The Utopia Rats experiment, officially called "Universe 25", was a behavioral study conducted by American ethologist John B. Calhoun in the 1960s and 1970s. The experiment was designed to explore the effects of overpopulation on social behavior. Calhoun created an enclosed space that could support up to 3,840 mice, with ample food, water, and nesting material. The mice were free from predators and diseases, and all of their basic needs were provided.
Key Details of the Experiment:
Setup: The environment (called "Universe 25") was a 9-foot-square enclosure divided into four interconnected sections, with nesting areas and resources placed to support a large population of mice.
Initial Phase: The population grew rapidly in the early stages, with the mice reproducing quickly in an environment free of threats. This phase was characterized by normal social and reproductive behaviors.
Overpopulation and Behavioral Sink: As the population grew closer to its capacity, things began to deteriorate:
Social Breakdown: Aggression, violence, and social withdrawal became common. Many mice were unable to establish territories or engage in normal reproductive behavior.
Behavioral Sink: This term, coined by Calhoun, described the collapse of social structure and behaviors. In Universe 25, some mice became hyper-aggressive, while others withdrew and stopped participating in reproduction or normal social activities.
"The Beautiful Ones": A subset of mice, mostly males, began grooming themselves obsessively and isolating from others. They ceased mating and showed no interest in social interaction.
Population Decline: Despite the abundance of resources, the mice stopped reproducing, and the population began to decline. Eventually, the colony collapsed, with almost all social behaviors breaking down.
(What is the experiment with rats in a utopia?
UNIVERSE 25: John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia that, at its peak, housed approximately 2,200 mice. Calhoun was studying the breakdown of social bonds that occurs under extreme overcrowding, following up on his earlier discovery of the learned "behavioral sink" phenomenon in rats.May 28, 2024)
UNIVERSE 25: John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia that, at its peak, housed approximately 2,200 mice. Calhoun was studying the breakdown of social bonds that occurs under extreme overcrowding, following up on his earlier discovery of the learned "behavioral sink" phenomenon in rats.May 28, 2024)
(What was the rat experiment where they all died?
In John B. Calhoun's early crowding experiments, rats were supplied with everything they needed – except space. The result was a population boom, followed by such severe psychological disruption that the animals died off to extinction.)
In John B. Calhoun's early crowding experiments, rats were supplied with everything they needed – except space. The result was a population boom, followed by such severe psychological disruption that the animals died off to extinction.)
(What did the rat experiment prove?
Genetic variation, such as better peripheral vision, can make some rats “bright” and others “dull”, but does not determine their intelligence. Nonetheless, Tryon's famous rat-maze experiment demonstrated that the difference between rat performances was genetic since their environments were controlled and identical.)
Genetic variation, such as better peripheral vision, can make some rats “bright” and others “dull”, but does not determine their intelligence. Nonetheless, Tryon's famous rat-maze experiment demonstrated that the difference between rat performances was genetic since their environments were controlled and identical.)
(Why did the mouse utopia experiment fail?
A social imbalance also took place among the mice: One-third emerged as socially dominant. The other two-thirds turned out less socially adept than their forebearers. As bonding skills diminished among the mice, Universe 25 went into a slow but irreversible decline.)
A social imbalance also took place among the mice: One-third emerged as socially dominant. The other two-thirds turned out less socially adept than their forebearers. As bonding skills diminished among the mice, Universe 25 went into a slow but irreversible decline.)
(Is the rat drowning experiment real?
In the 1950s, Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins, did a famous drowning rats psychology experiment. This experiment, though cruel, demonstrated the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations.Jul 16, 2024)
In the 1950s, Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins, did a famous drowning rats psychology experiment. This experiment, though cruel, demonstrated the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations.Jul 16, 2024)
Conclusions:
Calhoun believed that the experiment demonstrated the negative consequences of overpopulation and social crowding. The social collapse in Universe 25 was linked to a loss of meaningful social roles and overcrowding, even in the absence of physical deprivation.
The Utopia Rats experiment is often interpreted as a commentary on human urbanization and population growth, suggesting that excessive crowding and lack of social roles may lead to societal breakdown. However, it has also been critiqued, especially for drawing direct parallels between human and animal behavior.
Explanation
[edit]Further, researchers argued that "Calhoun's work was not simply about density in a physical sense, as number of individuals-per-square-unit-area, but was about degrees of social interaction."[14] "Social density" appears to be key.
Applicability to humans
[edit]Calhoun himself saw the fate of the population of mice as a metaphor for the potential fate of humankind. He characterized the social breakdown as a "spiritual death",[10] with reference to bodily death as the "second death" mentioned in the Biblical verse Revelation 2:11.[10]
Controversy exists over the implications of the experiment. Psychologist Jonathan Freedman's experiment recruited high school and university students to carry out a series of experiments that measured the effects of density on human behavior. He measured their stress, discomfort, aggression, competitiveness, and general unpleasantness. He declared to have found no appreciable negative effects in 1975.[15]
The 1962 Scientific American article came at a time when overpopulation had become a subject of great public interest, and had a considerable cultural influence.[16] However, such discussions often oversimplified the original findings in various ways. It should however be noted that the work has another message than, for example, Paul Ehrlich's now widely disputed[17][18][19] book The Population Bomb.
Calhoun's worries primarily concerned a human population surge and a potentially independent increase in urbanization as an early stage of rendering much a given society functionally sterile. Under such circumstances society will move from some modality of overpopulation towards a much more irredeemable underpopulation. This has been seen in urban populations that have long been noted to have lower fertility than their rural counterparts,[20] but growing use of especially digital media is likely to end up depressing rural population growth as well.[21] As of today this primarily concerns elite population decline,[22] but can due to positive feedback in social diffusion have Calhoun's empirical predictions apply to a much wider segment of society as well.
"乌托邦鼠实验"（Utopia Rats Experiment），正式名称为“宇宙25号”（Universe 25），是美国动物行为学家约翰·B·卡尔霍恩（John B. Calhoun）在20世纪60年代至70年代进行的行为实验，旨在研究过度拥挤对社会行为的影响。卡尔霍恩创造了一个封闭空间，足够容纳3840只小鼠，提供了充足的食物、水源和筑巢材料。实验环境无捕食者和疾病威胁，所有基本需求都得到了满足。
实验的关键细节：
实验设置：实验环境（被称为“宇宙25号”）是一个9平方英尺的封闭区，分为四个相互连接的部分，里面有供大规模小鼠群体使用的巢穴和资源。
初始阶段：在早期阶段，群体数量快速增长，小鼠在没有威胁的环境下快速繁殖，这一阶段表现出正常的社会和繁殖行为。
过度拥挤与行为崩溃：当群体接近最大容量时，情况开始恶化：
社会崩溃：小鼠之间的攻击性行为、暴力和社交退缩变得普遍。许多小鼠无法建立自己的领地或参与正常的繁殖行为。
行为崩溃：卡尔霍恩创造了“行为崩溃”这一术语，来形容社会结构和行为的瓦解。在宇宙25号实验中，一些小鼠变得过度攻击，而另一些则完全退缩，停止参与繁殖或正常的社会活动。
“美丽者”：其中一部分小鼠，主要是雄性，开始过度梳理自己，远离其他小鼠，不再交配，也不关心社交活动。
群体衰退：尽管资源仍然丰富，小鼠却停止了繁殖，群体数量开始减少，最终整个群体崩溃，几乎所有社会行为都分崩离析。
结论：
卡尔霍恩认为实验表明了过度拥挤和社会拥塞的负面后果。宇宙25号的社会崩溃与社会角色的丧失和过度拥挤有关，即使在没有物质匮乏的情况下也是如此。
“乌托邦鼠实验”常被解读为对人类城市化和人口增长的隐喻，暗示过度拥挤和社会角色的缺失可能导致社会崩溃。然而，该实验也受到了一些批评，特别是直接将人类和动物行为进行类比的部分。
Blessings to bring peace to all you meet,
