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Personality in Nonhuman Animals

  • Synthesizes the research on personality in non-human animals

  • Links theoretical perspectives to cutting-edge empirical work with a variety of species

  • Extends the research to applications involving conservation and animal welfare

  • Acts as a tribute to the late researcher and psychologist Dr. Stan A. Kuczaj

  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. Introduction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. A History of Animal Personality Research

      • Will Whitham, David A. Washburn
      Pages 3-16
  3. Models and Perspectives in the Study of Personality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17
    2. Personality from the Perspective of Behavioral Ecology

      • Jon E. Brommer, Barbara Class
      Pages 73-107
  4. Personality in Various Taxonomic Groups

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109
    2. Feeling Fishy: Trait Differences in Zebrafish (Danio Rerio)

      • Kanza M. Khan, David J. Echevarria
      Pages 111-127
    3. Personality and Individuality in Reptile Behavior

      • R. Mark Waters, Bonnie B. Bowers, Gordon M. Burghardt
      Pages 153-184
    4. Personality in Swine

      • Kristina M. Horback
      Pages 185-204
    5. Personality in Dogs

      • Jamie L. Fratkin
      Pages 205-224
    6. Felid Personality and Its Implications

      • Marieke Cassia Gartner
      Pages 225-236
    7. What Do We Want to Know About Personality in Marine Mammals?

      • Erin E. Frick, Amber J. de Vere, Stan A. Kuczaj
      Pages 237-253
  5. Applications of the Study of Nonhuman Personality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 255-255
    2. Individual Differences in Nonhuman Animals: Examining Boredom, Curiosity, and Creativity

      • Malin K. Lilley, Stan A. Kuczaj, Deirdre B. Yeater
      Pages 257-275
    3. You Are What You Eat: The Interplay Between Animal Personality and Foraging Ecology

      • Sandra M. Troxell-Smith, Valentina S. A. Mella
      Pages 295-305

About this book

This stimulating and comprehensive collection brings together multiple perspectives on the topic of personality in nonhuman animals—linking historical perspectives, theoretical approaches, methods, and cutting-edge discoveries. Experts from various fields describe their findings on species ranging from dogs, cats, chimpanzees, and dolphins to sharks, snakes, and other reptiles. Chapters not only discuss the evolution of personality, but also describe potential applications within the areas of animal-human interactions, animal ethics and welfare, conservation science, and other areas. A key focus is the role of genetics and the environment in determining animal behavior and personality, including related traits, such as creativity and boredom. These chapters present the study of personality in nonhumans as a means by which we can better understand medical and psychological issues specific to our own species as well.

 Chapters include:

·         Exploring factor space (and other adventures) with the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire

·         The quantitative and molecular genetics of individual differences in animal personality

·         Personality, temperament and individuality in reptile behavior

·         What do we want to know about personality in marine mammals?

·         Individual differences in nonhuman animals: examining boredom, curiosity, and creativity

·         The interplay between animal personality and foraging ecology

 Taking significant steps in advancing the study of animal personality, Personality in Nonhuman Animals will engage personality psychologists, comparative psychologists, and behavior ecologists as well as conservationists, zookeepers, livestock managers, and all those interested in the brain and behavior of animals.                     

Reviews

“The content is likely to continue to be valuable for many years to come. ... this volume offers an outstanding insight into the subject of non-human animal personality. It is well-written and consistent in tone and pitch across the multiple contributors … . The level of detail makes the text perhaps better suited to a post-graduate and beyond audience, rather than an undergraduate one though the text is accessible so could be used by later stage undergraduates with appropriate guidance.” (Lisa M Collins, Animal Welfare, Vol. (29) 3, August, 2020)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  • Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Alexander Weiss

  • Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, USA

    Stan A. Kuczaj

About the editors

Jennifer Vonk is a comparative cognitive psychologist, who is now full professor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, U.S.  She obtained her PhD from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Louisiana before accepting a position at the University of Southern Mississippi where she was a member of the Psychology department until 2011. She is known for studying a variety of cognitive processes in bears, non-human primates, and many other less studied species. She is the co-editor in Chief of Animal Behavior and Cognition, founded by Stanley Kuczaj, and serves as an associate editor on three additional journals. She directs the Laboratory of Cognitive Origins (LoCO) at Oakland University.

Alexander Weiss is a comparative and differential psychologist, and a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, U.K. He obtained his PhD from the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona, and was a post-doctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Personality and Cognition at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, Maryland before joining the Department of Psychology in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh in 2005. He is known primarily for his research on personality and subjective well-being in nonhuman primates and other animals, and for his work on personality, aging, and health in humans and other primates. He is an associate editor at Animal Behaviour.  

Stanley A. Kuczaj is well known for his pioneering research with marine mammals and his early studies of human language development. He graduated from the University of Minnesota's Child Psychology program in 1976 and went on to be chair of Psychology at Southern Methodist University, and later at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he served as chair for over ten years. Stan was the recipient of numerous awards and was the President of the Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Society/Division 6 of the American Psychological Association at the time of his passing in April, 2016. He was the director of the internationally renowned Marine Mammal Behavior and Cognition laboratory where he had supervised dozens of MS and PhD theses and dissertations. At the time of his passing he had published over 125 peer-reviewed publications.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access