Summary: Chapter 2
Chapter two dives into the concept of learning. As mentioned in the previous chapter, learning is the study of changes in behavior produced by experience, so when studying learning it is vital to examine how events in the environment change an individual’s behavior. Many scientists consider learning to be a natural phenomenon, they make their case based on four assumptions. The first assumption being that natural phenomena’s do not just happen, but instead they are caused as the result of some other event. The second assumption is that causes precede effects. The third assumption being that natural events are caused by a natural phenomenon, you cannot just blame God or luck for things happening, and the last assumption stating that the simplest explanation that can explain the data is the best explanation to go with. While these assumptions are where scientists begin
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Critics have claimed that the results from an animal cannot generalize over to people, and while this can be true, assumptions about human behavior based on animal research takes into consideration data from descriptive as well as experimental studies with people. The second objection to animal research is that it has no practical value as the research only provides facts that are only useful to a theoretician. While this might sometimes be the case the findings from animal research have been able to be put to good use in topics such as child rearing, sports, and education. Lastly, many critics are quick to say that animal research is unethical as people have no more right to experiment on animals as animals have to experiment on people. While there are ethical concerns that should be taken seriously these concerns beg the question of if it is unethical to use animals in research what about eating them, what about forcing them to be our pets or what about using animals on