Exploring Cross-Species Personality Through Research at Consonance (Gleichklang)
Animal lovers have always known that animals have individual personalities. However, zoological and animal psychology research long focused only on studying the typical behavior of a species or differences in behavior between species. Gosling, Kwan & John (2003) deserve credit for investigating whether models of human personality can be transferred to domestic dogs in a recent study.
The most widespread model of human personality distinguishes, on a very general and cross-domain level, between five basic tendencies of personality, referred to as Neuroticism (emotional sensitivity), Extraversion (need for stimulation), Agreeableness (prosocial attitudes & behaviors), Openness to Experience (readiness and need to engage with new things), and Conscientiousness (self-control, e.g., virtues such as orderliness, sense of duty, and self-discipline). Extensive research has demonstrated that these five factors, known as the Big Five, can be identified across the most diverse cultural and linguistic regions (see overview in Pervin & John, 2001). Moreover, individual personality, even if certain age-related trends exist (see e.g., Srivastava, John, Gosling & Potter, 2003), remains relatively stable throughout life overall, provided no dramatic events occur.
Gosling et al. (2003) asked the question: Are these five factors of human personality also suitable for describing and explaining individual behavioral differences in domestic dogs? To this end, they had dog owners, their friends, and independent observers rate a series of dogs on defined assessment dimensions. Using statistical procedures, it was subsequently shown that the different ratings could be reduced to four underlying dimensions. These four dimensions correspond to four of the five factors of the Five-Factor Model of human personality. They were named by the authors as follows: (1) Energy (Extraversion), (2) Positive Affection/Tenderness (Agreeableness), (3) Emotional Reactivity (Neuroticism), and (4) Intelligence (Openness to Experience). However, in contrast to humans, the dimension of Conscientiousness could not be identified in dogs. On the other hand, King and Figueredo (1997) and more recently King, Weiss and Farmer (2005) were able to identify a factor of Conscientiousness in chimpanzees in addition to the other Big Five traits. Aspects of the Five-Factor Model of personality have also been found by other research groups in other animal species, including gorillas, cats, octopuses, pigs, zebra finches, hyenas, and many others (see overview in Gosling, 2001).
In summary, the individual organization of personality has a cross-species character. Not only humans, but also animals have a personality that significantly determines behavior, in interplay with environmental factors. This research into cross-species personality simultaneously underscores the fundamental importance that findings from personality research hold for describing and explaining both human and animal behavior.
King, J.E. & Figueredo A.J. (1997). The five-factor model plus dominance in chimpanzee personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 257 – 271.
King, J. E., Weiss, A., & Farmer, K. H. (2005). A Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) analogue of cross-national generalization of personality structure: Zoological parks and an african sanctuary. Journal of Personality, 73, 389-410.
Gosling, S. D. (2001). From mice to men: What can we learn about personality from animal research. Psychological Bulletin. 127, 45-86.
Gosling, S. D., Kwan, V. S. Y., & John, O. P. (2003). A Dog’s Got Personality: a cross-species comparative approach to personality judgements in dogs and humans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 1161-1169.
Pervin, L.A. & John, O.P. (2001). Handbook of personality: Theory and research. New York: Guilford.
Srivastava, S., John, O.P., Gosling, S.D. & Potter, J. (2003). Development of personality in early and middle adulthood: Set like plaster or persistent change? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1041-1053.
