013).
References
Bekoff, M. (2013). Why dogs hump and bees get depressed: The fascinating science of animal intelligence, emotions, friendship, and conservation.
McCagh, T. (2010). Stories from the animal whisperer: What your pet is thinking and rying to tell you. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.
Hillix, W. A., & Rumbaugh, D. M. (2004). Animal bodies, human minds: Ape, dolphin, and parrot language skills. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Shipman, P. (2011). The animal connection: A new perspective on what makes us human. New York: Norton.
Pryor, K. (2009). Reaching the animal mind: Clicker training and what it teaches us about all animals. New York: Scribner.
Carroll, M. E., & Overmier, J. B. (2001). Animal research and human health: Advancing human welfare through behavioral science. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Garber, P. A. (2009). South American primates: Comparative perspectives in the study of behavior, ecology, and conservation. New York: Springer.
Burghardt, G. M., Bekoff, M., & Animal Behavior Society. (2008). The development of behavior: Comparative and evolutionary aspects. New York: Garland STPM Press.
Jenkins, S. H. (2004). How science works: Evaluating evidence in biology and medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2004). Psychology: A journey. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
American Psychological Association (2012). Animal Research and Human Welfare. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/responsible/research-animals.pdf
