In one line: Animal research answers questions that could not be asked of humans, at a cost borne by creatures that cannot agree to it.
In the 1960s two researchers closed one eye of newborn kittens for several weeks. When the eye was opened, it could hardly see: the brain had organised itself around the other eye. The same procedure in adult cats had little effect.
The finding showed that vision develops during an early window, and it changed how children born with cataracts are treated. The kittens were left partly blind.
The case for
- Procedures impossible in humans can be carried out
- Conditions can be controlled exactly
- Findings have informed medical treatment
The case against
- Animals cannot give consent
- They experience pain and distress
- An animal model may not represent the human case
Remember: The benefit goes to one species and the cost to another.
That is why the justification has to be made explicitly.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Key idea: The 3Rs turn a general duty to animals into three specific obligations.
The 3Rs
Replace
Animals should be replaced by alternatives wherever these can answer the question: brain imaging in humans, cell cultures, computer simulation.
Reduce
The number of animals should be the minimum that gives a valid result.
A study with too few animals to give a clear answer also fails this test, because the animals were used for nothing.
Refine
Procedures, housing and care should minimise pain and distress: anaesthesia, social housing, the mildest procedure that will serve.
Replace · Reduce · Refine
Exam tip: Use the 3Rs as questions to put to a study.
For the kittens: could it be replaced today by imaging? Were as few animals used as possible? Could the deprivation have been shorter?
Know your predicted grade
Take timed mock exams and get detailed feedback on every answer. See exactly where you're losing marks.
Key idea: Whether a study should be done at all is decided by a cost-benefit analysis, on three dimensions.
Three dimensions of the decision
Quality of the research
Is the design sound enough to give a trustworthy answer?
Certainty of benefit
How likely is it that the findings will be of real use, for humans or for animals?
Degree of suffering
How much pain, distress or lasting harm will the animals experience?
Quality · Benefit · Suffering
This three-way test is known as Bateson's cube. Research is most clearly justified when quality is high, benefit is likely and suffering is low, and least when the reverse holds. An ethics committee applies it before any study may begin.
The benefit side depends on how well an animal model represents the human condition. A mouse that stops swimming in a tank is used as a model of depression, but it cannot report hopelessness or guilt.
Watch out: Benefit is judged before the study, when it is uncertain.
The kitten research is praised for what it led to. Its authors could not have known that in advance.
How this is asked: On Paper 1, the 15-mark essay may set responsibility in a context, often as a claim about when animal research is justified.
Short questions can ask about the ethical considerations in the use of animals, with an example.
The essay pattern
- State a position on the claim.
- Give an example of animal research and what it found.
- Set out its cost to the animals and its benefit.
- Apply the 3Rs and the three-way cost-benefit test.
- Conclude with the conditions under which the claim holds.
The trap: judging by the outcome: A study is not ethical because it turned out to be useful.
Ask what could have been known, and done differently, when it was planned.
One claim in the psychology of human development is that brain imaging has made research on animals unnecessary. Discuss this claim with reference to responsibility.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.