Dissertation Research on Animal Rights and Animal Research: Value Formation and Conflict Escalation

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This dissertation research project studies the social interactions within and between the biomedical research and animal rights communities. The research examines the process by which participants form opinions about what constitutes ethical research with animals and the factors that lead to escalation and deescalation of conflicts. The analysis draws on three years of observations at organization meetings, symposia and protests of animal rights activists and biomedical researchers in two communities in a Southern state of the United States. These data are supplemented with 50 interviews of participants, a review of media coverage, and analysis of literature developed and distributed by the animal rights and biomedical research community. This grant will enable the researcher to extend his observations to and collect data in a second community. Results will provide a theoretical and practical contribution to understanding social movements and the emergence of ethical conflicts involving science and technology.