Personality in Nonhuman Animals, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2017

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

·         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

Table of Contents

i.  Tribute to Stan Kuczaj

                Lauren Highfill

ii.  Editor’s Note

                Jennifer Vonk

Part I: Introduction

1.      A History of Animal Personality

            William Whitham & David A. Washburn

Part II. Models and Perspectives in the Study of Personality

2.       Exploring Factor Space (and other Adventures) with the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire

                                Alexander Weiss

3. The Interpersonal Circumplex: A Complementary Approach for Understanding Animal Personality

Laine & van Oers

5.  Personality from the perspective of behavioral ecology

Brommer & Class

III.            Personality in Various Taxonomic Groups

Khan & Echevarria

7.      Personality in elasmobranchs with special focus on sharks: early evidence, challenges and the future.

      Finger, Dhellemmes & Guttridge

8.      Personality, Temperament and Individuality in Reptile Behavior

      Burghardt et al.

9. Personality in Swine

      Horback

10. Personality in Dogs

      Fratkin

11. Felid Personality and Its Implications

      Gartner

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

      Frick, de Vere & Kuczaj

Part IV. Applications of the Study of Nonhuman Personality

13.  13.    Individual Differences in Nonhuman Animals: Examining Boredom, Curiosity, and Creativity

Lilley, Yeater & Kuczaj

14.  14. Phenotype Management: An Inclusive Framework for Supporting Individuals’ Contributions to Conservation Populations

            Watters, Bremner-Harrison & Powell

15.  15. You are what you eat: the interplay between animal personality and foraging ecology

16.    16. Applications of Research in Nonhuman Animal Personality

            Loyer & Ha

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.  

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