Personality structure, sex differences, and temporal change and stability in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus)

• Published in: Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Vol. 127; no. 3; p. 299
• Main Authors: Manson, Joseph H, Perry, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2013
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Wild; Cebus - psychology; Female; Male; Personality; Personality Assessment; Sex Factors; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1939-2087
• DOI: 10.1037/a0031316

Research on nonhuman primate personality dimensions has focused on a small number of taxa, and little of this work has focused on wild populations. We used ratings to assess personality structure in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) over a 9-year period, using a capuchin-specific rating instrument based partly on existing instruments. Adequate levels of interrater reliability were found for 24 of 26 items. A longitudinal analysis found that 15 of these items showed significant rank-order stability from adolescence through early adulthood. Principal components analysis revealed 5 components. Four of these components were recognizable "Big Five" dimensions: Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Neuroticism (N), and Agreeableness (A). A dimension incorporating aspects of high O and high Conscientiousness (C) was labeled Eccentricity. Every dimension except for N showed significant rank-order stability from adolescence through early adulthood. Males were more extraverted, open, neurotic, and eccentric than females, whereas females were more agreeable than males. A cross-sectional analysis revealed that openness and agreeableness declined, whereas eccentricity increased, during adulthood. The item content of capuchin Extraversion and Openness, and the existence of a distinctive Eccentricity dimension, are consistent with known characteristics of capuchin social and ecological adaptations, specifically the central roles of alliances, behavioral innovation, and social learning.