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Stereotypy / Stimming in non-humans

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syrella
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18 Jun 2011, 1:03 pm

During an anthropology class a few years ago, I saw a video of a baby primate rocking back and forth. I had mostly forgotten about it until I was reminded of it again after seeing Mary and Max (good movie!). I thought I would look up some information on wikipedia... What I found out is that it is likely a type of "stimming".

Here are the two articles that I found:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypy_%28non-human%29

In particular, one paragraph stuck out at me:

Quote:
Stereotypical behaviors are thought to be caused ultimately by artificial environments that do not allow animals to satisfy their normal behavioral needs. Rather than refer to the behavior as abnormal, it has been suggested that it be described as "behavior indicative of an abnormal environment."[16] Stereotypies are correlated with altered behavioral response selection in the basal ganglia.[13] As stereotypies are frequently viewed as a sign of psychological distress in animals, there is also an animal welfare issue involved.


What do you think this means when translated to humans and modern life?


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18 Jun 2011, 1:54 pm

My most prominent stim/stereotyped behavior is pacing. If I were not enclosed in a house or building, it would not be pacing but an adventurous stroll.

I guess it depends on the behavior. In my case, you'd have to go way way back to find a NON-modern environment, one where people don't stay in enclosed spaces for any amount of time.