Branches of Psychology
Comparative Psychology
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Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology that studies the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to species' evolutionary history and adaptive significance, examining similarities and differences in learning, cognition and social behavior across species.
Facts
Central QuestionWhat can studying the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals reveal about the evolutionary origins and mechanisms of behavior, including human behavior? 1 Key DebateWhether early comparative psychology over-attributed humanlike reasoning to animals from anecdotal observation, a methodological failing historians identify in pioneering researcher George Romanes's work. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Comparative Psychology
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history
1. Wikipedia: Comparative Psychology
Wikimedia FoundationHistory sectionQuote, History section
Romanes is most famous for two major flaws in his work: his focus on anecdotal observations and his entrenched anthropomorphism.
Wikipedia: Harry Harlow
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Harry Harlow, Biography section (Wisconsin General Test Apparatus)Quote, Includes: Harry Harlow, Biography section (Wisconsin General Test Apparatus)
He worked with the primates at Henry Vilas Zoo, where he developed the Wisconsin General Test Apparatus (WGTA) to study learning, cognition, and memory.
Wikipedia: Harry Harlow
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments, Lead section (rhesus monkey experiments)Quote, Includes: Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments, Lead section (rhesus monkey experiments)
best known for his maternal-separation, dependency needs, and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys
Wikipedia: Konrad Lorenz
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Konrad Lorenz, Opening biographical paragraphQuote, Includes: Konrad Lorenz, Opening biographical paragraph
He is often regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology, the study of animal behavior.
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