The latest study confirmed that rats, unlike humans, will avoid any actions that can result in harm to their species.
This characteristic in rats is known as ‘harm aversion’, and it can be used in humans, but how?
There are many sociopaths in our society, some of which have already discovered this social disorder and are willing to cooperate and get better. They tested rats in a simple experiment – pull a lever which will shock other rats and get a treat, or pull another lever which won’t harm the rest and get nothing.
Once they learned that the ‘shock’ lever hurts the other rats, they stopped using it and focused on the other one. This gives hope that in the future, new treatments will be developed, to help people prone to harmful thoughts, to instead focus on helping people.