An Appraisal of Ethological Contributions to Psychiatric Theory and Research

Abstract

The author feels that while it would be a mistake to view ethology as either confirming or negating current psychiatric theories of human development, a comparative ethological approach can identify new and significant problems for research. Ethology may make its most important contribution to the study of man by facilitating the accurate and rich description of how people communicate motivational and affective messages to one another in a natural rather than an experimental setting.