Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

16.1K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
16.1K
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

91
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
91
Attribution Theory00:56

Attribution Theory

12.9K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
12.9K
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

241
Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
241
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II01:23

Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II

31
Personality types, particularly Type A and Type B, significantly influence how individuals respond to stress. These personality distinctions are marked by varying levels of ambition, competitiveness, and coping styles, all of which shape an individual's resilience to stressors.
Type A Personality: Driven and Easily Stressed
Individuals with Type A personalities are often highly competitive and ambitious and operate with a strong sense of urgency. Commonly labeled as...
31
Energy Budgets00:51

Energy Budgets

9.2K
Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...
9.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Effects of enrichment removal on cognitive judgement bias of mice: a comparison of two paradigms.

Frontiers in veterinary science·2026
Same author

Individualised niches: an integrative conceptual framework across behaviour, ecology, and evolution.

Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·2026
Same author

Corrigendum to Shaped from an early age: Hormonal and behavioural phenotypes in juvenile male guinea pigs living in distinct social environments: Physiology & Behavior305 (2026) 115210.

Physiology & behavior·2026
Same author

Shaped from an early age: Hormonal and behavioural phenotypes in juvenile male guinea pigs living in distinct social environments.

Physiology & behavior·2025
Same author

An interdisciplinary linked-lives approach to individual differences in social behaviour.

Nature human behaviour·2025
Same author

Adjustment of paternal care in response to experimental variation in extra-pair mating opportunity in male zebra finches.

Hormones and behavior·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task
12:10

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

2.5K

Optimism and pessimism: a concept for behavioural ecology.

Viktoria Siewert1, Sylvia Kaiser1, Norbert Sachser1

  • 1Institute for Neuro- and Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestr. 13, Münster, 48149, Germany.

Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|December 23, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Animal optimism and pessimism, once used for welfare, are now explored for ecological implications. This research suggests these traits influence adaptation and environmental adjustment in animals.

Keywords:
animal personalityenvironmental changeindividualised nicheoptimismpessimismphenotypic plasticity

More Related Videos

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

8.6K
Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes
08:43

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes

Published on: August 29, 2016

10.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task
12:10

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

2.5K
Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

8.6K
Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes
08:43

Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes

Published on: August 29, 2016

10.2K

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Animal Welfare Science
  • Animal Psychology

Background:

  • The concepts of optimism and pessimism, originating from human psychology, were applied to animal welfare science approximately 20 years ago.
  • These concepts have become valuable indicators of animal welfare, but their ecological implications remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To bridge the gap between animal welfare concepts and behavioral ecology.
  • To explore the ecological implications of optimism and pessimism in non-human animals.
  • To highlight the potential of these concepts in understanding animal adaptation and environmental adjustment.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewing the application of optimism and pessimism in animal welfare science.
  • Analyzing the conceptual links between optimism/pessimism and animal personality traits.
  • Discussing the role of optimism/pessimism in individual adjustment to environmental heterogeneity, including niche choice and conformance.

Main Results:

  • Optimism and pessimism can be viewed as facets of animal personality.
  • Variations in optimism/pessimism play a significant role in adaptation to environmental heterogeneity.
  • Optimism/pessimism influences how animals adjust to environmental changes, potentially impacting behavioral plasticity.

Conclusions:

  • Transferring optimism and pessimism concepts to behavioral ecology offers valuable insights into animal adaptation.
  • Understanding individual differences in optimism/pessimism is crucial for predicting animal responses to environmental change.
  • Future research should investigate the differential behavioral plasticity of 'optimists' versus 'pessimists' in changing environments.