Growing into the self: the development of personality in rhesus macaques

Borell, Christoph von; Kulik, Lars; Widdig, Anja

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.10.013

Cited by 11 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…If rank-order stability is calculated as repeatability of behavioral measurements, the resulting repeatability coefficient is typically lower than in studies using questionnaire ratings (e.g. Brent et al 2013;Neumann et al 2013;von Borell et al 2016), aligning closer to the meta-analytical mean repeatability of 0.37 measured across species (Bell et al 2009). It must be noted though that differences in repeatability among nonaggregated behavioral measurements and aggregated questionnaire ratings could occur because averaging single ratings into broader dimensions, that is, into personality "factors", "domains", "dimensions", or "components", contributes to the stability of these measures (Rushton et al 1983).…”

Section: Rank-order Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In a sample of adult rhesus macaques (Brent et al 2013), age was largely unrelated to personality dimensions, indicating that meanlevel changes could be especially evident when changes over the lifetime or during early development are considered. Concerning the latter, strong changes in age-specific behavior have been reported that are tied to sex-specific life histories (Kulik et al 2015a, b;von Borell et al 2016).…”

Section: Mean-level Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It must be noted though that differences in repeatability among nonaggregated behavioral measurements and aggregated questionnaire ratings could occur because averaging single ratings into broader dimensions, that is, into personality "factors", "domains", "dimensions", or "components", contributes to the stability of these measures (Rushton et al 1983). During early ontogeny, the stability of individual differences is typically lower than in adults (von Borell et al 2016) and may show substantial variation from year to year, which may in turn differ across personality domains (Stevenson-Hinde et al 1980).…”

Section: Rank-order Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possible means by which the influence of the environment on behavior could be tested is by continuously sampling behavioral observations in free ranging animals (von Borell et al 2016). Yet, the fallacy of behavioral sampling is that observations, for example single incidents of displaying aggressive behavior, are typically also aggregated over time to form a reliable estimate of individual propensities.…”

Section: What Do Our Measurements Tell Us About Stability? and What Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Developing individual differences in primate behavior: the role of genes, environment, and their interplay

Borell

Weiss

Penke

2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

Self Cite

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As is the case for humans, it has long been thought that nonhuman primates can be described in terms of their personality. Scientific observations that support this view include the presence of individual differences in social behavior and that they are relatively stable throughout life. Consequently, individuals are constrained in their behavioral flexibility when dealing with various environmental challenges. Still, the variation among individuals during development suggests that the environment influences how primates behave. Research in fields including psychology, behavior genetics, and behavioral ecology have tried to identify the mechanisms responsible for this interplay of behavioral stability and change. In this review we integrate theories and findings from research on humans and nonhuman primates that highlight how and to what extent genetic and environmental contributions shape the development of social behavior. To do so we first provide an overview and define what is meant by mean level and rank-order change of behavior. We then review explanations of behavioral stability and change, focusing on the role of genetic effects, how environmental circumstances influence behavioral variation throughout development, and how genetic and environmental influences may interact to produce this variation. Finally, we point to future research directions that could help us to further understand the development of social behavior in primates from within a behavior genetics framework.

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Section: Rank-order Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Mean-level Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rank-order Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Do Our Measurements Tell Us About Stability? and What Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Developing individual differences in primate behavior: the role of genes, environment, and their interplay

Borell

Weiss

Penke

2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

Self Cite

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“…These findings came from studies in settings as diverse as zoos and sanctuaries, laboratories and the field, and in studies that used ratings to assess personality [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65] and studies that used behavioural observations and tests [66][67][68][69]. In addition, one of these studies [58] found that among female rhesus monkeys who gave birth for the first time between assessments, there were marked declines in the stabilities of the confident and sociable domains, but not for the excitable domain.…”

Section: (B) Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A human model for primate personality

Weiss¹

2017

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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In this article, I review the literature to determine how successful the latent trait theory model of personality from differential psychology has been for studying personality in non-human primates. The evidence for the success of this model is quite good, and offers insights and directions for personality research in primates and other animals. This, I conclude, stems from (i) the human trait model's simplicity, and (ii) the fact that the human differential model of personality developed in the face of harsh criticism, which led researchers to test and refine their models. Animal models of human behaviour and vice versaThe question of whether studies of human behaviour can contribute to the understanding of behavioural evolution is an old one, and the debate that it has engendered is ongoing. In this paper, I will show that using a 'human model' of personality, developed within differential psychology, to study the evolutionary origins of individual differences in behaviour, affect and cognition (i.e. personality) in non-human primates (from now on, primates) has been a successful enterprise. Moreover, in a move that I hope does not distress the editors, I will sidestep answering directly the question posed by this special issue. Instead, I will describe why the human model is useful for studying primate personality and how it came to be that way.Before discussing human models, I will present an overview of animal models. Animal models have been an important and powerful tool for learning about the evolutionary origins of humans behaviour [1]. One would think then that critics of this model would be limited to the likes of creationists [2]. Unfortunately, displeasure and discomfort with the notion that we can learn about our behaviour and its evolution by studying animals has not been limited to people outside the purview of evolutionary biology. For example, because he viewed them as excusing human vices, such as sexism, Stephen J. Gould wrote essays for scientific and lay audiences that criticized adaptationist explanations for human behaviour that were based on studies of animals [3].To some, the use of human models to understand animal behaviour is also controversial. Using humans as models to understand the evolutionary bases of behaviour has a history that dates back at least as far as the use of animal models. The use of human models is rooted in the notion that evolution is gradual, and so related species will tend to be similar [4]. Prominent examples of the use of human models in the history of comparative psychology include Wolfgang Kö hler's investigations into the intelligence of chimpanzees [5], and work by Robert Yerkes [6] and his colleagues, Donald Hebb [7] and Meredith Crawford [8], on chimpanzee personality. These and similar pursuits continue into the present day, and have been enjoined by others (see articles in this special issue).The view that human behaviour can inform us about animal behaviour has been criticized by biologists and psychologists. One criticism is that the use of human m...

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Testing for personality consistency across naturally occurring behavioral contexts in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Chotard

Bard

Micheletta

et al. 2022

American J Primatol

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Personality is both a reflection of the bio‐behavioral profile of individuals and a summary of how they typically interact with their physical and social world. Personality is usually defined as having distinct behavioral characteristics, which are assumed to be consistent over time and across contexts. Like other mammals, primates have individual differences in personality. Although temporal consistency is sometimes measured in primates, and contextual consistency is sometimes measured across experimental contexts, it is rare to measure both in the same individuals and outside of experimental settings. Here, we aim to measure both temporal and contextual consistency in chimpanzees, assessing their personality with behavioral observations from naturally occurring contexts (i.e., real‐life settings). We measured personality‐based behaviors in 22 sanctuary chimpanzees, in the contexts of feeding, affiliation, resting, and solitude, across two time periods, spanning 4 years. Of the 22 behaviors recorded, about 64% were consistent across two to four contexts and 50% were consistent over time. Ten behaviors loaded significantly onto three trait components: explorativeness, boldness‐sociability, and anxiety‐sociability, as revealed by factor analysis. Like others, we documented individual differences in the personality of chimpanzees based on reliably measured observations in real‐life contexts. Furthermore, we demonstrated relatively strong, but not absolute, temporal, and contextual consistency in personality‐based behaviors. We also found another aspect of individual differences in personality, specifically, the extent to which individual chimpanzees show consistency. Some individuals showed contextual and temporal consistency, whereas others show significant variation across behaviors, contexts, and/or time. We speculate that the relative degree of consistency in personality may vary within chimpanzees. It may be that different primate species vary in the extent to which individuals show consistency of personality traits. Our behavioral‐based assessment can be used with wild populations, increasing the validity of personality studies, facilitating comparative studies and potentially being applicable to conservation efforts.

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Growing into the self: the development of personality in rhesus macaques

Cited by 11 publications

References 76 publications

Developing individual differences in primate behavior: the role of genes, environment, and their interplay

Developing individual differences in primate behavior: the role of genes, environment, and their interplay

A human model for primate personality

Testing for personality consistency across naturally occurring behavioral contexts in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

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