examination of frame by frame movie strips the 
male’s mount appears to involve more of a devel- 
oping grasp than an actual scratch. Another 
interesting observation was that when the stem 
mother came into heat when her sons were 4-6 
months old, most copulations were with these 
males, and very rarely with the original stem male, 
although he was the most aggressive rat toward 
alien males introduced at such times. 
As to storage of food, Steiniger in general con- 
firms my observations of storage by all ages from 4 
weeks, of temporary storage at sites closer to the 
food source then the burrow, of excess storage, and 
of periodic cleaning out of food caches. 
3 . The Rat as a Social Animal From a 
Comparative Point of View 
Three questions are relevant to the present 
discussion. To what extent do rats have culture? 
Why have many studies by animal psychologists 
contributed so little to the understanding of inter- 
actions between or among rats? In what way are 
studies on rats and other animals germane to the 
broad problem of sociality, including that of man? 
Man has been the principal subject concerning 
whom concepts of social behavior and culture have 
been derived. However, in what follows I have 
attempted a formulation of social phenomena, 
relationships, and consequences, which permits a 
comparative evaluation of the rat and other 
animals including man. This formulation was 
prepared after the completion of the account of the 
rats inhabiting the Towson quarter acre pen. It 
was actually the organization of this account 
which focused my attention on the inadequacies 
of theory applicable to comparative sociology. 
Advancing the theoretical base for more logically 
planning future studies comprised the intent of 
this formulation of comparative sociology. I have 
made no attempt to fit into this formulation all 
my observations and conclusions regarding the 
biology of the Norway rat. To do so requires 
much additional information not included in the 
present study. 
The societal plexus involves all conditions which 
may affect the consequences of an actual or antic- 
ipated performance by one individual, which in 
turn affects another individual or reacts back on 
the original performer. Social behavior is then any 
performance with such effects. A society is an 
a §g re g at i° n of two or more individuals among 
which there is a greater than chance expectancy 
of social behaviors. Culture represents any and all 
processes and conditions whereby the performance 
of members of one generation alter the way of 
life Or success of members of succeeding generations. 
Consequences of social behavior include alterations 
of (1) physiology, (2) the probability of an event 
with an effect, or (3) the gratification-denial pa- 
rameter of experience. The last of these three 
concerns the extent to which social behavior facil- 
itates or interferes with the satisfaction of a need. 
These three consequences of social behavior may 
have either adaptive or adjustive significance. Adap- 
tive implies attainment and maintenance of physi- 
ology conducive to growth, survival, and repro- 
duction. Adjustive merely implies ability to 
accommodate to the exigencies of an existing 
situation sufficient for temporary survival irrespec- 
tive of deleterious impact upon growth or repro- 
duction. At the lower phylogenetic levels the 
premium is on reproduction and on adaptive 
behaviors culminating in its realization. However, 
as we go up the phylogenetic scale certain trends 
are noted: (1) greater longevity, (2) fewer young 
per female, and (3) a smaller proportion of the 
population which reproduces. Although such 
trends are apparent in lower phylogenetic cate- 
gories, the climax has been attained in the Western 
technological society of man. This trend produces 
a situation in which adaptive behavior relates less 
and less to culmination in successful reproduction, 
but merely to maintenance or restoration of a 
well-balanced physiology. Allee et al (41) have 
emphasized that, as we proceed up the phylogenetic 
scale into more completely integrated groups, natu- 
ral selection operates more on the group with regard 
to its structured characteristics than it does on the 
individual as a survival unit. With the deemphasis 
of natural selection on the procreating individual 
per se there arises the opportunity of a greater 
prevalence of adjustive behaviors. Adaptive be- 
haviors in a highly integrated social group pri- 
marily relate to maintenance of a well balanced 
physiology. This raises an interesting question: 
Does the development of complexly integrated 
groups demand that many of their members de- 
velop adjustive but nonadaptive behaviors, which 
are of themselves of value to the group? 
Perhaps an example will clarify the intent of 
this question. Western technological society de- 
mands a high mobility by its members as well as 
a continually increasing concentration of individ- 
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