as small as a world and as large as alone

6:57pm February 17, 2014

soilrockslove:

clatterbane:

strugglingtobeheard:

In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes.

The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive— which is a lot to expect of a rat.

The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy— and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.

Source: http://0c6cada9.linkbucks.com

when rats have more empathy than most white people, this is an enormous problem tho

I have to say that if that basic level of empathetic behavior surprises you, you probably have some pretty low expectations. (And haven’t spent much time actually paying attention to other animals’ behavior without a bunch of projection getting in the way. :-|)

(Bolding is mine - for emphasis)

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