Animal Farm: Using Common Domestic Animals to Teach Comparative Psychology

As money for animal facilities at colleges and universities has declined, so too has the accessibility of students to hands-on experiences with animals. However, we know that laboratory experiences with animals provide students with better ideas of the challenges and joys of animal research. Faculty can be creative about using local resources or even their own pets to teach simple experiments in comparative cognition. This paper describes an animal lab utilizing locally available animals to test understanding of the human communicative gesture of a point. Outcomes of the lab provide interesting discussion for students, and students enjoy the experiences of using live animals to learn about comparative psychology.