John B. Calhoun
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John Bumpass Calhoun (May 11, 1917 – September 7, 1995) was an American ethologist and
behavioral research Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour.Hallsworth, M. (2023). A manifesto for applying behavioural science. ''Nature Human Behaviour'', ''7''(3), 310-322. While the term can technically be applied to the stu ...
er noted for his studies of
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
and its effects on
behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of Individual, individuals, organisms, systems or Artificial intelligence, artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or or ...
. He claimed that the bleak effects of
overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migr ...
on
rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
were a grim model for the future of the human race. During his studies, Calhoun coined the term " behavioral sink" to describe aberrant behaviors in overcrowded population density situations and "beautiful ones" to describe passive individuals who withdrew from all
social interaction A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or ...
. His work gained world recognition. He spoke at conferences around the world and his opinion was sought by groups as diverse as
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
and the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
's Panel on overcrowding in local jails. Calhoun's rat studies were used as a basis in the development of Edward T. Hall's 1966
proxemics Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction. Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including Haptic co ...
theories.


Early life and education

John Calhoun was born May 11, 1917, in Elkton, Tennessee, the third child of James Calhoun and Fern Madole Calhoun. Their first child died in infancy. Calhoun had three siblings: an older sister, Polly; and two younger brothers, Billy and Dan. His father was a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
principal who rose to a position in administration in the
Tennessee Department of Education The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is the state education agency of Tennessee. It is headquartered on the 9th floor of the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipaliti ...
. His mother was an artist. Calhoun's family moved from Elkton to
Brownsville, Tennessee Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 9,788. The city is named after General Jacob Jennings Brown, an American officer of the War of 1812. History Brow ...
, and finally to
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, when Calhoun was in junior high school. At this time, Calhoun began attending meetings of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. Mrs. Laskey, distinguished for her work in
bird banding Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...
and in the study of the chimney swift, was a pivotal influence on his developing interest in
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s and bird habits. Calhoun spent his junior high and high school years banding birds and recording the habits of birds. His first published article was in '' The Migrant'', the journal of the Tennessee Ornithological Society when he was 15 years old. Despite his father's refusal to help him attend an out-of-state university, Calhoun made his way to the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
where he earned his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in 1939. During the summers, he worked for
Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was also an elected member of both the American Philosophical Soc ...
, head of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, doing
ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
work. He then earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
in 1942 and 1943. The subject of his thesis was the 24-hour rhythms of the Norway rat. He had two daughters with his wife Edith Gressley.


Career


Early rat studies

After graduating from Northwestern, he taught at
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
and
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
. In 1946, he and his wife moved to
Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...
, a suburb of
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. Calhoun worked on the Rodent Ecology Project at
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
. In March 1947, he began a 28-month study of a colony of Norway rats in a outdoor pen. Even though five females over this time-span could theoretically produce 5,000 healthy progeny for this size pen, Calhoun found that the population never exceeded 200 individuals, and stabilized at 150. Moreover, the rats were not randomly scattered throughout the pen area, but had organized themselves into twelve or thirteen local colonies of a dozen rats each. He noted that twelve rats is the maximum number that can live harmoniously in a natural group, beyond which stress and psychological effects function as group break-up forces. While posted at Jackson Lab in
Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laborat ...
, Calhoun continued studying the Norway rat colony until 1951. While in Bar Harbor, his first daughter, Cat Calhoun, was born. The family lived in the guesthouse on the Luquer estate. In 1951, the Calhouns moved back to
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
. He worked for
Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...
in the division of neuropsychiatry before gaining his position at the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
in 1954 where he worked for the next 33 years. 1954 was also the year his second daughter, Cheshire Calhoun, was born.


Norway rat experiments

Calhoun pursued his experiments in behavior, using domesticated Norway rats, at his lab on the second floor of a huge barn on the Casey farm in the country outside Rockville, MD. The area is now a suburban center but the barn still stands, renovated for suburban usage. In the days of Calhoun's occupancy there was a small, cluttered office area at the top of the stairs. The rodent odor was overpowering, and it took some time before one could breathe normally. The research area was divided into three parts. In the center section a box-like room was built. There was a hallway all the way around this box and stairs that led to the top of it. This box was divided into 4 rooms, or habitats, . Each room had a door for a researcher or caretaker to enter by, and in the ceiling of each room was a glass window. The activity in each room could be observed through these windows. Each room was divided into quarters by partitions. V-shaped ramps connected pens I and II, II and III, and III and IV. Pens I and IV were not connected. Mounted on the wall in the corner of each quarter was an artificial burrow, which could be accessed via a spiral staircase. In two of the quarters the "burrows" were from the floor, and in the other two the "burrows" were from the floor. Each quarter also contained a drinking station and a feeding station. These variations in environment led to differences in behavior patterns and ultimately to the concept of " behavioral sinks". The research carried on in the lab on Casey's farm began in 1958 and lasted until 1962, when Calhoun was invited to spend a year at The
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research institution at Stanford University designed to advance the frontiers of knowledge about human behavior and society, and contribute to the resoluti ...
in
Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...
.


Mouse experiments

In the early 1960s, the
National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...
(NIMH) acquired property in a rural area outside
Poolesville, Maryland Poolesville is a U.S. town in the western portion of Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland. The population was 5,742 at the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by (but is technically not part of) the Montgomery County, M ...
. The facility that was built on this property housed several research projects, including those headed by Calhoun. It was here that his most famous experiment, the mouse universes (the most famous of which is universe 25), was created. In July 1968, four pairs of mice were introduced into the habitat. The habitat was a square metal pen with sides. Each side had four groups of four vertical, wire mesh "tunnels". The "tunnels" gave access to nesting boxes, food hoppers, and water dispensers. There was no shortage of food or water or nesting material. There were no predators. The only adversity was the limit on space. Initially, the population grew rapidly, doubling every 55 days. The population reached 620 by day 315, after which the population growth dropped markedly, doubling only every 145 days. The last surviving birth was on day 600, bringing the total population to a mere 2200 mice, even though the experiment setup allowed for as many as 3840 mice in terms of nesting space. This period between day 315 and day 600 saw a breakdown in
social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...
and in normal social behavior. Among the aberrations in behavior were the following: expulsion of young before weaning was complete, wounding of young, failing to engage in sexual approaches, inability of dominant males to maintain the defense of their territory and females, aggressive behavior of females, passivity of non-dominant males with increased attacks on each other which were not defended against. After day 600, the social breakdown continued and the population declined toward extinction. During this period females ceased to reproduce. Their male counterparts withdrew completely, never engaging in courtship or fighting and only engaging in tasks that were essential to their health. They ate, drank, slept, and groomed themselves – all solitary pursuits. Sleek, healthy coats and an absence of scars characterized these males. They were dubbed "the beautiful ones". Breeding never resumed and behavior patterns were permanently changed. The conclusions drawn from this experiment were that when all available space is taken and all social roles filled, competition and the stresses experienced by the individuals will result in a total breakdown in complex social behaviors, ultimately resulting in the demise of the population. Calhoun saw the fate of the population of mice as a metaphor for the potential fate of man. He characterized the social breakdown as a "second death", with reference to the "second death" mentioned in the Biblical book of
Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
(). His study has been cited by writers such as Bill Perkins as a warning of the dangers of living in an "increasingly crowded and impersonal world". Others took different lessons; medical historian Edmund Ramsden has hypothesized that the mouse society fell from excessive social interaction, rather than density ''per se''. A writer in ''
io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...
'' stated "Instead of a population problem, one could argue that (the mouse universe) had a fair distribution problem."


Reception and legacy

During the 1960s, Calhoun and Leonard Duhl formed an informal group, the Space Cadets, which met to discuss the social uses of space. The members of this group came from as diverse professions as architecture, city planning, physics, and psychiatry. In Calhoun's own words: '' Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'' (1973), by Robert C. O'Brien and published in 1971, was inspired by Calhoun's work. The book later inspired an
animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
, ''
The Secret of NIMH ''The Secret of NIMH'' is a 1982 American animated Fantasy film, fantasy adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut and based on Robert C. O'Brien (author), Robert C. O'Brien's children's novel, ''Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N ...
''. Edmund Ramsden described one of Calhoun's experiments in which rats were placed in a sealed enclosure: Calhoun's phrase "behavioral sink" was sometimes used by others in reference to perceived urban moral degradation. Alan Grant, co-creator of the dystopian
Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...
character, has acknowledged Calhoun's work as an influence. Ramsden believes Calhoun's work may have influenced other apocalyptic fiction as well, including ''
Soylent Green ''Soylent Green'' is a 1973 American dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role. It is loosely based on the 1966 science-fiction nove ...
''.Reprinted as Calhoun wrote or edited a number of publications, including: * ''The Role of Temperature and Natural Selection in Relation to the Variations in the Size of the English Sparrow in the United States'' (1947) * ''Social Welfare as a Variable in Population Dynamics'' (1957) * ''Calculation of Home Range and Density of Small Mammals'' (with James U. Casby, 1958) * ''The Ecology and Sociology of the Norway Rat'' (1962) * ''Environment and Population: Problems of Adaptation: An Experimental Book Integrating Statements by 162 Contributors'' (editor, 1983) Calhoun died on 7 September 1995 at the age of 78. His papers were donated to the
National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. I ...
by Edith Calhoun and the American Heritage Center.


Publications

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See also

*
Lek mating A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. It can also refer to a space us ...
*
Proxemics Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction. Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including Haptic co ...


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, John B. American ethologists 20th-century American psychologists People from Giles County, Tennessee 1917 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American zoologists Northwestern University alumni University of Virginia alumni National Institutes of Health faculty