Personality structure in wild Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Area of Science:

• Primatology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Comparative Psychology

Background:

• Previous research on chimpanzee personality using questionnaires yielded results dissimilar to those found in zoo- and laboratory-housed chimpanzees.
• The limited number of items in prior questionnaires may have contributed to the discrepancy in identified personality factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate chimpanzee personality structure in a wild population using a comprehensive questionnaire.
• To determine if a larger item set would yield personality factors comparable to those found in captive chimpanzees.

Main Methods:

• Administered the 54-item Hominoid Personality Questionnaire to 40 wild chimpanzees in Budongo Park, Uganda.
• Employed exploratory factor analysis with a matrix-free likelihood method for factor extraction.
• Utilized 46 reliable items for the final analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified four distinct personality factors: Dominance, Disagreeableness, Openness, and Extraversion.
• The identified factors showed similarities but were not identical to personality structures found in previously studied captive chimpanzee populations.
• The results suggest a potential universal structure of chimpanzee personality.

Conclusions:

• A robust structure of chimpanzee personality, comprising Dominance, Disagreeableness, Openness, and Extraversion, appears to exist in wild populations.
• While a universal structure is suggested, variations in personality factors may occur across different habitats and populations.
• This study contributes to understanding the nuances of non-human primate personality across diverse ecological contexts.