Universe 25 Experiment
The “utopia rat experiment” is a series of studies conducted by ethologist John B. Calhoun in the mid-20th century, where mice were placed in a “perfect” environment with unlimited food, water, and shelter to study the effects of overcrowding. The initial population thrived, but the colony eventually descended into social chaos, leading to a collapse in reproduction and eventual extinction, even with abundant resources. This was dubbed the behavioral sink, a term Calhoun used to describe the breakdown of social behaviors that occurred due to the high population density.
This video explains the “Universe 25” experiment in detail: youtube/v=7ReBJfxHjFU (youtube/v=7ReBJfxHjFU)
The experiment and its phases
- Initial success: Four pairs of healthy, disease-free mice were introduced to a large, specially designed pen, which they called “Universe 25”. Initially, the population grew exponentially as they reproduced successfully.
- Stalling growth: After about 315 days, the population growth stalled, even though there was enough food and water for everyone.
- Social breakdown: As the population became denser, social structures began to crumble.
- Increased aggression and violence: Males became more violent, and mothers began to neglect or abandon their young.
- Social withdrawal: A group of mice known as the “beautiful ones” withdrew from society, focusing only on eating and grooming while avoiding all social interaction, including courtship and fighting.
- Hypersexuality: Other mice engaged in excessive and non-reproductive sexual activity.
- Extinction: Ultimately, the colony’s birth rates plummeted, and infant mortality became nearly 100%. The mice lost the ability to care for their young or rebuild their numbers, and the colony went extinct in 1973, despite the continued abundance of resources.
You can watch this video to see footage from the experiment: youtube/v=iOFveSUmh9U (youtube/v=iOFveSUmh9U)
Calhoun’s conclusions and implications
- Calhoun concluded that overcrowding, not resource scarcity, was the driver of social collapse. He theorized that overcrowding destroys social roles and behaviors essential for a functioning society.
- The “behavioral sink” phenomenon was seen as a potential parallel for human societies facing overcrowding, urbanization, and social decay.
- While some drew parallels to human overpopulation, Calhoun himself remained more optimistic, suggesting that humans could use their “conceptual space” to overcome these issues.
This video discusses the potential implications of the experiment for human society: youtube/v=uo1vtDW2BW8 (youtube/v=uo1vtDW2BW8)
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/227079345953752/posts/1128696232458721/
[2] https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:cbd8cec0:html:1
[6] https://rabbidunner.com/of-mice-and-men/
[8] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-universe-25-from-beginning-end-beyond-abdul-moiz
[9] https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalmethodistchurch/posts/1508510210148360/
[10] https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=788435553534493&id=100071041658043&set=a.233998142311573