Home Research and Practice Conducting Research

Animal research

Resources and tools for psychologists related to animal research and ethics.

Some birds talk, but do they understand you?

Irene Pepperberg, PhD, talks about her 5 decades of research with gray parrots

technician programming human robot through tablet PC at workshop

Artificial Intelligence and the Field of Psychology

APA is firmly committed to identifying, mitigating, and eliminating harmful impacts of AI while ensuring that everyone in society can benefit from AI technologies to the greatest extent possible.

Inside the mind of an octopus

Jennifer Mather, PhD, talks about what we know about octopus behavior and cognition

Promoting animal research

Members of APA’s Committee on Animal Research and Ethics met with Hill staff to advocate in support of animal research and address misconceptions

Animal research: a brief overview

Animal research has provided numerous medical advancements and improvements in human and animal health. This slide deck provides a brief overview of animal research in the United States.

Urging NIH to resist hype of alternatives to animal studies

APA calls on NIH to cofund animal and alternative-method studies to better observe effectiveness of alternatives.

Advocating to protect and promote animal research

Members and allies of APA’s Committee on Animal Research Ethics educated congressional staff on how nonhuman animals are valuable in federally funded research.

Why humans and other primates care so much about fairness

Sarah Brosnan, PhD, talks about how nonhuman animals notice inequality and how studying them can help us better understand how our human sense of justice evolved

Responding to NIH request for information on regulation of animal laboratories

APA commented about flexibilities that the Department of Health and Human Services is allowing in the regulation and management of animal laboratories.

female scientist peering into microscope

Collaborating to protect research with nonhuman animals

APA and partners cosign letter to congressional appropriators to protect animal research.

Encouraging consistency in regulation of wild-caught birds used in research

APA responded to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on a proposed regulation to improve the welfare of birds not bred for research.

Educating Congress about the importance of research with nonhuman animals

Psychologists and allied scientists gathered for a virtual Hill Day to spread the word about the importance of research with nonhuman animals.

Advising NIH on rigor and reproducibility in research with nonhuman animals

APA responds to a request for information on enhancing rigor, transparency, and translatability to improve biomedical research involving animal models.

APA guidelines

Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Animals in Research

A foundational aspect of the discipline of psychology is teaching about and research on the behavior of nonhuman animals. Studying other animals is critical to understanding basic principles underlying behavior and to advancing the welfare of both human and nonhuman animals. While psychologists must conduct their teaching and research in a manner consonant with relevant laws and regulations, ethical concerns further mandate that psychologists consider the costs and benefits of procedures involving nonhuman animals before proceeding with these activities.

Guidelines for the Use of Nonhuman Animals in Behavioral Projects in Schools (K-12)

Today, in classrooms across the country, many elementary and secondary school students participate in demonstrations and research projects with nonhuman animals. The primary purpose of these activities is educational. That is, they are intended to teach students the principles of scientific research, to enable students to evaluate prior claims or assumptions about behavior, and to generate new knowledge.

APA supports ethical animal research

Research with nonhuman animals has contributed significantly to advances in the field of psychology. APA supports ethically sound and scientifically valid research with nonhuman animals.

Knowledge about other species has been crucial in guiding conservation efforts in various habitats across the world.
Nonhuman animal research has proven invaluable for exploring the complexity of diverse behaviors across genetic, molecular, cellular/neuronal, circuit, network, cognitive, and behavioral levels.
The assembly and application of findings from nonhuman animal research has contributed to numerous clinical applications that have significantly improved the health and well-being of both human and nonhuman animals.
Maintaining high standards of research animal well-being is not only of ethical importance to scientists, but is also critical to collecting data that allow for robust conclusions upon which scientific breakthroughs are grounded.

Excerpted from: APA’s Resolution Reaffirming Support for Research and Teaching with Nonhuman Animals

Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Animals in Research

Leadership

Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE)

Advocacy

APA Services: Promoting and Defending Research

Resources

Some friendly advice for responding to requests for information about animal research

Requests made of a university, an individual researcher, or an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for information and records pertaining to animal research have become more and more common. You can take steps in anticipation of a request for information or records about animal research programs at your institution.

Animal research: a brief overview

Animal research has provided numerous medical advancements and improvements in human and animal health. This slide deck, developed by members of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE), provides a brief overview of animal research in the United States.