The horny newt and other tales of animal personality

The assertiveness of hyenas, the emotionalality of rats, the timidity of mice, the sociability of yellow-bellied marmots, the anxiousness of pigs, the agitatedness of cows, the obduracy of donkeys (well what else?), the fearfulness of rhinoceri, the confidence of zebra finches, and, of course, the randiness of newts.

Research into the ‘personalities’ of a variety of different animals has been going on for a century. It wasn’t until recently, however, that psychologists began to ask whether this research might illuminate the study of human personality traits.

The criticisms of this line of thinking are all too obvious. Hyenas can’t talk (only laugh), pigs are don’t have to work in open-plan offices (although they may prefer it to their current lot) and newts can’t repeatedly forget important anniversaries. So what exactly can any of these species tell us about the human personality if they don’t have to deal with human problems?

Science has always been keen to understand human kind through the study of simpler creatures. Whether we like it or not, many medical breakthroughs have been made through experimentation on animals – and let’s face it, we humans are nothing more than the third chimpanzee.

About the author

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology.

He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2003) and several ebooks.

SOURCE: PSYBLOG