Biological Analogs of Personality
Biological Analogs of Personality
Individual differences in behavior that are stable over time and correlated across different contexts can be found in a wide range of species across the animal kingdom. Such structured behavioral differences have been termed “animal personalities” (behavioral syndromes). This chapter provides a brief introduction into this research area and discusses the two most common examples of behavioral variation associated with animal personalities (boldness-aggression syndrome and responsiveness to environmental stimuli); key genetic and physiological correlates of animal personalities; and fitness consequences of animal personalities in natural populations. The discussion makes clear that animal personality is a ubiquitous characteristic of animal populations, that personality variation is heritable and underpinned by variation in neuroendocrine and metabolic profiles, and that fluctuating selection pressures act on this variation in a wide variety of taxa. The widespread existence of personality variation implies that the study of decision making should explicitly incorporate between-individual variation.
Keywords: Strüngmann Forum Reports, decision making, boldness-aggression syndrome, personality, natural selection
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