Wehavelookedatonlyaverysmallnumberofpsychology
experiments that involve electric shock. According to the
Office of Technology Assessment report,
Asurvey ofthe 608 articlesappearing from 1979 through
1983 intheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationjournalsthat
typicallypublishanimalresearchidentified 10 percentofthe
studies as using electric shock.^45
Many other journals not associated with the American
Psychological Association also publish reports of animal
studiesthathaveusedelectricshock;andwemustnotforget
theexperimentsthatnevergetpublishedatall.Andthis is
onlyonekindofpainfulordistressingresearchcarriedouton
animals within the field of psychology. We have already
looked at maternal deprivation studies; but one could fill
severalbooks with briefdescriptionsof yetmorekinds of
psychological experimentation,such as abnormal behavior,
animal models of schizophrenia, animal movements, body
maintenance, cognition, communication, predator-prey
relations,motivationandemotion,sensationandperception,
andsleep,food,andwaterdeprivation.Wehaveconsidered
butafewofthetensofthousandsofexperimentsperformed
annually in the field of psychology, but they should be
enough to show that many, many experiments still being
conductedcausegreatpaintoanimalsandoffernoprospect
of yielding really momentous or vital new knowledge.
Unfortunately,animalshavebecome,forthepsychologistand
for other experimenters, mere tools. A laboratory may
considerthecost ofthese“tools,”but acertaincallousness
towardthembecomesapparent,notonlyintheexperiments
performedbutalsointhewordingofthereports.Consider,
for instance, Harlow and Suomi’s mention of their “rape