behavioral sink

the destructive behaviors among nonhuman animals that occur with overcrowding; these include increased aggression and decreased maternal behavior. This was an unexpected finding of studies in 1962 by U.S. experimental psychologist John B. Calhoun (1917–1995) in which rats were given unlimited food and water and allowed to reproduce without intervention. Population density increased rapidly, and the animals displayed increasingly pathological behavior.

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Psychology term of the day

December 20th 2024

great man theory

a view of political leadership and historical causation that assumes that history is driven by a small number of exceptional individuals (traditionally presumed to be men) with certain innate characteristics that predispose them for greatness. A Zeitgeist (spirit of the times) view of history, in contrast, supposes that history is largely determined by economics, technological development, and a broad spectrum of social influences. [associated with British historian Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)]