Personality in Nonhuman Animals

The goal of this edited volume on personality in non-human animals is to be a comprehensive text that links theoretical perspectives to cutting edge empirical discoveries with a variety of species. This volume contains entries from leading experts across various fields (e.g. psychology, biology, ethology, and animal ethics) and cover topics applicable to a wide range of species, such as foraging behavior and conservation.

Personality is one of the most rapidly growing topics within comparative psychology. Although historically one of the oldest topics of study within animal behavior dating back to the work of Charles Darwin, the topic had been avoided by serious academic researchers for many decades until enjoying its recent renewal. This recent shift reflects a changing paradigm in comparative research where researchers now more fully embrace the idea of continuity between humans and non-humans and have also begun to exploit a wider range of animal species for study. The growth of such areas as animal ethics and animal welfare has also emphasized the importance of individual differences and long-term behavioral tendencies for assessing the impact of various environments on animal well-being. A better understanding of animal personality also sheds light upon the contributions of various environmental and social factors to cognitive performance and thus has broad implications for many sub-disciplines.