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Original poster

horizon the "truth about personality"

29 replies

MyHumpsMyLovelyBabyBumps · 13/07/2013 00:12

Did anyone watch this? It's on Iplayer. It discusses the way our genes change and how some people can become pessimists etc. Quite a lot was made of a rat study where less maternal rats didn't lick their baby rats enough so those baby rats don't respond to stress well. Fair enough. I don't know if dad rats tend to stay in the picture or not, however they then said based on that study they were following depressed people and their interaction with their mothers. No mention whatsoever of dads and how they might affect a fmaily.

Human dads aren't rat dads right? There influence should matter shouldnt it? We aren't totally responsible for fuckin up our children alone?Majority of DV is husbands against their wives..does that not affect children.

I admit totally I'm not in any way scientific so maybe I am missing something huge and this is actually very good science. I just found it really problematic and just more shit to hit women with

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Original poster
MyHumpsMyLovelyBabyBumps · 13/07/2013 00:55

Yes but they then used those results to follow maternal care/depression rates in humans. Can that work when you base one study on animals that are female raised opposed to humans who raised by a mother and a father?

OP posts:
momnipotent · 13/07/2013 00:54

This sounds very interesting, I will have to try and remember to watch it.

I do think that we can't escape the fact that we are animals and there are very few male animals that are involved in baby animal care. I can think of penguins that sit on the egg. Seahorses? Maybe a few others? But for the most part I think the male is gone before the baby arrives. It doesn't excuse bad male human behaviour because we have evolved past the stage where we rely solely on instinct, but I think that we should never forget the biology.

DioneTheDiabolist · 13/07/2013 00:49

Animal experiments are based on animal behaviour. The subjects in this case were baby rats. It was designed to ascertain the impact of caregiving or lackthereof to the neonatal. It showed the results.

Male rats do not care for young and therefore were unnecessary in this experiment. It wasn't about male or female. It was about the impact of early care on the offspring.

pictish · 13/07/2013 00:19

Very interesting....I didn't see it but now wish I had. I'll never get around to watching it on iplayer.

I don't think there's any getting away from the fact that women (mothers) are biologically designed to look after the babies. The job falls to us because we have the equipment. If we fail to meet those basics of food and comfort, then babies don't thrive well.

Isn't that what it's getting at?