Essay 1. Explain how the “Boojum” relates to Comparative Psychology.
“The Snark was a Boojum” by Frank Beach is a critic of comparative psychology. Comparative psychology is the study of animal behavior to learn the behavior of human beings. “Boojum” is metaphorically used by Beach to critic a shortcoming of comparative psychology. Beach, (1950) contended that there is a discrepancy between the original understanding of comparativeness and its practical, overly specialized implementation psychology. According to Breach, comparative psychologists limited their focus to “a few models” instead of broadening their research to include more species. He symbolically uses hunting Snark to refer to “Animal Behavior,” and Boojum to refer to the albino rat, the only species used by cognitive psychologists.
Breach argues that Instead of testing their hypothesis on many animals, cognitive psychologists settled on the albino rat, and they carried out limited research to establish other animal species that are viable for the same tests. Breach, ridiculously suggests that the first journal in Cognitive Psychology become “The Journal of Rat Learning” since it focused majorly on the rat and likened the overspecialization in species to rote learning (Macrì & Richter, 2015). Beach argues that after the discovery of a few species, most psychologists narrowed their studies to a small species of research. The albino rat, for example, is a significant specimen used for clinically testing products before the experts can approve the products for testing on humans. Beach (1950) believes that to enhance the development of comparative psychology, psychologists should broaden the species studied and methods used, for example, would find more distinctive species whose behavior relates to that of humans.
Essay 2. Explain how the American Psychologists attitudes were of the Comparative
Psychologists.
Cognitive psychologists conduct studies on a given species of animals and directly apply the outcome on humans. Macrì and Richter (2015) defended the use of animals to determine the possible cure of medical conditions that affect humans. Addiction, for example, is a menace to humanity. According to Macrì & Richter (2015), a range of psychological aspects like depression and amnesia schizophrenia (Macrì & Richter, 2015). The previous scholars, therefore, believed that the study of animals played an essential role in psychology. Some psychologists, however, have challenged the validity of the results derived from clinical research. Achenbach et al., (2005), for example, analyzed documented studies on the study of animal behavior and found controversial issues in the findings of the previous comparative psychologists.
In 2005, for instance, Achenbach et al. (2005) reviewed a journal entitled Behavior Therapy, which was about research on behavioral intervention research, which he expected to borrow majorly on the outcome of the research done on animals. However, they discovered that animal research was rarely cited (Achenbach et al., 2005). Thus, the scholars believed it was uncertain how often cognitive psychologists use results of animal research. Some previous studies have also criticized animal research on ethical grounds, for example, asserted that just like humans, animals also have rights which cognitive psychologists should respect. Achenbach et al. (2005) challenged intellectuals who bestowed rights to human beings but infringed on the rights of animals.
Essay 3. Why is studying animal behavior essential, and how does it help to inform the field of psychology about human behavior?
Cognitive psychologists study animal behavior to interpret human behaviors. Psychologists prefer using animals to study the reactions of human beings since animals have similar nervous and embryonic systems to that of humans. Previous research proved that animals and humans have identical adaptive behaviors and mental processes (Achenbach et al., 2005). The study of Animal behavior, therefore, is a cornerstone in the field of psychology. Research on animal behavior is significant in understanding the behavior and survival of the human (Achenbach et al., 2005). A vaccine, for instance, can be tested on an animal to determine its effectiveness and possible side effects.
Researchers can also study the behavior of stressed animals to establish ways in which humans can deal with stress and depression. The study of animals also enables scientists to avoid complex ethical problems associated with the study of humans. Separating infants from their mothers, for instance, is improbable when studying the effect of isolating an infant from the mother (Macrì & Richter, 2015). Therefore, the comparative psychologists conduct the study on animals then compare the responsive behavior to that of humans.
Essay 4. Going back to this article, how have your views changed from your initial impression on this article after having completed this history of psychology course?
Initially, I considered Macrì & Richter’s argument as unwarranted since it devalued the research done by cognitive psychologists. The symbolic reference of “Animal Behavior” as “Snark” and albino rat as “Boojum” seemed contemptuous as he used fictional characters while describing an essential field of human existence (Macrì & Richter, 2015). Although the article expressed a critical aspect that the comparative psychologists should consider in the future, I thought that Breach’s approach of referring to cognitive psychology as a science of rat learning was unprecedented. However, after delving further on the article and other studies done by previous researches, I have discovered that, indeed, comparative psychologists should do more research to broaden the species they use for clinical experiments (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). There could be more species whose behavior and response are more connected to human anatomy as compared to the albino rat. I presume that it is unprofessional for cognitive psychologists to categorize responses that do not fit in learned behaviors as unlearned.
I also studied the arguments of other scholars who challenged comparative psychology. Some scholars believed that most of the findings documented in journals did not refer to animal behavior. In contrast, other scholars argued that it was unethical to infringe on the rights of animals by using them for clinical research (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). This course, therefore, has helped me critically analyze the article and adopt a different perception of cognitive psychology (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). I support the author for challenging comparative psychologists to broaden the scope of species used in their research. The use of more species has a higher possibility of having more accurate and valid data.
Essay 5. What are the presentist and historicist advantages and limitations of teaching neuroanatomy from a historical context today?
Teaching neuroanatomy from a historical context is an interpretive approach that connects students to the contextual development of neuroanatomy. Teaching neuroanatomy from a historical context enables students to discover the historical development, and the possible the advancements in neuroanatomy. Teaching the principles of classical conditioning from a historical concept, for example, has helped generations of students to master Pavlov and his dog (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). Furthermore, teaching neuroanatomy from a historical context explores the origins of medical science, starting from clinical research on animals, followed by human corpses, soldiers, and then patients (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). The anatomy students also have an opportunity to learn the achievements and challenges faced by the previous neuroanatomy scholars. Teaching neuroanatomy from a historical concept, therefore, enhances the potential of students to interpret pedagogical outcomes beyond the classroom.
The technological advancement in contemporary society, however, devalues the historical approach of teaching anatomy. With lots of new equipment in the laboratories, the learning process is supposed to involve laboratory experiments and discoveries (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). Moreover, evolution in neuroanatomy makes students want to explore the current features which are more critical to the current situation (Svirko & Mellanby, 2017). Furthermore, students can easily access historical concepts of interest online; thus, the teaching of neuroanatomy takes valuable time that meant for conducting experiments in the laboratories.