"About this time I learned of an experiment performed on a white-footed
deer mouse confined in a box where he could control the lighting. The
purpose of the experiment was to determine whether such mice prefer
darkness, twilight, or full daylight. What the experiment proved, however,
was that this mouse, at least, didn't want someone else trying to run his
life. If the experimenter turned the lights up, the mouse turned them down.
If the experimenter turned the lights down, the mouse turned them up. The
mouse wanted control and he took control."
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas _The Social Life of Dogs: The Grace of Canine
Company_.