Animal Studies
In one study thirty-two domesticated albino rats were placed in a 10 x 14 foot four-chambered home. These animals were observed for sixteen months without any outside interference. They went through their activities in a normal manner. But what would happen if they were forced to continue to live in the same quarters as the colony expanded through birth of new members? At first the animals behaved as do all well-housed laboratory rats. Nests were prepared and the newborn were cared for. Gradually, as the colony expanded from thirty-two to eighty, social patterns of behavior changed. Some rats began to show neuroses. Some males gave up mating habits. They broke into nests and on occasion ate the young who had died from earlier neglect by the mother. Other males withdrew from normal social activities of the colony. Homosexuality became common. Happy family life, as best the experimenter could tell, was broken up. Five repetitions of the study showed the same results, with animals becoming withdrawn as overcrowding increased. Observed one psychiatrist, "One gets the uneasy feeling that we have heard of something not too dissimilar in our own human culture." It could be a miRtake to conclude that family and community problems are a result of people having to live together under abnormally crowded conditions. The lack of enough living space may be just O]le of the many causes of psychological difficulty.
In one study thirty-two domesticated albino rats were placed in a 10 x 14 foot four-chambered home. These animals were observed for sixteen months without any outside interference. They went through their activities in a normal manner. But what would happen if they were forced to continue to live in the same quarters as the colony expanded through birth of new members? At first the animals behaved as do all well-housed laboratory rats. Nests were prepared and the newborn were cared for. Gradually, as the colony expanded from thirty-two to eighty, social patterns of behavior changed. Some rats began to show neuroses. Some males gave up mating habits. They broke into nests and on occasion ate the young who had died from earlier neglect by the mother. Other males withdrew from normal social activities of the colony. Homosexuality became common. Happy family life, as best the experimenter could tell, was broken up. Five repetitions of the study showed the same results, with animals becoming withdrawn as overcrowding increased. Observed one psychiatrist, "One gets the uneasy feeling that we have heard of something not too dissimilar in our own human culture." It could be a miRtake to conclude that family and community problems are a result of people having to live together under abnormally crowded conditions. The lack of enough living space may be just O]le of the many causes of psychological difficulty.
