Animal Behavior Model:Open-Field Test

2) The paradigm I chose was the open-field test. The open field test was created as a way to gauge the anxiety levels of lab mice. The procedure is simple; all that is needed is a box and the mouse being experimented on. The general premise of the open field test exploits the mouse's natural tendency to stay away from open areas. The idea is that the more time spent on the box's perimeter, the more anxious the mouse was. Contrarily, the more time spent in the open area of the box, the less anxious the mouse is. By tracking exactly how much time each mouse spends in each zone, you can compare the anxiety levels of the mice (a tracking device may be needed for this). This can be useful when studying anti-anxiety medication to gauge its efficacy. 

3) The main issue with the open-field test is that many confounding variables can influence it. Examples of things that could impact the study include explorative drive, alertness, and motor output. This is just a short list of the many possible variables that could influence the study. Another question that arose is, wouldn't explorative mice also venture toward the walls to cover as much ground as possible? If this is the case, there would be an artificial increase in the mouse's anxiety score, which would end up skewing the data. The last suspicion I have for the test is that it didn't seem to consider time spent moving from one place to another. By not taking this into account, you don't fully encapsulate the adventurous nature of the subject; therefore, you can't get an entirely accurate reading on the anxiety levels.