The Study of Animal Behavior through Comparative Psychology

I have found that the use of comparative psychology to study animal behavior has been a most crucial part in the development of todays’ society in humans alike. Comparative psychology is a branch of psychology popularly focused on comparing animal behavior to human behavior. Essentially comparative psychology focuses on animal psychology and the implications that science may have on our understanding of human psychology. Comparative psychology, which involves the study of mental processes and behavior in other animals, is also known as ethology or behavioral biology. Comparative researchers have a wide variety of jobs from studying animals in cages and controlled environments to traveling to distant places in far off countries to study animals in their natural environments. Many of the jobs people prefer tend to include working in laboratories, zoos or aquariums. The psychologists study animals and their behaviors in the wild to compare and contrast their findings. Most times comparative researchers spend their time teaching others about what they have either observed or learned from others experienced in the field of study. The study of animal behavior is enormously diverse, largely because behavior is focused to so many aspects of an animal's biology. Virtually any kind of behavior performed by an animal may be the subject of study. Some questions that have attracted considerable interest include those about how animals communicate, how they choose mates, find food and shelter, and how they adapt to the constant change of the environment around them. Studies of animal behavior are increasingly important to society because they are crucial for understanding how to preserve species in the face of the continuing negative impact of human activities on the world and its atmosphere. For those who would like to study animal behavior, education is absolutely necessary and will require either a doctorate or masters degree under comparative psychology. Comparative psychologists have found that animals use a variety of sensory channels, or signal modalities, for communication. Animal communication is classically defined as occurring when “...the action of or cue given by one organism [the sender] is perceived by and thus alters the probability pattern of behavior in another organism [the receiver] in a fashion adaptive to either one both of the participants” (Wilson 1975). For an example of animals communicating, take birds as a primary. The avian variety uses many types of communication, whether it be by performing dances to attract mates, or using their voices to sing to one another as a form of communicating. Just based on the previous two examples we find similarities in which humans communicate and interact with one another. Attempting to interpret how an animal feels and how it communicates may all be understood given an allotted time to study the species. Let’s say you see a dog and you walk up to it; the dog then proceeds to emit a growl and you see the fur stand on its back and it lowers its tail to the ground. Just by the visual and vocal signs emitted from the dog you can clearly tell that the animal doesn’t want you anywhere near it. The animal is showing clear hostility towards you, however through the study in dog’s behavior we have been able to understand their body language in ways to show that we don’t pose a threat. For example, if you get low to the ground and tilt your head to the right the dog will understand that you are not hostile, and if you keep your distance and let them come to you rather than run over, they may become more trusting and relax. Through comparative psychology we can find efficient ways to communicate with animals without having complete knowledge of their language. Take a moment and think of how humans get food and shelter… we either live off the land and livestock, or we work at a job to afford to pay for these “luxuries” we take for granted. Animals don’t have the luxury to go down to the store and buy food to take back to their apartment. Animals survive off of what they can find for shelter, and what they can either hunt or find for food. For example, black bears find shelter in caves, dug out areas under fallen trees, dense thickets, and generally survive off hunting other animals such as fish, squirrels, even deer; however they mostly stock up on seasonally abundant bugs, nuts, and fruit when convenient. Through studying how animals live we can take better care of where to travel so we are safe by knowing where their habitats are and what they eat. Through comparative research we are able to better understand how animals live life, and through that we can figure out how to live around or with them. For example we have domesticated dogs and house cats into the natural family pets setting. Now if we could find a way to better understand how animals live and interpret we may be able to domesticate them too. Take a moment and think of your favorite undomesticated animal and think if you could have it as your own pet, like a lion for example. Not ideal nowadays to have one as a pet, however there have been studies of lions that have had human owners and have ended up being domesticated, mainly because they took the time to research how they behaved and adapted their findings to assimilate the animal’s behavior.

The study of animal behavior begins with understanding how an animal’s physiology and anatomy are integrated with its behavior. Both external and internal stimuli prompt behaviors — external information (threats from other animals, sounds, smells) or weather and internal information (hunger and fear). Understanding how genes and the environment come together to shape animal behavior is also an important underpinning of the field. Genes capture the evolutionary responses of prior populations to selection on behavior. Environmental flexibility gives animals the opportunity to adjust to changes during their own lifetime. Scientists are drawn to the study of animal behavior for varied reasons and the field is extremely broad, ranging from research on feeding behavior and habitat selection to mating behavior and social organizations. Many scientists study animal behavior because it sheds light on human beings. Research on non-human primates, for instance, continues to offer valuable perspectives into the causes and evolution of individual, social, and reproductive human actions. Understanding why some animals help others at the potential cost of their own survival and reproduction, for example, not only gives us insight into their behavior but could also potentially help us to understand the underpinnings of our species ideas of altruism and sacrifice. Other scientists are motivated by environmental concerns. When we gain insight into animal behavior, we are in a stronger position to understand vexing conservation problems, such as how to save endangered species, assess environmental quality, design nature preserves, and evaluate the importance of human-related threats to survival in otherwise fit animals. Another way of using comparative psychology to understand animals would be to study how animals adapt. This type of study is reflected in contemporary research on various aspects of animal cognition. Contemporary research in animal learning also reflects the border research of comparative psychology in the role of behavior in evolution and adaptation. Comparison of the behavior of different sexes and species is crucial to the development of evidence of adaptive specializations in learning and is also important for the general process approach to the study of animal learning. A lot of what we have discovered through research in animal evolution and cognition carries quite a few roots laid down by Charles Darwin. Although Darwin acknowledged that humans are in respect far more mentally functioning than what is evident in animals, he also contested arguments for the uniqueness of human abilities.
Charles Darwin noted that animals show wonder, curiosity, imitation, attention, memory, reasoning, and a sense of beauty. Throughout these insights we observed animals to have many of the same uniquely human attributes. Darwin’s ideas not only were relevant but have proven themselves to be crucial to the understanding of human behavior. Other forms of comparative psychology closely entwine with biology. For example animals get many diseases similar to ones that affect people. By studying animals, medical researchers can learn what causes diseases and how to prevent, treat, or cure them in humans. These findings help both humans and animals. Researchers also study animals through this method to understand how they adapt to different environments which in turn, can help threatened or endangered species. In conclusion, although comparative psychology is a varied field, offers a great deal of valuable insight and knowledge for both humans and animals alike.