I. Justification of the Research
A. Research should be undertaken
with a clear scientific purpose. There should be a reasonable expectation that
the research will:
a) Increase
knowledge of the processes underlying the evolution, development, maintenance,
alteration, control, or biological significance of behaviour
b) Determine
the replicability and generality of prior research
c) Increase
understanding of the species under study; or
d) Provide
results that benefit the health or welfare of humans or other animals.
B. The scientific purpose of the
research should be of sufficient potential significance to justify the use of
animals. Psychologists should act on the assumption that procedures that would
produce pain in humans will also do so in other animals.
C. The species chosen for study
should be best suited to answer the question(s) posed. The psychologist should
always consider the possibility of using other species, non-animal
alternatives, or procedures that minimize the number of animals in research,
and should be familiar with the appropriate literature.
D. Research on animals may not be
conducted until the protocol has been reviewed by an appropriate animal care
committee, for example, an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC),
to ensure that the procedures are appropriate and humane.
E. The psychologist should monitor
the research and the animals' welfare throughout the course of an investigation
to ensure continued justification for the research.
A. Psychologists should ensure that
personnel involved in their research with animals be familiar with these
guidelines.
B. Animal use procedures must
conform to federal regulations regarding personnel, supervision, record
keeping, and veterinary care.
C. Behaviour is both the focus of
study of many experiments as well as a primary source of information about an
animal's health and well-being. It is therefore necessary that psychologists
and their assistants be informed about the behavioural characteristics of their
animal subjects, so as to be aware of normal, species-specific behaviours and
unusual behaviours that could forewarn of health problems.
D. Psychologists should ensure that
all individuals who use animals under their supervision receive explicit
instruction in experimental methods and in the care, maintenance, and handling
of the species being studied. Responsibilities and activities of all
individuals dealing with animals should be consistent with their respective
competencies, training, and experience in either the laboratory or the field
setting.
HAMSTER TRAINING
Objective of Experiment
The objective of this project is to apply the
principles of instrumental conditioning and to observe if it effectively trains
the hamster to navigate through the maze. The principles of instrumental
conditioning such as reinforcement, punishment and schedules of reinforcement
used on our hamster named Candy.
Targeted Behaviour
To
achieve our targeted behaviour, which is for the hamster to complete the maze as
quickly as possible, we apply the principle of reinforcement Schedule of
reinforcement is Continuous. Food is used as a primary reinforcer, rewarding
him every time he performs the desired behaviour. Should he keep making the
wrong turns or stay at certain spot for too long, punishment is applied. We
used positive, physical punishment; a simple flick on the ear with our fingers as
well as pushing him lightly and also by saying “No” loudly, however, this
method seems the least effective as opposed to the other methods.
The Maze
The maze is made out of cardboard and is designed
according to the lecturer’s specifications.
Before we applied our intervention, we allowed Candy to
explore the surroundings while timing him. He explored every corner of the
maze, familiarising himself with the new environment. He stays put at the
corners for long periods of time, climbing the walls, and scratches the
cardboard floor. We would punish him whenever he did that so that it would
decrease the likelihood of those behaviours reoccurring. His trial run was not
successful as he was staying from one spot most of the time, so we stopped
recording after five minutes. We then put him back into the cage before his
actual run.
Before placing Candy back into the maze, we lay out a trail
of food leading to the end of the maze. Food as the primary reinforcer, we
observe how it would affect Candy’s next run. Prior to the runs, we had applied
the principle of deprivation, in which the reinforcement would be more
effective if the subject had been starved. Candy had not been given food for
the past three hours. True enough, when put back into the maze, Candy followed
the trail to the end of the maze where the real prize lies, a whole pile of
seeds and nuts. It took him a time of approximately 7 seconds to complete the
maze.
Based on what happened, since Candy was hungry, food
was an incentive for him to complete the maze quickly. As for this trial, there
was no need for punishment as he completed the maze perfectly. We decided that
this principle should be repeated for future runs as we found it to be very
effective.
For the following trials, we deprived Candy of food
for at least three hours before each run. The amount of food used as a trail
decreased for each run to the point that there was only one piece of food at
each correct junction that led to the end. This method proved to be effective in teaching
Candy to navigate through the maze correctly. We continued this method of
training with Candy 10 times. He seemed to be improving with every run. In the
final run, where food was only placed at the end of the maze, Candy managed to
complete the maze in one minute and 13 seconds.
Discussion
Among
the possible reasons why Candy was able to take less time to complete the maze for
each run was due to repetitively familiarising himself with the environment.
Repeated exposure to the maze allowed him to adapt to his new environment. Candy
also ‘marked’ certain areas of the maze with urine. This could possibly be one
of his ways of completing the maze by following his own scent. We would then
clean those areas by wiping a damp tissue over it, erasing his tracks.