Why Is Jane Goodall Important In Psychology

Jane Goodall was not like other primatologists because she decided to name her subjects instead of numbering them. Scientists criticized this action because they used numbering so that there couldn’t be an emotional attachment to the subjects.Goodall is most famously known for her discovery of chimpanzees creating tools for the purpose of feeding, drinking, cleaning, and sometimes even used as weapons. In 1960, Goodall first observed a chimpanzee, named David Greybeard, using a tool for eating purposes. She saw that he had been putting pieces of grass into termite mounds and bringing the grass up to his mouth. When the chimpanzee left, she went towards the termite mounds to figure out what he had been doing. She found out that David had been

using the grass to “fish” for termites because they bit into the grass with their jaws when it was put in the mounds. This discovery of chimpanzees making tools caused scientists to reconsider the definition of being human because tool-making was considered the defining difference between humans and animals. It was also discovered that chimpanzees were actually not vegetarian. Although chimpanzees definitely had their affectionate sides, Goodall also noticed that the chimpanzee behaviour could also turn aggressive and violent at times. For example, she observed female chimpanzees killing off the offspring of other female chimpanzees to maintain their dominance. Not only that, but in 1974, a 4 year war began within different groups and only ended when one group had been wiped out completely. This was important because it was the first record of warfare that lasted so long in primates that were not human.

Focus of Research

Jane Goodall traveled to Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania to observe the Kasakela chimpanzee community in 1960. Dr. Louis Leakey had been looking for a chimpanzee researcher because he believed that they could provide indications of the behaviour of early hominids, so when Goodall gave him a call to see if she could work under him, he sent her off to Tanzania.
She went there to study the behaviour of the wild chimpanzees in order to better understand human evolution. A factor that made Dr. Leakey decide on the site was that many fossilized remains of early man had been discovered on lake shores.

Trivia

Jane Goodall loved to observe animals even at a young age. One day she sat in her family’s chicken coop for 5 hours just to watch a hen lay an egg. Her family was frantic and had called the police because they had no idea where she had gone.

In 1984, Goodall, founded an international research program dedicated to the study of captive chimpanzees to help improve their lives through research and education. This program is called the Chimpanzoo.

Methodological Approach

Jane Goodall’s approach to research on the chimpanzees of Gombe was interpretive because she was a participant observer and was concerned on providing explanations on human evolution by studying the behaviour of chimpanzees. Her research was qualitative and explanatory because she wanted to explain the similarities between humans and chimpanzees and how they socialize to better understand our human origins.