A History of Animal Personality Research

Whitham, Will; Washburn, David A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-59300-5_1

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The study of personality in non-human primates has been ongoing since at least the 1930s, although it was only since around the 1990s that it attracted the attention of more than a handful of researchers (Whitham & Washburn, 2017). The early research included studies of Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes in which personality was assessed using behavioural measures and ratings (Crawford, 1938;Hebb, 1946aHebb, ,b, 1949.…”

Section: Studies Into the Personality Of Primatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying primate personality in zoos: implications for the management, welfare and conservation of great apes

Gartner

Weiss

2018

International Zoo Yearbook

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As we face the Anthropocene extinction, many species are threatened or becoming so, and great ape species are no exception (all are Endangered or Critically Endangered). As humans work to combat this trend, research on every aspect of the lives of animals is vital. One area of research that has the potential to be particularly useful is the study of personality. Zoological institutions offer a unique opportunity for research on personality in non-human primates, with knowledgeable staff, consistency in environment, accessibility of a variety of species and the possibility to have large sample sizes to provide generalizability. Here, we offer a perspective on how zoos have contributed to the personality literature, how the personality literature can aid animal management and how much further such research can continue, with implications for both welfare and conservation.

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Section: Studies Into the Personality Of Primatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying primate personality in zoos: implications for the management, welfare and conservation of great apes

Gartner

Weiss

2018

International Zoo Yearbook

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“…Such complexity is not merely limited to social behavior; elephants also have complex and distinct individual personalities. The study of animal personality can be traced back to descriptions of animals being “sociable” or “fearful”—or bold versus shy—as early as the 20th century, although caution must be taken to avoid anthropomorphism (Whitham & Washburn 2017). The top‐down approach to personality measurement, involving the use of a human model to assess animal personality, is regarded as a controversial issue, with criticism that such an approach is inherently flawed, with some traits being harder to identify than others (Weiss 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personality and behavioral changes in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) following the death of herd members

Rutherford

Murray

2020

Integr. Zool.

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Elephants are highly social beings with complex individual personalities. We know that elephants have a general interest in death, investigating carcasses, not just limited to kin; however, research does not explore in depth whether individuals change their behavior or personality following traumatic events, such as the death of a conspecific. Within a captive herd of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) housed at Chester Zoo, UK, we measured social behavior and proximity and personality using the Ten‐Item Personality Inventory, and found age‐related and relationship‐related changes in both behavior and personality following the deaths of herd members. Overall, the herd spent less time socializing and engaging in affiliative behaviors following the death of the adult female when compared to baseline data, yet spent more time engaging in these behaviors after the death of two calves. The death of the central female had a dramatic impact on her infant calf, resulting in increasingly withdrawn behavior, yet had the opposite effect on her adult daughter, who subsequently established a more integrated role within the herd. Emotional Stability fell in the motherless calf but rose in an adult female, who had lost her adult daughter, but had a new calf to care for. We suggest that the greater impact on the behavior and personality of surviving herd members following the deaths of calves, compared to an adult member, attests to the significance of the unifying role played by calves within an elephant herd.

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“…Despite personality in animals having been studied since the 1970s (e.g. Chamove et al, 1972;Huntingford, 1976;Stevenson-Hinde et al, 1978) and earlier (reviewed in Whitham and Washburn, 2017), currently animal personality research is pursued predominantly by behavioural ecologists and comparative psychologists. Although there is overlap between these disciplines, they differ in how they conceptualise animal personality, which species they study, and which methods they use (Carter et al, 2013;Koski, 2011a;Weiss and Adams, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How long does it take? Reliable personality assessment based on common behaviour in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Masilkova

Weiss

Konečná

2018

Behavioural Processes

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Individual variation in behaviour has been shown to have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. Research on animal personality has therefore received considerable attention, yet some methodological issues remain unresolved. We tested whether assessing personality by coding common behaviours is as time-consuming method as some researchers believe it to be. Altogether, 300 hours of observation were collected on 20 captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus). We first examined the repeatability of behavioural indices that represented the behavioural repertoire of cotton-top tamarins. We then compared the personality structures, based on different lengths of observation time, of these behavioural indices. The minimum observational time necessary to obtain a stable personality structure was 5 to 7 hours per individual. This stable structure included two components: Extraversion and Confidence, which were similar to those described in great apes, Old World monkeys, and other New World monkeys. Our findings suggest that, at least in the case of cotton-top tamarins, behavioural coding over relatively short periods of time can be used to assess personality and that longer observation periods may yield diminishing returns.

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A History of Animal Personality Research

Cited by 11 publications

References 45 publications

Studying primate personality in zoos: implications for the management, welfare and conservation of great apes

Studying primate personality in zoos: implications for the management, welfare and conservation of great apes

Personality and behavioral changes in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) following the death of herd members

How long does it take? Reliable personality assessment based on common behaviour in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

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