studieshavefoundthemselves failingtheircoursesand are
often forced to leave their chosen field of study.
The pressure to conform does not let up when students
receivetheirdegrees.If theygoon tograduate degreesin
fieldsinwhichexperimentsonanimalsareusual,theywillbe
encouragedtodevisetheirownexperimentsandwritethem
up for their Ph.D. dissertations. Naturally, if this is how
studentsareeducatedtheywilltendtocontinueinthesame
mannerwhentheybecomeprofessors,andtheywill,inturn,
train their own students in the same manner.
HerethetestimonyofRoger Ulrich,a formerexperimenter
whoescapedfrom hisconditioningand nowacknowledges
thathe inflicted“yearsoftorture” onanimals from ratsto
monkeys, is particularly revealing. In 1977 the magazine
Monitor, published by the American Psychological
Association,reportedthatexperimentsonaggressioncarried
out byUlrich hadbeen singledout beforea congressional
subcommittee asanexampleof inhumaneresearch.To the
surpriseoftheantivivisectionistswhohadcriticizedhim,and
nodoubttotheeditoroftheMonitor aswell,Ulrichwrote
backto say that he was“heartened” by thecriticism, and
added:
Initially my research was prompted by the desire to
understandandhelpsolvetheproblemofhumanaggression,
butIlaterdiscoveredthattheresultsofmyworkdidnotseem
to justify its continuance. Instead I began to wonder if
perhaps financial rewards, professional prestige, the
opportunitytotravel,etc.werethemaintainingfactors,andif
we of the scientific community (supported by our