comparative psychology

comparative psychology
a branch of psychology involving the study and comparison of the behaviors of diverse animal species, often under controlled laboratory experiments, in order to discover general principles of behavior.
[1940-45]

* * *

Study of similarities and differences in behavioral organization among living beings.

The discipline pays particular attention to the psychological nature of humans in comparison with other animals. It began to emerge in the late 19th century and grew rapidly in the 20th century, involving experimental studies on human and animal brain function, learning, and motivation. Well-known studies have included those of Ivan Pavlov on conditioning in laboratory dogs, those of Harry Harlow (1905–81) on the effects of social deprivation in monkeys, and those of various researchers on language abilities in apes.

* * *

      the study of similarities and differences in behavioral organization among living beings, from bacteria to plants to humans. The discipline pays particular attention to the psychological nature of human beings in comparison with other animals.

      In the study of animals, comparative psychology concentrates on discerning qualitative as well as quantitative similarities and differences in animal (including human) behaviour. It has important applications in fields such as medicine, ecology, and animal training. With the rise of an experimental comparative psychology in the latter half of the 19th century and its rapid growth during the 20th, the study of lower animals has cast increasing light on human psychology in such areas as the development of individual behaviour, motivation, the nature and methods of learning, effects of drugs, and localization of brain function. Other animals are easier to obtain in numbers and can be better controlled under experimental conditions than can human subjects, and much can be learned about humans from lower animals. Comparative psychologists have been careful, however, to avoid anthropomorphizing the behaviour of animals; that is, to avoid ascribing to animals human attributes and motivations when their behaviours can be explained by simpler theories. This principle is known as Lloyd Morgan's (Morgan, C Lloyd) canon, named after a British pioneer in comparative psychology.

      The tendency to endow lower animals with human capacities always has been strong. In recorded history, two different views have developed concerning human beings' relation to the lower animals. One, termed for convenience the man-brute view, stresses differences often to the point of denying similarities altogether and derives from the traditional religious accounts of the separate creations of humans and animals; the other, the evolutionary view, stresses both similarities and differences. Aristotle formalized the man-brute view, attributing a rational faculty to humans alone, lesser faculties to the animals. The modern scientific view, on the other hand, considers humans to be highly evolved animals; evidence indicates that continuity in the evolution of organisms provides a basis for essential psychological similarities and differences between lower and higher animals, including humans.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Comparative psychology — Psychology …   Wikipedia

  • comparative psychology — n the study of the relationships between species differences and behavior esp. in reference to genetics and evolution * * * the study of behavior using a comparison of species as a source of knowledge …   Medical dictionary

  • comparative psychology — noun the branch of psychology concerned with the behavior of animals • Syn: ↑animal psychology • Hypernyms: ↑psychology, ↑psychological science * * * noun 1. : the branch of psychology endeavoring to understand human behavior throu …   Useful english dictionary

  • comparative psychology — branch of psychology which researches the similarities and differences between various psychological approaches …   English contemporary dictionary

  • International Society for Comparative Psychology — The International Society for Comparative Psychology was founded in 1980 and held its first meeting in 1983. The society: *Promotes the comparative study of behavior in human and nonhuman animals *Sponsors a biannual meeting *Publishes the… …   Wikipedia

  • Psychology — • The science which treats of the soul and its operations Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Psychology     Psychology     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Psychology — (from Greek gr. ψῡχή, psȳkhē , breath, life, soul ; and gr. λογία, logia ) is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotion …   Wikipedia

  • PSYCHOLOGY — PSYCHOLOGY, the science of the mind or of mental phenomena and activities. Psychological Concepts in the Bible Psychology has a long past, but only a short history (H. Ebbinghaus, Abriss der Psychologie, 1908). Nowhere is this aphorism better… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • psychology — /suy kol euh jee/, n., pl. psychologies. 1. the science of the mind or of mental states and processes. 2. the science of human and animal behavior. 3. the sum or characteristics of the mental states and processes of a person or class of persons,… …   Universalium

  • Comparative (disambiguation) — Contents 1 Language 2 Social sciences 3 Government and law 4 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”