The rapid increase and eventual collapse of a community of mice (the males): The population began to decline very fast, and the mice began to be violent and eat each other.īy day 800, the experiment was ended as the mouse population had completely collapsed, and the last generation of rats were unable to form new offspring because of the abnormal behavior and traits that existed due to overcrowding. They started to form social groups among themselves, but the majority of the population were “ outcasts” who were unable to be part of any of these social groups. Over time, the population continued to grow, but the social structure of the mice broke down. The females were particularly neglectful to young mice, and over time, the population began to decline. The overcrowding led to an increase in aggressive behavior, and many of the mice became isolated and “ antisocial.” Calhoun noticed when the mice began to grow was very scary and is the reason why this experiment is being re-conducted in modern times. The experiment started with four pairs of mice, and they were allowed to breed and populate the space. The environment was a 9-foot square enclosure that had everything mice needed to survive, including food, water, and shelter. Calhoun created a self-contained environment for mice known as Universe 25. It was designed to understand the effects of overcrowding and social disorganization on the behavior and psychology of mice.ĭr. John Calhoun’s works were published in several scientific journals, most popular of which were “Population density and Social Pathology”, “Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population,” and “The Death of a Monoculture.” Overcrowding and social problems He, however, had support from the National Institute of Mental Health, which provided funding, and others who were researchers in the same field of animal behavior and psychology were influential and provided ideas.īetween 19, Dr. This experiment was designed by him, and he worked alone on it without any co-researchers. His knowledge in these fields of interest put him in the perfect position to explore what could ever have been noticed by anyone other than him. John Calhoun, a behavioral psychologist, and ethologist.īorn on May 11, 1917, and growing up in the rural areas of Tennessee and Mississippi, John was very interested in biology and behavioral sciences, earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Mississippi and a PhD in psychology from Northwestern University in 1943. One of the most groundbreaking experiments in behavioral science that was done and repeated in the 1960s was the one done by Dr.
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