Abstract
Forty control male rats were exposed to mice for the first time as adults; 18 (45%) killed one or two mice. Twenty experimental male rats lived with mice from 21 to 57 days of age and were later exposed to strange mice; no mice were killed. The implications of the findings for instinct theory and the “deprivation experiment” are discussed.
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This research was supported, in part, by Research Grant HD-02068 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Supported by NIH Training Grant 1 T1 MH-10267.
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Denenberg, V.H., Paschke, R.E. & Zarrow, M.X. Killing of mice by rats prevented by early interaction between the two species. Psychon Sci 11, 39 (1968). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328143
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328143