Aggressive behaviour and social behaviour in animals

The relations linking aggressive to soc behavior are particularly strong when one considers the release & the control of aggressive behavior. The stimuli which provoke aggressive behavior nearly always come from outside; they are connected with the presence of a congener. One may assume that the stimuli & perceptions which enter into individual recognition have some connection with the triggering of aggressive. behavior ior. In mammals & esp in rodents, the role of olfactive cues has been stressed in a great many studies. In M mice, a great deal of individual recognition seems to depend on scent signals originating either in the genito-urinary region or in the urinary tract. The release of aggressive conducts is linked to similar olfactive cues: anosmia provokes a total disappearance of aggression in M mice. The role of the soc environment in the control of aggressive behavior can be studied by changing the density of pop. In natural conditions, the soc life tends to reduce aggressiveness; much animal behavior is directed towards developing exchange of information to reduce intra-specific fightings. But when M mice, for example, are isolated, their aggressiveness is increased; this phenomenon has been found in other animals & in man. In the same way, overcrowding increases aggressiveness in animals. Psychol'ts & physiologists have studied some of the internal changes involved by modification of the soc environment. In rodents, olfactive cues are also involved in these phenomena. AA.