Behavioral sink

"Behavioral sink" is a term invented by ethologist John B. Calhoun to describe a collapse in behavior that can result from overpopulation. The term and concept derive from a series of over-population experiments Calhoun conducted on Norway rats between 1958 and 1962.[1] In the experiments, Calhoun and his researchers created a series of "rat utopias"[2] – enclosed spaces where rats were given unlimited access to food and water, enabling unfettered population growth. Calhoun coined the term "behavioral sink"[3] in a February 1, 1962, Scientific American article titled "Population Density and Social Pathology" on the rat experiment.[4] He would later perform similar experiments on mice, from 1968 to 1972.[5]

Calhoun's work became used as an animal model of societal collapse, and his study has become a touchstone of urban sociology and psychology in general.[6]

  1. ^ Hall, Edward, T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension: An Anthropologist Examines Humans' Use of Space in Public and in Private. Anchor Books. p. 25. ASIN B0006BNQW2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "John B. Calhoun and his Rat Utopia". DemystifySci. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  3. ^ "Behavioral Sink definition | Psychology Glossary | AlleyDog.com". www.alleydog.com. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  4. ^ Calhoun, John B. (1962). "Population density and social pathology" (PDF). Scientific American. 206 (3): 139–148. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0262-139 (inactive 1 November 2024). PMID 13875732. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2015-12-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  5. ^ Ramsden, Edmund; Adams, Jon (2009). "Escaping the Laboratory: The Rodent Experiments of John B. Calhoun & Their Cultural Influence". Journal of Social History. 42 (3): 761–792. doi:10.1353/jsh/42.3.761. ISSN 0022-4529. JSTOR 27696487.
  6. ^ Hock, Roger R. (2004). Forty Studies that Changed Psychology : Explorations into the History of Psychological Research (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-114729-4.