Bottoms-up! Rejecting Top-down Human-centered Approaches in Comparative Psychology

• Published in: International journal of comparative psychology 2018, Vol.31
• Main Authors: Eaton, Taryn, Hutton, Robert, Leete, Jessica, Lieb, Jennifer, Robeson, Audrey, Vonk, Jennifer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0889-3667; 2168-3344
• DOI: 10.46867/ijcp.2018.31.01.11

Although comparative psychologists have made considerable strides in the past several decades, expanding the breadth of species and questions examined, the field still suffers from an overemphasis on top-down approaches that begin and end with a focus on humans. This top-down perspective leads to biases and oversights that hamper the further development of the field. A bottom-up approach that considers species-specific abilities and behaviors in the context of theoretically relevant comparisons will be most useful in advancing knowledge of species-specific and shared abilities. This will allow a better determination of the extent to which continuities and discontinuities exist as a function of different ecological forces. In addition, a bottom-up approach will facilitate a shift in focus from using animals to better understand humans, to understanding animals themselves. This new approach will allow for an appreciation of how humans can benefit other species.