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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.
“A New Model of Empathy: The Rat” by David Brown, Washington Post
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