![]() By relying on human assessment, are we just trying to determine how animals are like humans, rather than what might define ‘personality’ in their own species-specific world? From these responses, you get a separate score on each of the five personality dimensions.Īnd most measures of animal personality are also based on reports, not by the animals, of course, but by their owners or caretakers. Most measures of human personality depend on self-report, where humans rate how well statements describe them, such as: ‘I seldom feel blue’, ‘I have a vivid imagination’, or ‘I often forget to put things back in their proper place’. Perhaps the previous research findings are correct: conscientiousness involves traits that are too complex to attribute to animals, or just can’t be found.īut are we just being constrained by our human biases? Are the questions we are asking and the methods we are using really applicable to other species? They might be reliable, but I’d hardly call them industrious. ![]() It can be difficult to see in other animals: right now, I’m looking at my cats lounging in a sunspot on the couch. More recently, however, scientists have started using the Big Five as a framework for the examination of animal personality.Ĭonscientiousness as a personality dimension has multiple facets, and typically describes people who plan ahead, who are organised and reliable, hard-working, self-disciplined, and thorough. Often, animals are described simply in terms of their levels of boldness and aggressiveness. Animal personality is sometimes referred to as ‘temperament’, ‘coping styles’, or ‘behavioural syndromes’ (which always struck me as sounding like more of an illness than a way of being). But our understanding of animal personality was stalled for years by both the fear of anthropomorphism among animal scientists, and a lack of consensus on how to describe it. And finally, in many cases, certain traits make some individuals more likely to reproduce and pass on their genes than others, demonstrating clear fitness benefits.īecause human personality evolved, we should expect to find traces of it in other species. Second, personality traits are not just influenced by the environment, they are all highly heritable. First of all, personality traits show variability since the very concept of personality implies that we are all different in specific ways. Just like physical traits, personality traits meet Charles Darwin’s criteria for evolution. ![]() It’s the consistency in our behaviour in different situations that often teases apart why we aren’t all alike. These dimensions are conscientiousness (tendencies to be orderly and rule-abiding), agreeableness (easy to get along with), extraversion (outgoing), neuroticism (tendencies to be anxious, depressed or hostile), and openness to new experiences (creative and artistic inclinations). Human personality theory has long revolved around what we know as the ‘Big Five’ – five dimensions of personality that cover a large swathe of how humans behave across time and contexts.
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