73 i t WHICH LIVED OVER 277 DAYS 
Figure 80B (males). — See legend for fig. 80A. 
female having her litter on the south side of the 
pen). Despite the fact that members of the B 
constellation were born under more unfavorable 
conditions (mean birth rating score: 6.67) than 
either the A or C constellations (mean birth rating 
scores: 4.15 and 5.94 respectively) they exhibited 
a rate of physical maturation only slightly less 
rapid than did the A constellation males. It is 
probable, that with their greater size at an earlier 
date in comparison with their litter mates, that 
these B constellation males were the more dominant 
members of their repective litters. Thus with the 
experience of success in priority of action over their 
litter mates, it became inevitable that these rats 
would be the ones which further contended for 
dominancy status with their larger associates, who 
in general had been born under much more 
favorable conditions. Their contention was in 
general unsuccessful. Its lack of success is reflected 
in the fact that this group of males had the greater 
number of wounds, particularly during early 
adulthood, than any of the other constellations. 
The opinion is held by the author that it is the 
stress arising from this unsuccessful contention for 
social rank which reduces the degree of avoidance 
of traps among the B constellation males. 
Table 16. — The relationship between (a) the stress 
associated with fighting or the conditions surrounding 
early life , and (b) the membership in constellations 
having similar attributes of proneness to enter traps and 
physical maturation 
Constellation* 
N. 
Median 
of wound 
ages in 
1 50-277 
number 
s between 
days of: 
278-400 
Time and 
place of 
birth rating 
score 
(median)** 
A 
20 
1.8 
8. 3 
3. 0 
B 
12 
6. 2 
11.0 
6. 5 
C 
18 
2.0 
6. 5 
6.0 
D 
15 
2. 3 
9. 0 
8. 0 
E 
5 
2. 3 
7. 5 
8. 0 
♦See figure HOB for delineation of these constellations of 
male rats. 
**See table 17 for details of rating score. 
98 
