Unconventional Practices
Anthropomorphism
At the time when Goodall began her research in Gombe Stream National Park, it was impermissible to discuss an animal’s mind or personality. Most scientists only admitted that animals were little bundles of stimulus and response, and any empathy or feeling for animals was considered absolutely wrong. However, her research observed unique, individual personalities within the Chimpanzee community, where Chimps similarly engaged in hugs, kisses, pats on the back and even tickling – all of which what people consider as identifiable human actions.
Goodall also named her Chimpanzees instead of numbering them. At that time, numbering was used to prevent emotional attachment and loss of objectivity. Fellow scientists at Cambridge had objected unpleasantly to her claims of individuality and emotion in Chimpanzees, and Goodall was accused of committing the worst possible ethological sin.
Disruption of Natural Feeding Patterns & Encouraging Aggression
Goodall was criticised for using feeding stations to attract chimpanzees. It was argued that this led to the disruption of natural feeding patterns which encouraged aggression in the animals. It has been previously suggested that feeding could result in higher levels of aggression in the Chimpanzees that may lead to conflicts between Chimpanzee social groups that Goodall observed. Furthermore, these conflicts between the social groups were never witnessed before artificial feeding began at Gombe. While Goodall acknowledged that feeding contributed to increased aggression within and between Chimpanzee groups, she maintained her stance that the effect was limited to alteration of the intensity and not the nature of the Chimpanzee conflict. She also commented on how feeding was necessary for the study to be effective.
Talks of Plagiarism
Back in 2013, Goodall’s Seeds of Hope was under accusations of plagiarism when an expert asked by the Washington Post to review the book revealed that at least 12 sections in the book were directly lifted from other websites. The expert also uncovered how Goodall had failed to cite her sources properly. Examples included the word-for-word lifting of a sentence on organic farming that also appeared on the website Choice Organic Teas, as well as a virtually identical sentence from a Wikipedia entry on “Bartram’s Boxes”.
Goodall had attributed the controversy surrounding her book to her hectic work schedule and chaotic method of note taking, insisting that she had not intentionally tried to pass off anyone else’s words as her own. In 2014, Goodall released a revised edition of Seeds of Hope with minor changes to the text to address critics, as well as a lengthy notes section.