Dados do Trabalho

Título

ONLY ONE IS NOT ENOUGH: EXPLORING CAPUCHINS MONKEY'S (SAPAJUS LIBIDINOSUS) INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES THROUGH LEXICAL AND NON-LEXICAL METHODS

Resumo

The study of animal personality faces two main obstacles: lack of consensus on definition/nomenclature and discrepancy between methodologies. While lexical methods (e.g. trait-rating) face subjectivity and cultural biases, non-lexical methods (eg. behavioral coding and experimental tests) are susceptible to bias according the experimental design and familiarity of observers with the species/subject under study. This study explored both methods checking for possible correlations between parameters (including sex and age) in a sample of 13 capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp) kept at rescue center (CETAS – IBAMA – RN). We 1) collected  26h of continuous focal observations (5min per individual per day), 2) conducted two blocks of seven behavioral tests (with 15 days interval) and 3) filled a 54-character questionnaire, answered by five observers. Experimental tests achieved internal reliability and temporal stability, and 72% of the adjectives of the questionnaire attained ICC2,K> 0.70. Regarding correlations between methods results we found that: 1) individuals that interact more with the environment during focal observations were more explorative in behavioral tests. These same individuals were considered more vigilant and less neurotic by observers 2) adult females considered assertive by observers were bolder, neophilic, creative and persistent in behavioral tests. We conclude that testing and comparing methods while checking variables can reduce possible biases and make personality study more enriching and reliable, as well as being a good source of new hypotheses.

Palavras-chave

primate behavior, behavioral tests, focal observation, questionnaire, lexical methods, non-lexical methods