Practice Flashcards
Flip to reveal answersWhy are animals sometimes used in research?
Track your progress — Sign up free to save your progress and get smart review reminders based on spaced repetition.
All 10 Flashcards — Ethics in animal research
Sign up free to track progress and get spaced-repetition review schedules.
Question
Why are animals sometimes used in research?
Answer
To control conditions and study processes that would be impossible or unethical in humans.
Question
What are the 3Rs?
Answer
Replace (use something else), Reduce (use fewer animals), Refine (cause less suffering).
Question
What does Replace mean?
Answer
Use a method without animals wherever possible: models, cells, scans of human brains.
Question
What does 'Reduce' mean?
Answer
Use the smallest number of animals that still gives valid results.
Question
What does 'Refine' mean?
Answer
Adjust procedures to minimise pain and distress (housing, pain relief, humane handling).
Question
What is the cost-benefit test?
Answer
Benefits must clearly outweigh the animals' suffering, with ethics-committee approval.
Question
Why can animals not consent?
Answer
They cannot understand or agree to a study, so the responsibility rests entirely with the researchers.
Question
One argument for animal research?
Answer
It can reveal mechanisms that would be impossible or unethical to study in humans.
Question
One argument against animal research?
Answer
Animals cannot consent and can suffer, so their use must be strictly limited.
Question
What three questions does a cost-benefit analysis of animal research ask?
Answer
How good is the research? How likely is the benefit? How much will the animals suffer?
Read the notes
Full study notes for Ethics in animal research
Topic 1.6 hub
Responsibility
More from Topic 1.6
All flashcards in this topic
Psychology exam skills
Paper structures & tips
Track your progress with spaced repetition
Sign up free — Aimnova tells you exactly which cards to review and when, so you remember everything before your IB exam.
Start Free