Compare and contrast how Skinner and Harlow have used non-human animals in behavioural research.

The following essay will compare and contrast how skinner and Harlow have used non-human animals in behavioural research. Skinner and Harlow are very well known for their great experiments and showing through behavioural research that non human animals can be used and show results and prove points. This essay will examine evidence from both sides of the controlled animal experiments and explain the results. Mainly this essay will focus on the similarities and differences between the two researchers. Skinner was born in 1904 and worked most of his career at Harvard University and had a great belief that science of behaviour with positive reinforcement could save the world’s problems. On the other hand Harlow was born in 1905 and wanted to show that most infants bond with soft and warm objects that provide comfort or one that provides them with food. Although these experiments show great points, when considering these in real life human situations, things would not necessarily show the same results and there are currently still great debates on non human animal use in experiments.
Many people argue that animals do not conduct great research when linking to humans and find that real life situations are changing all the time and things wouldn’t always be the same. How Harlow and Skinner have conducted their research is very informative as they clearly show how experiments can be done to animals to create a response which gives humans an insight on how to improve many behaviours not just in their selves but if they have children or animals. This is another contrast because both Harlow and Skinner wanted their research to be linked with human behaviour however this is not always the case because many people argue that humans and animals are not alike and a human has twice the size of a brain to the animal.
One of the great comparisons when it comes to Skinner and Harlow’s research is that they both used similar experiments to examine their subjects through controlled laboratory conditions. Skinner used rats and pigeons in which he put in a box with a lever and in these controlled conditions this meant that the animals did not have very much to do in their surroundings and this increased the chances of them pressing the lever, also the skinner box minimises distractions from anything outside of the box for example another animal. Harlow’s conditions for his experiment ‘Harlow’s monkeys’ which used monkeys also had tight conditions which meant that all monkeys were subject to the same conditions and were being isolated from the outside world which may have affected the findings. This shows a great comparison in how they used the non human animals to conduct their research.
When researching behaviour another similarity between skinner and Harlow is that they both used non human animals. They did this by using rats, pigeons and monkeys and they used this study of animals to relate this to humans. They did this relatively well because both studies had outcomes which benefitted humans. For example Harlow’s research (1959) into the theory of attachment, whereby, monkeys and wire ‘mothers’ highlighted that comfort was a much more important factor affecting attachment than need for food; contradicting the learning theory of attachment and leading to the development of Bowlbys theory of attachment. Again, the use of animals in research has led to the development of important theories which in turn has increased understanding of human behaviour and has resulted in several real world situations. For example, Harlow’s experiments educated us about attachment and skinner educated us about positive reinforcement and the immediate consequences.
Although there are many great similarities in how skinner and Harlow used non human research to conduct their study’s, there are also many differences and ethical issues which have been raised surrounding the experiments. For example Harlow’s conduct in using the 8 monkeys resulted in Monkey maternal deprivation and abuse and this is why Harlow is seen as a great physiological figure in today’s society and very well known for his experiments. He conducted very dark and mostly disturbing experiments which involved ‘The Iron Maiden’ who was a truly vicious surrogate mother to the baby monkey. The iron maiden blew pressurised cold air out of its body so violently that the baby monkey would be thrown against the bars of the cage. Furthermore at random intervals the prod would eject to push the baby monkey away from the maidens body. However the baby monkey would still want to cling and keep close to their monstrously abusive surrogate mother. Harlow also began to raise baby monkeys under conditions of total social isolation and these monkeys were kept in separate cages but could see, hear and smell one another. They had no visual or physical access to the outside world or to any other monkey or human. This made these monkeys very disturbed and also their behaviour would show this as they would rock back and forth or bite parts of their body. Harlow did not care about the care or well being of the animals he used. Skinner however did never believe in abusing the animals he believed that positive reinforcement was always the best way which meant no animal abuse. This contrasts how both skinner and Harlow have used non human animals in behavioural research as Harlow used them in a non healthy way where as skinner did.
There are many great ways in which both have influenced today’s current generation as many now study Harlow and Skinners work in great detail. For example if a parent takes away a kids toy it is known as punishment and consequences for what not behaving which just proves how great skinners study was in showing through reinforcement and negative reinforcement that a Childs behaviour may be altered and clearly proves that this can still be used today. Skinner believed that his studies of rats and pigeons would bring a much better society and improve not only minds but social change as well. Whereas with Harlow’s research you could not do this as it known as neglect and humans would suffer great consequences. Even with animals laws are stricter when it comes to animal cruelty and Harlow would have been prosecuted if these were in place at the time of his research. This clearly shows that they have used behavioural research to show and prove to people that these theories may be used today however some may not.
According to Skinner, Childs behaviour can be increased by following the behaviour when rewarded with food or a toy. Also if this is taking away or not rewarded to the child then this can be seen as a punishment. This was shown through his study of the rats that once they were rewarded they wanted rewards just like a child would. However Harlow proved through his study with the monkeys that a child always needed a mother and the attachment of love and care and he also showed that if this was taking away then the monkey always cried and whimpered for its mother. In addition what Harlows study also showed was that if the mother or caregiver mistreated the child, they would always come back to their abusive parents. This theory can sometimes be questioned as not always in the human would does the child go back to their abusive parent as when they grow up or they realise they are no longer wanted or love then that child may leave. So there is no great stability in showing how non animal research can define human behaviour.
To conclude, Skinner and Harlow will never be forgotten for their research and harsh conditions which they did to the animals however it shows clearly to humans how human behaviour can be understood more in detail and also change greatly the way humans think. How they did this was by conducting experiments that were cleverly planned and organised and everything was recorded and this meant that people can look back on the history of behaviour research and see how great an influence skinner and Harlow was. The behavioural research will continuously have an influence in the future.

References
Investigating psychology, the Open University, Milton Keynes
Skinner B.F (1953) Science and human behaviour, New York, NY, The Free Pass