Headlines and Excerpts:
“Researchers teach rats to drive, find out it reduces stress” Ben Hooper/UPI Oct. 24, 2019
Kelly Lambert, head of the laboratory and lead author of the story, said the group of rats raised in an "enriched" environment with toys and ladders were better able to drive than the group of rats raised in a plain lab cage. …Lambert said researchers analyzed the rats' droppings and found both groups of rodents had an increase in hormones that control stress responses. She said the task apparently increased the emotional resilience of the animals, and could have implications for humans.
“Scientists have trained rats to drive tiny cars to collect food” Alice Klein/ New Scientist October 22, 2019
Learning to drive seemed to relax the rats…This finding echoes Lambert’s previous work showing that rats become less stressed after they master difficult tasks like digging up buried food. They may get the same kind of satisfaction as we get when we perfect a new skill, she says. “In humans, we call this self-efficacy or agency.”
Implications for Humans
Researchers and zookeepers know their animal charges need enriching environments to be happy in their species-typical way. Per Wild Welfare, enrichment is about “creating choices for animals so they feel more in control of their environment.” Many animals enjoy challenges, so enriching environments include things like puzzle feeders, multiple climbing platforms, or hidden food. These features provide animals with a sense of control and mastery as they meet each challenge and take on new ones.
Likewise, humans.
Reference:
Gregory C. Smith, Steven J. Kohn, Susan E. Savage-Stevens, Julie J. Finch, Randall Ingate, Yeon-Ok Lim, The Effects of Interpersonal and Personal Agency on Perceived Control and Psychological Well-Being in Adulthood, The Gerontologist, Volume 40, Issue 4, 1 August 2000, Pages 458–468, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/40.4.458