Experimental research in zoopsychology. Methods of research in zoopsychology. Methods for studying the psyche of animals

Zoopsychology proceeds in its scientific search from the fact that the basis and source of mental reflection in animals is their behavior, "animal practice". The qualitative difference between the latter and human practice is that animals do not rise above the level of general adaptive objective activity, while in man, the highest, productive form of objective activity, inaccessible to animals, is of decisive importance - labor. However, psychological analysis of specific forms of animal motor activity, the structure of their actions, acts of their behavior directed at individual components of the environment, gives a clear idea of ​​certain mental qualities or processes.

Specifically, the psychological analysis of the behavior of an animal is carried out by a zoopsychologist through a detailed study of the movements of the experimental animal in the course of solving certain problems. These tasks are set in such a way that the movements of the animal make it possible to judge with the greatest accuracy the mental quality being studied. At the same time, the physiological state of the animal, the external conditions under which the experiment is carried out, and, in general, all significant factors capable of influencing the result of the experiment, must be taken into account.

An important role is played in zoopsychological research and observation of animal behavior in natural conditions. Here it is important to trace the changes that occur in the behavior of the animal with certain changes in the environment. This makes it possible to judge both the external causes of mental activity and the adaptive functions of the latter. Both in the laboratory and in the field, the highly developed observation of the researcher is the most important guarantee of the success of his work.

Although the study of the structure of an animal's behavior presupposes, first of all, a qualitative assessment of its activity, accurate quantitative assessments in zoopsychological research are also of no small importance. This refers to the characterization of both the behavior of the animal and the external conditions (environmental parameters).

The specific methods of zoopsychological experimental research are distinguished by great diversity, although, as already mentioned, all of them come down to setting specific tasks for the animal. Here are just a few of the main methods.

1. Method of "maze". The experimental animal is given the task of finding a path to a certain "goal" that is not directly perceived by it, which is most often a food bait, but there may also be a shelter ("home") or other favorable conditions. When deviating from the correct path, in some cases, punishment of the animal may be applied. In its simplest form, the labyrinth looks like a T-shaped corridor or tube. In this case, when turning in one direction, the animal receives a reward; when turning in the other direction, it is left without a reward or even punished. More complex labyrinths are made up of various combinations of T-shaped (or similar) elements and dead ends, entry into which is regarded as animal errors (Fig. 1). The results of the passage of the maze by the animal are determined, as a rule, by the speed of achieving the “goal” and by the number of mistakes made.

The "maze" method makes it possible to study both issues directly related to the ability of animals to learn (to develop motor skills), and issues of spatial orientation, in particular, the role of musculoskeletal and other forms of sensitivity, memory, and the ability to transfer motor skills to new conditions. , to the formation of sensory generalizations, etc.

Rice. 1. Labyrinths: a - plan of the first labyrinth used in zoopsychological research (maze Small); b - maze of bridges

2. Most of the listed issues are also being studied bypass method. In this case, the animal has to go around one or more obstacles to achieve the “goal” (Fig. 2). In contrast to the "maze" method, the animal in this case directly perceives the object (bait), to which its actions are directed already at the beginning of the experiment. The speed and trajectory of movement are taken into account and evaluated when looking for a workaround around the obstacle.

3.Differential training aimed at revealing the ability of the experimental animal to distinguish simultaneously or sequentially presented objects and their signs. The choice by the animal of one of the pairs (or more) of the presented objects is rewarded (positive training), in other cases, along with the reinforcement of the correct choice, the wrong one is punished (positive-negative training). Consistently reducing the differences between the features of objects (for example, their size), it is possible to identify the limits of distinction (differentiation). Thus, it is possible to obtain information characterizing, for example, the peculiarities of vision in the studied animal species (its sharpness, color perception, perception of sizes and shapes, etc.).

The same method is used to study the processes of formation of skills (in particular, for various combinations of stimuli), the memory of animals (by checking the preservation of the results of training after a certain period of time), and the ability to generalize. In the latter case, as a rule, the dissimilarity of sequentially presented objects (figures) is gradually increased, revealing the animal's ability to orient itself by certain common features of these objects.

4. A variant of differentiation training, applicable only to higher animals, is sampling method. The animal is asked to make a choice among a number of objects, guided by a model that is shown to it directly by the experimenter or in a special apparatus. The right choice is reinforced. This method is mainly used also for studying the sensory sphere of animals.

5.Method of "problem cell" (box). The animal is given the task of either discovering a way out of the cage by actuating various devices (levers, pedals, shutters, etc.), or, conversely, penetrating the cage where the food is located by unlocking the locking devices. Sometimes small boxes or caskets with locks are used, the opening of which gives the experimental animal access to food. With a more complex setting of the experiment, all mechanisms and devices operate only in a strictly defined sequence, which must be acquired and remembered by the animal. This method explores complex forms of learning and motor elements of the intellectual behavior of animals. It is especially convenient to apply this method, of course, to the study of animals with developed grasping limbs - rats, raccoons, monkeys, etc. This also applies to experiments in which animals have to use tools to achieve nutrition. These experiments also serve primarily to reveal the higher mental abilities of animals.

Elements of weapon actions are already clearly visible in experiments with the use of a bait tied to a rope; the animal can take possession of the food object only by pulling it by the rope to itself. Complicating the situation with various combinations of ropes and varying their mutual arrangement, one can obtain valuable data not only on the effector, but also on the sensory (visual and tactile) components of the intelligence of animals.

Most often, sticks (simple or composite) are used as tools in experiments, with the help of which animals (usually monkeys) can move or knock down a food object. Boxes and other objects are widely used in experiments with monkeys (especially anthropoids), from which they must build "pyramids" to reach a high-hanging fetus. And in this case, the analysis of the structure of the objective activity of the animal in the course of solving the problem is of the greatest importance.

Along with such more or less complex experiments, an important role in zoopsychological research is played by the analysis of the usual, unreinforced manipulation various items. Such studies make it possible to judge the effector abilities of animals, their orienting-exploratory activity, play behavior, abilities for analysis and synthesis, etc., and also shed light on the prehistory of human labor activity.

In all zoopsychological research, photography and filming, sound recording and other means of fixing the behavior of animals are widely used. However, no technical means can replace the keen eye of a researcher and a lively human mind, on which success in working with animals primarily depends.

Zoopsychology considers the problem anthropogenetically significant features higher vertebrates, especially primates. A special area is the study of animal intelligence. Sometimes zoopsychology is perceived as a method rather than an independent science.

Subject and object of zoopsychology:

Object - behavior, Practical activities animals.

The subject is their mental reflection, that is, the psyche.

Subject of zoopsychology: zoopsychology is the science of the manifestations, regularities and evolution of mental reflection at the level of the animal, the origin and development in the onto- and phylogenesis of mental processes in animals and the prerequisites and prehistory of human consciousness.

The place of zoopsychology and comparative psychology in the system of psychological sciences and among the sciences of animal behavior.

Zoopsychology, animal psychology, a branch of psychology that studies the psyche of animals, its manifestations, origin and development in onto- and phylogenesis. An important task of Z. is the study of the biological prerequisites and prehistory of human consciousness. Z. is closely connected with ecology, ethology, neurophysiology, the physiology of higher nervous activity and sensory organs, and other sciences. Zoopsychological research has great importance not only for other branches of psychology, especially comparative psychology, but also for the theory of knowledge, anthropology (the biological prerequisites of anthropogenesis), and other sciences, as well as for the practice of animal husbandry, fur farming, service dog breeding, circus training, etc.

Methods for studying the psyche of animals.

Animal psychology studies the psyche on the basis of behavior analysis: a detailed analysis of the movement of animals in the most simple situations organized by an animal psychologist. Acquired features are important for zoopsychology. Animals bred in the laboratory are usually used for research. Animal psychology considers the process of interaction between an animal and its environment under easily controlled conditions. Knowing the past experience of the animal and placing it in a new situation, the zoopsychologist studies the reflection of the environment.

In the history of the development of zoopsychology as a science, a number of stages can be distinguished.

The first stage in the development of zoopsychological knowledge is the pre-scientific period in the study of the "mores" of animals. The mythological thinking of antiquity did not prevent people from domesticating a considerable number of animal species, as well as developing a huge number of animal hunting technologies based on very subtle knowledge and understanding of their habits.

The second stage is ancient philosophy (the works of Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius, Aristotle and other thinkers). The main question that the thinkers of the past tried to resolve was the question of the soul. At the same time, ancient philosophers attempted not only to define the soul, but also to identify the forms of its existence. So, back in the 5th - 4th centuries. BC. Democritus says that the soul is material, that all objects and objects of nature have a soul; the presence of a “spiritual principle” in animals was also recognized by Epicurus (4th – 3rd centuries BC); follower of Epicurus Lucretius (II - I centuries BC), notes that the soul is a sensual substance, and animals can possess it. Thinkers of antiquity made attempts to investigate the behavior and psyche of animals. For example, Aristotle (V - IV centuries BC) concludes that animals are capable of both innate behavior (his thinker defines it as unreasonable) and lifetime experience. He also talks about the presence of mind in animals, while noting that animals differ in the degree of intelligence.

A continuation of the study of innate acquired in the behavior of animals is the teaching of the Stoics (the turn of our era - Chrysippus - I century BC, Seneca the Younger - I century AD), within which the concept of "instinct" was formulated. It was the Stoics who singled out the main characteristics of the instinctive behavior of animals and drew attention to the fact that the implementation of an innate expedient form of behavior is regulated by purely mental mechanisms: an animal cannot realize the biological benefits of its behavior, but is guided by attraction, i.e. experience of pleasure and displeasure, which "leads" him on the right path. At the same time, attraction itself (i.e., the ability to experience pleasure in a “tedious way”) is innate.

The third stage is associated with the development of psychology within the framework of philosophical knowledge, as well as the rapid development of natural science in the 17th-19th centuries. (works by R. Descartes, K. Linnaeus, B. Spinoza, Yu. H. Henning, etc.). Thus, the French thinker of the 17th century, R. Descartes, characterizes the behavior of animals as the response of the body to external influences; Dutch philosopher of the 17th century B. Spinoza expresses the idea that any living body is a thinking body; K. Linney in his outstanding work "The System of Nature" (1735) offers the principles of classification of animals. The same period in the development of zoopsychology as a science is associated with the beginning of the widespread use of the experimental method of animal research. From the experience gained both as a result of field and laboratory experiments, ideas about the nature and specific features of the mental organization of animal behavior are gradually beginning to be generalized.

The fourth stage in the development of zoopsychology - late XIX- the beginning of the XX century. At this time, the mechanistic approach to the study of the psyche and behavior of animals was further developed (works by Loeb, Watson, Pavlov, and others). The merit of scientists was the formulation of the most important rule - any conclusions must be preceded by observation. Thus, the result of Loeb's observations was the doctrine of tropisms, which made a certain contribution to the study of the ways of orienting animals in space. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the ideas about evolutionary changes in the psyche of animals were expressed by the English psychologist G. Spencer, who notes that already in lower animals one can distinguish elementary forms of mental reflection, manifested in irritability. As they evolve, they are transformed into more perfect forms of reflection - sensations and even some mental phenomena of a higher order. Thus, in animals there is a gradual complication of the psyche, the essence of which is adaptation to the increasingly complex environmental conditions. At the end of the nineteenth century. such well-known psychologists as W. James and W. McDougall also deal with the problems of the psyche of animals. Their works contain a large amount of information about the behavior of animals. In particular, the problems of instinctive forms of behavior and learning of animals are discussed. It was the studies of these scientists that laid the foundation for the separation of experimental studies of the psyche of animals into an independent direction (works by E. L. Thorndike, R. M. Yerks, J. B. Watson, C. S. Lashley and others). As a result of scientific research wide psychological practice includes such well-known experimental methods as a problem cell, a labyrinth, etc. Moreover, the work of English and American scientists laid the foundation for research on the features, patterns and mechanisms of animal learning and made it possible to formulate the main provisions of the theory of learning.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the experimental direction in the study of the psyche of animals splits into two branches. A number of researchers concentrate their scientific interests on an objective study of learning processes (in the future, this direction of zoopsychological research is transformed into such a scientific psychological direction as behaviorism, a typical representative of which is J.B. Watson), and R.M. Yerkes and his students and followers - W.Keller, W.Hamilton, G.Harlow and others continue to develop a comparative psychological approach in the study of the psyche of animals. The experiments of O.M.Yerks and higher primates and the first primatological center organized by him were the source fundamental research the intelligence of these animals, their development in ontogeny, and the peculiarities of their social behavior.

Along with psychological research, a lot of empirical data and theoretical models explaining the behavior of animals have been obtained in the study of the physiology of higher nervous activity.

A huge role in the development of zoopsychology as a science was made by domestic scientists N.N. Ladygina-Kots, A.N. Leontiev, K.E. Fabry and others.

Currently, attempts have been made to take an interdisciplinary approach to solving the mysteries of the animal brain within the framework of new science- Neurobiology.

zoopsychology reflex phylogenetic nervous

The essence of the method is to test a scientific hypothesis using controlled conditions of the subject's activity. During the experiment, various devices, apparatus and installations can be used that correspond and do not correspond to the natural conditions of the animals' habitat. Various devices can be used to capture data.

The main principles of the experiment: controllability of the conditions and behavior of the subject (organize the situation in such a way as to minimize unforeseen reactions of animals, when they occur, they are recorded in the protocol and used to interpret the data obtained), the presence of a specially developed procedure for conducting the experiment and recording data (the sequence of all events and actions, description of recorded behaviors and method of fixation), the possibility of repeating the experiment with the same or other animals and another experimenter (providing the methodology and results in such a way that it could be unambiguously understood by any other researcher), objectivity (accurate fixation and unbiased interpretation behavior of an animal, regardless of its compliance with the hypothesis).

When conducting an experiment, the following rules must be observed:

• obligatory use of observation and observational data in the analysis of results;
• providing the subject's motivation that is adequate to the research hypothesis (partial deprivation of needs or the presentation of a stimulus that automatically evokes the necessary motivation in the animal is more often used);
• selection of experimental methods adequate to the proposed hypothesis and mental characteristics of the subject.

Types of experiment and types of techniques.

1) Laboratory experiment.

It is carried out in a specially equipped room and involves strict control of all conditions and behavior of the subject. The results have a high degree reliability, but require clarification with the help of additional studies due to the inconsistency of the experimental situation with natural conditions.

Method types.

A) Labyrinth methods.

A labyrinth is a specially limited space in which there is an entrance (the beginning of the movement of an animal or an object that needs to be taken out of the labyrinth), more than one possible path of movement, of which only one is correct (or several when choosing strategies to follow). The essence of the technique lies in the fact that the animal cannot directly receive reinforcement (detect a bait, a way out of a confined space, etc.) and must independently find the right path to it. The animal may not perceive the reinforcement directly, or it may perceive but not know the way to it. Labyrinths are used to study the processes of learning, memory, motivation and orienting research activities.

Labyrinths are classified by complexity into simple (they have 2 paths, one of which is correct; their shape is T- or Y-shaped) and complex (they have several paths and several dead ends, of which one or more are correct), according to the way the animal acts in the maze on locomotor (the animal needs to move; there are ground, air, water, combined) and manipulative (it is necessary to move the bait with the help of its own and additional means; it is used for animals with the ability for manipulative and instrumental activity).

B) Problem cell or problem box.

The animal must find a way out of the closed space (problem cage) or get the bait out of the box (problem box), sequentially opening locks or overcoming obstacles. It is used to study the direction of actions of animals, the ability to analyze conditions and their changes due to their own actions, learning, memory, motivation, etc.

B) bypass.

The animal perceives the bait, which is impossible to get, because. it is separated by a barrier. To get it, the animal must bypass the barrier, i.e. move away from the bait first. This also includes tasks for extrapolation (prediction of the trajectory of the movement of an object behind an obstacle). There are 3 main types: locomotor (the animal moves relative to the obstacle), manipulative (the animal moves the bait relative to the obstacle) and combined.

2) Natural experiment.

It differs from the laboratory in that the animal is in a natural environment and carries out its natural activities to meet actual needs. At the same time, the experimenter introduces controlled changes, exerts a directed influence on the behavior of the animal, and fixes behavioral reactions. The advantage is that the holistic behavior of the animal is studied, corresponding to the natural needs and species-typical characteristics of the subject.

Method types.

A) Open field technique.

Used to study orienting-exploratory and territorial behavior. An open field is a limited, initially unfamiliar space for the test subject, into which an animal (or several) is released for a certain time. Strategies for the development of a new space and the reaction of animals to a change in the environment are being studied. The main recording method is continuous or selective recording with time-based recording of the animal's activity, often using graphic schemes of space and fixing the trajectory of the subject's movement. space can be divided into quadrants. A variant of the open field methodology can be the organization of space as close as possible to natural habitat conditions, which the animal perceives as natural, and the experimenter controls the parameters necessary for the study.

B) Use of modifications of laboratory methods in the natural environment.

In the natural (or the one that the animals have mastered as natural) habitat, the experimenter makes changes that completely repeat or model the conditions of laboratory methods. Most often, various options for problematic boxes and workarounds are used: hiding, hanging, etc. baits, changing the habitual conditions on the routes of movement of animals, introducing new or removing familiar components of the environment. This type of natural experiment makes it possible to predict the real motivation of animals with great certainty and obtain reliable scientific data.

C) Simulation of natural activity in captivity.

Under conditions of cage or aviary keeping, various devices are constructed with which animals must interact in order to obtain food, access objects of manipulation, etc. The animal itself can choose the mode of activity, the time and intensity of its implementation.

3) Formative (training) experiment.

The formation process is modeled and studied new form behavior. This can be the formation of a skill of varying degrees of complexity, from simple conditioned reflex reactions to the most complex chains of operations, or finding a solution in a new situation without prior learning (intellectual behavior). In a formative experiment, laboratory techniques are often used, but the subject of study is not the result achieved by the animal, but the process of obtaining it. It can be carried out in laboratory, close to natural or in natural conditions.

Method types.

A) Classical conditioning (development of a conditioned reflex).

Animals are first offered an indifferent (indifferent) stimulus, for which there is only orienting reaction, but which does not cause any behavioral response, after which a stimulus (unconditioned or previously formed conditioned) is given, to which there is already a behavioral response. Individual mechanisms (reflex) or individual components of integral behavior are modeled.

B) Operant conditioning (learning by trial and error).

An animal that has a certain motivation explores the room and performs various actions, one of which is successful and is rewarded with positive reinforcement. Gradually, the animal increasingly performs a reinforced action, independently highlighting the components of the situation that serve as a conditioned stimulus. Thus, the animal itself performs various trial movements or even their sequence selects (based on combination with reinforcement) successful ones and eliminates unsuccessful ones (erroneous ones). More complex behavior is modeled, which can be considered as integral and close to natural.

B) training.

New behavioral reactions of the animal are developed under the purposeful influence of a person who knows in advance what and in response to which stimulus the animal should form. The trainer consistently reinforces the correct movements of the animal and weeds out the wrong ones. For the animal itself, the meaning of such reactions is initially absent, it is formed gradually as a way of obtaining reinforcement or avoiding punishment.

There are 3 stages: pushing (the trainer encourages the animal to make the necessary movement (or its initial version), anticipating this movement with a signal that will then become a command; a previously developed technique can be used that needs to be changed), skill development (cutting off unnecessary movements and such a change in the necessary , which corresponds to the final version), strengthening (reinforcing the skill and its connection with the team). The main way to develop a skill is step-by-step reinforcement, in which initially a general movement pattern appears, and then from it an increasingly accurate execution of it, followed by reinforcement. It is possible to achieve very peculiar (from the point of view of the natural behavior of animals) motor coordinations in an animal.

D) Differential learning.

The animal is trained by classical or operant conditioning to distinguish between two presented stimuli, only one of which is reinforced (negatively or positively). As a result, the orienting response to one of the stimuli is extinguished, and the other becomes a conditioned stimulus for the necessary response.

Advantages of experimental methods: accuracy, the use of developed and tested devices and procedures, the relative unambiguity of the data obtained, the possibility of quantitative and qualitative processing of the results, the possibility of repeating the experiment and verifying the results.

Limitations of experimental methods: artificiality in comparison with the natural behavior of the animal, the isolation of individual behavioral manifestations without interconnection with their general life activity, the difficulty of establishing the authenticity of the animal's motivation and designing all possible ways of its behavior.

Scientific research methods are divided into two main groups:

1) methods for obtaining empirical data and facts;

2) methods of analysis of empirical data and facts.

Methods for obtaining empirical data and facts are methods and techniques for obtaining factual material, which is the basis for obtaining knowledge about the subject of research. Therefore, these methods depend on what area of ​​reality science is dealing with, that is, on the object of study. In zoopsychology, this is the behavior of animals (and of humans in comparative psychology). Related sciences that have the same object of study may use similar, and possibly the same methods of obtaining data. This also applies to sciences related to zoopsychology: ethology and physiology of behavior. The methods of analysis of the obtained data and facts are the methodology of science, its theoretical concepts and approaches that are related to the subject of study, since they are designed to explain the data obtained in such a way as to constitute knowledge about the subject of study itself. Thus, while studying the behavior of animals, zoopsychology, ethology and physiology analyze the same process - behavior, but different things must be explained. Psychology - the internal states of the subject of the psyche, the content, structure, functioning and development of mental processes; ethology - specific features of behavior and the origin of their adaptive meaning; physiology - physiological mechanisms that ensure the functioning of the psyche and the behavior of animals and humans adequate to the external environment.

Methods of scientific analysis are formalized in theories, concepts, approaches that develop together with general scientific thinking and with the development of specific sciences. Zoopsychology and comparative psychology use psychological approaches, which, as already mentioned, allow us to consider the psyche in an evolutionary aspect: an evolutionary-systemic approach, an activity approach, a cultural-historical, comparative-psychological one. These theoretical approaches will be considered in more detail when analyzing the development of the psyche in evolution.

Methods for obtaining empirical data and facts in zoopsychology and comparative psychology are divided into two main groups: the method of observation and the method of experiment. The application of each method involves the use of specific techniques - methods and techniques for organizing the process of obtaining data.

OBSERVATION METHOD

The essence of the method of observation is the careful sequential recording of all behavioral manifestations of the activity of the object of observation (animals and humans). Despite the apparent simplicity (to look and fix everything that you see), the method of observation is very complex. Unlike experimental methods, where the conditions for the behavior of the subject are rigidly fixed and precisely developed methods for conducting experiments and fixing data are used, when observing, everything depends on the skill and experience of the observer. It is he who is the “tool”, on the accuracy and quality of which the result depends. As a scientific method for obtaining empirical data and facts, the method of observation has its own principles, rules and methods of implementation.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OBSERVATION

1. Objectivity. This is the most important principle of observation, it is connected with the very essence of the scientific approach to the study of the psyche of animals: we cannot directly penetrate the subjective world of another living being and judge the content of this subjective world only by behavioral manifestations. Objectivity in observation means that the researcher describes only what he actually sees, i.e. behavioral manifestations of the animal, and in no case their own interpretation of the state and experiences of the observed object. All observational data are the material on the basis of which, after careful processing and scientific analysis, knowledge about the psyche is constructed. From this it follows that the observance of this principle is connected with the qualifications of the observer, his ability to impartially and accurately record the observed facts. In this respect, the features of the method of observation in zoopsychology and comparative psychology have much in common with those in developmental psychology and pathopsychology.

2. Systematic. Observation should be carried out repeatedly and systematically. This avoids errors associated with the situational state of the animal or situational environmental factors that cannot be identified with a single observation. For example, atmospheric pressure has a different effect on the activity of warm-blooded animals with different individual characteristics of the nervous system; the hormonal background of different phases of the reproductive cycle in female primates significantly affects the manifestation of their behavior in the group, etc. For zoopsychology and comparative psychology, this is also important because we do not know so well individual characteristics animals (compared to such knowledge about humans), and there is a danger of interpreting the patterns of behavior and psyche common to a given animal species based on data only about their individual representatives.

3. Accuracy of data fixation. The complexity of observation is due to the fact that the researcher simultaneously observes and records the results of observation. This places high demands on his professional skills. The situation of observation cannot be repeated, it is often possible to see unique, previously unknown facts or facts that contradict the data of other observations. Therefore, a high registration accuracy is required, which does not allow for discrepancies in interpretation. For example, studies of higher apes in natural conditions in recent decades have revealed many features of their behavior that were previously considered impossible for these animals and, moreover, were regarded as distinctive features of human behavior. This applies, in particular, to teaching female chimpanzees to their cubs to break nuts with a stone, use sticks and try new types of food. Even now, the data of these observations still do not make it possible to understand whether the purpose of the pongid females is to teach the cub the correct way of behavior, or only to prevent him from harming himself by inept actions.

4. Ensuring the natural behavior of the subject in the observation situation. Observation should be organized in such a way as not to affect the behavior of the subject. This means that the animal should not be aware of the presence of the observer or perceive it as a natural component of the environment that does not affect this situation. The latter is possible if the animals are accustomed to the researcher and do not change their behavior in his presence.

EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

The essence of the experimental method is to test a scientific hypothesis using controlled conditions of the subject's activity. Based on the available data, an assumption is put forward about how the animal will behave in certain, specially organized conditions and how the change in these conditions will affect the change in the behavior of the subject. Hypotheses can be search, alternative, clarifying, etc. An experiment differs from an observation in that the experimenter actively intervenes in the situation. during the experiment, various devices, apparatus and installations can be used that correspond and do not correspond to the natural conditions of the animals' habitat. Various devices can be used to capture data.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

1. Controllability of the conditions and behavior of the subject. When conducting an experiment, it is necessary to take into account all the features of the situation and the capabilities of the animal. This is not always easy to do, since animals, unlike humans, cannot be given instructions and rely on their conscious execution. Therefore, the experimental situation should be organized in such a way as to minimize unforeseen animal reactions. In all cases, such reactions are recorded in the protocol of observation and are used to interpret the data obtained. In zoopsychology, it is not uncommon for an animal, especially one with a highly developed psyche, to react to an experimental situation in a way that the researcher did not expect. For example, in the experiments of V. Köhler, the chimpanzee was asked to get a highly suspended bait with a stick, which, as the researcher assumed, the monkey would hold in his hand. However, in some cases, the chimpanzees used the stick as a jumping pole or quickly climbed up on it, placing it vertically under the bait. It turned out that it is sometimes more difficult for a monkey to manipulate a long stick while standing than to use it as a device for locomotion. In experiments with the use of a stick to roll out a bait from a simple maze, chimpanzees and orangutans consistently used a number of methods not taken into account by scientists, which had to be successively eliminated in order to test the hypothesis. The monkeys, instead of rolling the bait through the labyrinth passages with a stick, threw the bait over the side of the labyrinth, prying it with a stick, dragged it, pressing it against the side with a stick, and even accurately hit the experimental table from below, as a result of which the bait bounced and fell over the side of the labyrinth . Orangutans behaved similarly when they were asked to push the bait out of the tube with a stick. They shook out the bait by tapping the pipe on the floor, and even blew it out with their mouths, rolled and kneaded the pipe on the floor, and so on. the method that allowed and supported the experimenter. The studies of almost all scientists who have studied and are studying the psyche of higher animals, and especially monkeys, indicate that in a number of cases we are dealing with just such a situation, i.e. we are not examining the ability of the animal to act in the proposed objective situation, but its ability to identify the task coming from the person and find an appropriate solution. Therefore, the requirement to control the conditions of the experiment and the behavior of the animal is one of the most important and at the same time difficult to implement principles of the experiment.

2. The presence of a specially developed procedure for conducting an experiment and fixing the data obtained. This principle reflects the essence of the experimental method. For each experiment, a procedure is specially developed, which includes the sequence of all events and actions of the experimenter and the subject, a description of the recorded forms of animal behavior and the method of such fixation. The received data is processed in a specially developed way. This allows you to compare the data obtained in different series of the experiment and by different researchers, which ensures their reliability and objectivity.

3. The possibility of repeating the experiment with the same and other animals, as well as other researchers. When conducting an experiment and presenting the data obtained, it is mandatory to present the methodology and results in such a way that they can be evaluated and, if necessary, repeated by other researchers. This is what ultimately allows us to understand the causes and mechanisms of animal behavior. Quite often, researchers using the same methodology obtain different results, the comparison of which makes it possible to reveal the true features of the psyche of the studied animals.

4. Objectivity. This principle presupposes accurate recording and unbiased interpretation of animal behavior, regardless of whether it corresponds to the researcher's hypothesis. Animal psychology, like any science in general, unfortunately, is not free from either the ideological or personal characteristics of the researcher. Therefore, objective data recording, a detailed presentation of the methodology, the availability and preservation of protocols for observation and experimentation are mandatory and necessary in zoopsychological research.



Based on the fact that the basis of mental reflection in animals is their behavior, then, studying mental processes, first of all, they evaluate the general adaptive, substantive activity animals. In order to get an idea about certain mental qualities and processes in animals, zoopsychologists in their research analyze the specific forms of their motor activity, the structure of actions and acts of behavior directed at the components of the environment.

Typically, such a psychological analysis of the behavior of an animal is carried out by a detailed study of the movements of the animal in the course of solving certain problems. At the same time, the physiological state of the animal, the external conditions under which the experiment is carried out, and, in general, all significant factors that can influence the result of the experiment are simultaneously taken into account.

An important point zoopsychological research is to take into account the biological adequacy of the conditions for the experiment and the methodology used.

Before starting experiments, it is advisable to study the normal behavior and reactions of animals of this species in natural conditions. This will make it possible to judge the external causes of mental activity and its adaptive functions.
During experiments to study the structure of the behavior of an animal, first of all, a qualitative assessment of its activity is carried out, it is analyzed how the animal solves a particular task, and at the same time quantitative indicators characterizing the conditions of the task and the degree of its complexity are evaluated and taken into account.

In zoopsychological research, the following methods are most often used:

The labyrinth method

The essence of the “maze” method is as follows: the experimental animal is given the task of finding a path to a specific goal that is not directly perceived by it (food or shelter). The experiments use both two-dimensional, one-level labyrinths, where the animal moves in one plane, and three-dimensional, two-level ones, where it can move in two planes. In case of deviations from the correct path, punishment of the animal is sometimes used. The results of the passage of the maze by the animal are determined, as a rule, by the speed of achieving the “goal” and by the number of mistakes made. This method allows studying the ability of animals to learn, to develop motor skills, as well as the ability to spatial orientation. With the help of this method, it is possible to find out the role of musculoskeletal and other forms of sensitivity, memory, the ability to transfer motor skills to new conditions, to the formation of sensory generalizations and other mental functions.

Workaround method

The peculiarity of the "workaround" method is that the animal directly perceives the object to which its actions are directed already at the beginning of the experience. Usually this object is food. Unlike the "maze" method, in this method the animal has to go around one or more obstacles to reach the object. In experiments using the detour method, the speed and trajectory of the animal's movement, the degree of complexity of the task, the speed of its solution when the animal is looking for a detour and achieving a result are taken into account and evaluated.

Method of "Differentiation Training"

The method of "Differentiation training" is used to identify the ability of an animal to distinguish between objects and their features, while the objects are presented simultaneously or sequentially. With the correct choice of the object, the animal is rewarded, this method is called positive training, in other cases, along with the reinforcement of the correct choice, punishment is applied for the wrong choice, this method is called positive-negative training. By successively reducing the differences between the features of objects, the researcher can reveal in the animal the limits of discrimination (differentiation) of a given quality of objects. Thus, the peculiarities of vision in animals of different species (sharpness, color perception, perception of sizes and shapes), the processes of forming skills, animal memory (by the time of saving the results of training), as well as the ability of animals to generalize are studied.

Sample-by-sample method

The "selection per sample" method is a variant of the differentiation training method and is used to study the sensory systems of higher animals (monkeys). The animal must choose from a number of objects the object that matches the sample. The sample is presented to the animal at the beginning of the experiment, and the correct choice is usually positively reinforced during the experiment.

Method of "problem cell (box)"

In experiments using this "problem cage (box)" method, the animal needs to open (sometimes in a certain sequence) the shutters on the cage door or the lid of the box in order to receive reinforcements (food or freedom). This method makes it possible to investigate the complex forms of learning and the motor elements of the intellectual behavior of animals. The application of this method is especially productive in the study of animals with developed grasping limbs (rats, raccoons, monkeys). When setting up experiments to reveal the higher mental abilities of animals, they are usually given the opportunity to use various tools (sticks, blocks, etc.) to solve a problem. Using this method, with the gradual complication of the task, in the process of experiments, it is possible to obtain valuable data not only on the effector, but also on the sensory components of the intelligence of animals.