Rat Research that Influenced our Society

Here's a historical perspective that helps explain how we got here. I had never heard of Calhoun before. It seems his work has had far-reaching effects.

• In rat research, a warning for human society

John B. Calhoun loved rats. He designed elaborate colonies for the creatures that became a kind of paradise, free of predators and disease, with an unlimited supply of food.
But paradise soon became a crowded hell, and that’s why his work half a century ago has had such a profound impact on our understanding of humans.
Calhoun, a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health for 40 years, discovered that severe crowding produced horrific behavioral changes among animals. The changes were so profound that social order broke down, and ultimately the entire rodent population collapsed.
His findings led to the concept of the “behavioral sink” and suggested that evolution had given animals, perhaps including humans, an innate and irreversible self-destruct button to prevent a species from overpopulating its habitat. He created a doomsday model of what might happen if human beings failed to slow their population growth. . . . .

Jack Hays said:

Here's a historical perspective that helps explain how we got here. I had never heard of Calhoun before. It seems his work has had far-reaching effects.

• In rat research, a warning for human society

John B. Calhoun loved rats. He designed elaborate colonies for the creatures that became a kind of paradise, free of predators and disease, with an unlimited supply of food.
But paradise soon became a crowded hell, and that’s why his work half a century ago has had such a profound impact on our understanding of humans.
Calhoun, a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health for 40 years, discovered that severe crowding produced horrific behavioral changes among animals. The changes were so profound that social order broke down, and ultimately the entire rodent population collapsed.
His findings led to the concept of the “behavioral sink” and suggested that evolution had given animals, perhaps including humans, an innate and irreversible self-destruct button to prevent a species from overpopulating its habitat. He created a doomsday model of what might happen if human beings failed to slow their population growth. . . . .

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Ya know, I read this a long time ago and thought it was instructive at the time. I still do. It's the single most illuminating thing I read studying sociology and anthropology. Doesn't say much about my academic acumen and curiosity, but then we gather what we can to use and discard the rest anyway.

I believe I saw some documentary footage of his work or similar work before

It showed a rat community that became very hostile and aggressive towards each other.

From which I gathered

Cities have to operate differently than rural communities. They require more restrictive levels of what is acceptable public behavior or they will see drastic increase in violence. I believe you see examples of this when you compare major cities in the world.

For example Tokyo vs say Mexico city

Tokyo has very restrictive laws and social norms for public behavior, the city is very crowded yet crime and public violence in that city is very low. It is not a genetic disposition to avoid violence that causing residents to avoid violence (see Japanese behavior during WW2). The restrictive laws and social norms help keep the potential for violence and aggression low preventing it from boiling over into actual violence and aggression

Mexico City, has roughly the same number of people, but far less enforcement of laws and vastly less strict social norms. It has a much higher level of poverty however and a much higher level of crime and violence

Without strict social norms for public behavior in my opinion densely populated cities have much higher chances of public violence and crime. Rural communities do not need that level of control as being a dick can be done on your own property and none of your neighbors will be effected. Loud music, raging fire pit with horrible smelling food, who cares in the country as no one actually but the group doing it is effected. But in a city the loud music might really annoy 30 people, the horrible smelling food might upset 100. Multiply this aggravation 20 times a day and by the end of it the person comes home in a high stressed state ready to explode in anger

Reading this part of the article reminded me of this in Japan

Other mice became inert lumps of fur, “dropouts” that withdrew from society altogether.

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In Japan, Hikikomori (ひきこもり or 引き籠り Hikikomori, literally "pulling inward, being confined", i.e., "acute social withdrawal") are reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement.

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Jack Hays said:

Here's a historical perspective that helps explain how we got here. I had never heard of Calhoun before. It seems his work has had far-reaching effects.

• In rat research, a warning for human society

John B. Calhoun loved rats. He designed elaborate colonies for the creatures that became a kind of paradise, free of predators and disease, with an unlimited supply of food.
But paradise soon became a crowded hell, and that’s why his work half a century ago has had such a profound impact on our understanding of humans.
Calhoun, a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health for 40 years, discovered that severe crowding produced horrific behavioral changes among animals. The changes were so profound that social order broke down, and ultimately the entire rodent population collapsed.
His findings led to the concept of the “behavioral sink” and suggested that evolution had given animals, perhaps including humans, an innate and irreversible self-destruct button to prevent a species from overpopulating its habitat. He created a doomsday model of what might happen if human beings failed to slow their population growth. . . . .

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I must admit some of that sounds just like the Great Society started by LBJ in the inner cities that persists to this day as the Welfare State

Hum

Mac77 said:

I must admit some of that sounds just like the Great Society started by LBJ in the inner cities that persists to this day as the Welfare State

Hum

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Reading more of the works of Calhoun, the housing projects of the 60s and 70's were about the worst sort of design for high density housing. Narrow entry point, narrow hallways and stairways leads to far to many close interactions between people, combined with low levels of societal norms limiting adverse interactions between people (noise, smells etc) it is not surprising they became hell holes. I expect only in a society like Japan (and perhaps other east asian countries) where society has a strict level of control on social behaviour (ie no eating in public, low levels of noise is expected and talking to strangers is usually very limited in crowded areas) would such poor designs work for any length of time

Lord Tammerlain said:

Reading more of the works of Calhoun, the housing projects of the 60s and 70's were about the worst sort of design for high density housing. Narrow entry point, narrow hallways and stairways leads to far to many close interactions between people, combined with low levels of societal norms limiting adverse interactions between people (noise, smells etc) it is not surprising they became hell holes. I expect only in a society like Japan (and perhaps other east asian countries) where society has a strict level of control on social behaviour (ie no eating in public, low levels of noise is expected and talking to strangers is usually very limited in crowded areas) would such poor designs work for any length of time

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Government created the housing projects that keep poor people tied to the welfare state