This is the time of year when the most family get-togethers occur. It’s wonderful for a genealogist to remember to spend time with living family members, and to take a step away from researching ancestors from time to time. Most families, however, have a nasty tendency to tease, bother, or just plain “bug” each other. A new study on marmots finds that being picked on, or bullied, could actually be genetic.
Let’s face it, even the happiest of families is not perfectly happy all of the time. It’s normal for there to be days that are blissful, as well as days where everyone is just plain irritable. This is the time of year when there are a lot of holidays to be celebrated. Extra interactions means that there is greater potential that your family is going to bother each other right now, than at any other time of the year.
Often, it seems that no one can make you as upset or angry as certain members of your family can. Have you ever wondered why this is? Does it make you question why we continue to seek out the attentions of family members who have a pattern of causing emotional harm to us? A new study involving marmots may have the answers to those kinds of questions.
Researchers studied marmots, who live together in clusters of burrows. Just like with humans, each interaction between marmots can have one of two possible outcomes. Either they are going to be nice to each other, or they are going to be mean to each other. The researchers focused on the marmots who were the recipients of negative social interactions. Why did those animals continue to seek out the companionship of the other marmots, including the ones who treated them poorly?
The conclusion seems to be that if a marmot, or a human, for that matter, wants to live within a social group, that individual is going to have to put up with the nasty social interactions as well as the pleasant ones. The ability to tolerate the abuse, instead of shying away from it, might be a genetic trait that is favored by evolutionary forces. After all, if you avoid all social interaction then you cannot find a mate, and pass on your genes to a future generation. Marmots, like humans, need a social group in order to survive. So, why do you put up with your annoying relatives? It’s in your genes!
Image by Alan Vernon on Flickr