Ethology - Relationship With Comparative Psychology

Relationship With Comparative Psychology

Comparative psychology also studies animal behaviour, but, as opposed to ethology, is construed as a sub-topic of psychology rather than as one of biology. Historically, where comparative psychology researches animal behaviour in the context of what is known about human psychology, ethology researches animal behaviour in the context of what is known about animal anatomy, physiology, neurobiology, and phylogenetic history. Furthermore, early comparative psychologists concentrated on the study of learning and tended to research behaviour in artificial situations, whereas early ethologists concentrated on behaviour in natural situations, tending to describe it as instinctive. The two approaches are complementary rather than competitive, but they do result in different perspectives and, sometimes, conflicts of opinion about matters of substance. In addition, for most of the twentieth century, comparative psychology developed most strongly in North America, while ethology was stronger in Europe. A practical difference is that early comparative psychologists concentrated on gaining extensive knowledge of the behaviour of very few species. Ethologists were more interested in understanding behaviour in a wide range of species to facilitate principled comparisons across taxonomic groups. Ethologists have made much more use of a truly comparative method than comparative psychologists have.