To do or not to do: Dimensions of value and morality in experiments with animal and human subjects

Abstract

A questionnaire about ethical considerations in experiments involving animals or human subject populations consisting of students, mental patients or prison inmates was administered to 73 undergraduate students enrolled in several psychology classes. For the most part the questionnaire was completed without difficulty, and the results were that most subjects did not differentiate among the human populations, and that human and animal experiments were judged by different ethical standards. For humans, the principal considerations were for the protection and safety of the subjects while for animals they pertained to the design and conduct of the experiment.