Personality in nonhuman primates: what can we learn from human personality psychology?
(2011).
Personality in nonhuman primates: what can we learn from human personality psychology?
In
Weiss, A., King, J. E. & Murray, L.
(Eds.),
Personality and Temperament in Nonhuman Primates
(pp. 41-76).
Springer New York.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0176-6_3
Primate personality research encounters a number of puzzling methodological challenges. Individuals are unique and comparable at the same time. They are characterized by relatively stable individual-specific behavioral patterns that often show only moderate consistency across situations. Personality is assumed to be temporally stable, yet equally incorporates long-term change and development. These are all déjà vus from human personality psychology. In this chapter, I present classical theories of personality psychology and discuss their suitability for nonhuman species. Using examples from nonhuman primates, I explain basic theoretical concepts, methodological approaches, and methods of measurement of empirical personality research. I place special emphasis on theoretical concepts and methodologies for comparisons of personality variation among populations, such as among species.