Reinhardt, V. 1971. Soziale Verhaltensweisen Und Soziale Rollen Des Hausmeerschweinchens [Social Behavior and Social Roles of Guinea Pigs]. Dissertationsdruck Novotny, S?cking/Starnberg, Germany.

The social and individual behavior of heterosexually group-housed and isosexually pair-housed guinea pigs is described and analyzed. The role of olfactory and behavioral factors as social communicators and social buffers is underscored. The protective effect of submission is described and analyzed: If a male stops counter-aggression in a dispute with another male and yields without panic reaction, the victor will treat him like a female. Rather than showing submissive gestures, the subordinate partner will behave like an estrus female and stop emitting the male-typical pheromones. This trick effectively saves him from further attacks, and the dominant male will now treat him like a female and display courtship rather than aggressive behaviors. In fact, males are strictly inhibited from overt aggression against females, and the subordinate male who plays the female role runs no risk boxing the dominant opponent in typical female fashion. Running away stimulates rather than inhibits aggression if there is no place to hide.