Bit late posting this one but still think it's interesting....
Fish who share our personal shortcomings?
June 17, 2004
World Science Staff
It's one of the most ubiquitous, if pathetic, human behaviors. We often react to other
people's aggression by taking out our frustration on someone who had nothing to do with it
-- but who might be a convenient target because they're weaker.
Whatever its psychological roots, this defense mechanism, called displaced aggression, is
not unique to humans: researchers have found fish do it too.
"Rainbow trout that briefly encountered large, aggressive fish reacted with increased
aggression toward smaller individuals," the University of South Dakota researchers write in
the May issue of Hormones and Behavior. "Subordinate individuals may serve as
stress-reducing means of aggressive outlet, and displaced aggression toward such individuals
appears to be a behavioral stress coping strategy in fishes."
Whether we inherited this tendency from distant fish ancestors or evolved it separately is
unknown, the researchers write.
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