Personality trait structures across three species of Macaca, using survey ratings of responses to conspecifics and humans

Pritchard, AJ, Bliss-Moreau, E, Balasubramaniam, KN, Capitanio, JP, Marty, PR, Kaburu, SSK ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7456-3269, Arlet, ME, Beisner, BA and McCowan, B, 2024. Personality trait structures across three species of Macaca, using survey ratings of responses to conspecifics and humans. PLOS ONE, 19 (9): e0309946. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Comparative studies reliant on single personality surveys to rate wild primates are scarce yet remain critical for developing a holistic comparative understanding of personality. Differences in survey design, item exclusion, and factor selection impede cross-study comparisons. To address these challenges, we used consistently collected data to assess personality trait structures in wild rhesus (Macaca mulatta), bonnet (M. radiata), and long-tailed (M. fascicularis) macaques that varied in their degree of phylogenetic closeness, species-typical social styles, and anthropogenic exposure in urban or urban-rural environments. We administered 51-item personality surveys to familiar raters, and, after reliability and structure screenings, isolated 4–5 factor solutions among the species. Four consistent factors emerged: Confident, Sociable, Active, and Irritable/Equable. This latter factor had differential expression across species. Item composition of the Irritable/Equable factor was consistent with their anticipated differences in social styles, but confounded by cross-site anthropogenic variation. We also administered a 43-item survey confined to human-primate situations which paralleled our findings of social style variation, while also exhibiting variation that aligned with population differences in human density. Our findings indicate that macaque personality trait structures may be emergent outcomes of evolutionary and/or socioecological processes, but further research is needed to parse these processes’ relative contributions.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	PLOS ONE
Creators:	Pritchard, A.J., Bliss-Moreau, E., Balasubramaniam, K.N., Capitanio, J.P., Marty, P.R., Kaburu, S.S.K., Arlet, M.E., Beisner, B.A. and McCowan, B.
Publisher:	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date:	6 September 2024
Volume:	19
Number:	9
ISSN:	1932-6203
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1371/journal.pone.0309946 DOI 2217182 Other
Rights:	© 2024 Pritchard et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	18 Sep 2024 09:15
Last Modified:	18 Sep 2024 09:15
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52248

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