Papini (2008) states that comparative psychology is the study of similarities and differences in the behavior of living beings with an emphasis on the psychological nature of human beings in comparison to other animals. There are many positives associated with comparative psychology. The first and most obvious is that research on animal behavior has led to many insights and discoveries about human behavior. For example, Harlow's work on rhesus monkeys gave psychologists insight into the affectional bonds created between a child and its caregiver. The work of Ivan Pavlov was pivotal to understanding classical conditioning.
The study of comparative psychology has also provided psychologists with an understanding of what is uniquely human, e.g., cognitive, socio-cognitive and symbolic processes involved in human culture and learning and creation. It also provides insight into understanding the ecosystem and the place of human beings within it. Thus, it informs human beings of their cultural and evolutionary history. Further, comparative psychology contributes to other fields of study. Through its methods, it provides information on the history of an area in which people and animals are found and thereby contributes to both paleoecology and contemporary ecology. Such knowledge is basic to human agency to sustain planetary ecological welfare for all species.
However, comparative psychology is also not without its limitations or drawbacks. First and foremost of these is that human beings have unique and profound differences when compared to other living beings and failure to recognize these can lead to invalid generationalizations. For example, the constraints of animals with respect to overcoming evolutionary factors that shaped their behavior may not be constraints to human beings with their added abilities to reason and reflect on their own behavior. Thus, comparisons in this area can fall short and misle
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