The relationship between
personality and cognition in the
fowl,
Gallus gallus
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Dissertation No. 1818
Josefina Zidar
IFM BIOLOGY
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology, Dissertation No. 1818, 2017 Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
www.liu.se
Jo se fin a Z id ar T he r ela tion sh ip b etw ee n pe rs on alit y a nd c og nit ion i n t he f ow l, G all us g all us 20 17Animal personality is a continuously expanding area of interest, in which consistent between-individual variation in behaviour is studied. What sparked this interest was the observation that individuals did not adapt their behaviour to every situation, but rather behaved similar to themselves when repeatedly faced with potential risks, social encounters and novelty. Yet, variation among individuals seem to persist, without selection for a ‘perfect type’. At the same time, we observe variation within populations in the way animals process information (i.e. animal cognition). An intriguing possibility suggested by theoretical models and with support from recent empirical studies is that personality traits are associated with aspects of cognition. In this thesis, I explored this relationship in the fowl, Gallus gallus, by exposing individuals to a battery of personality assays and cognitive tasks. I show large individual variation in personality and cognition in the species. Further, I show that these traits are related, and that there is interplay between them, in which, cognition can influence personality, and vice versa. Additionally, I show that biases in cognitive processes are influenced by both personality and an individuals’ current affective state. Thus, I reveal a complex relationship between personality and cognition that can help explain observed consistent behavioural variation among individuals.
Josefina Zidar is an ethologist with a keen interest in animal behaviour. Her
research focuses on animal personality and cognition.
The relationship between
personality and cognition in the
fowl,
Gallus gallus
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Dissertation No. 1818
Josefina Zidar
IFM BIOLOGY
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology, Dissertation No. 1818, 2017 Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
www.liu.se
Jo se fin a Z id ar T he r ela tion sh ip b etw ee n pe rs on alit y a nd c og nit ion i n t he f ow l, G all us g all us 20 17Animal personality is a continuously expanding area of interest, in which consistent between-individual variation in behaviour is studied. What sparked this interest was the observation that individuals did not adapt their behaviour to every situation, but rather behaved similar to themselves when repeatedly faced with potential risks, social encounters and novelty. Yet, variation among individuals seem to persist, without selection for a ‘perfect type’. At the same time, we observe variation within populations in the way animals process information (i.e. animal cognition). An intriguing possibility suggested by theoretical models and with support from recent empirical studies is that personality traits are associated with aspects of cognition. In this thesis, I explored this relationship in the fowl, Gallus gallus, by exposing individuals to a battery of personality assays and cognitive tasks. I show large individual variation in personality and cognition in the species. Further, I show that these traits are related, and that there is interplay between them, in which, cognition can influence personality, and vice versa. Additionally, I show that biases in cognitive processes are influenced by both personality and an individuals’ current affective state. Thus, I reveal a complex relationship between personality and cognition that can help explain observed consistent behavioural variation among individuals.
Josefina Zidar is an ethologist with a keen interest in animal behaviour. Her
research focuses on animal personality and cognition.
