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The study of temperament in nonhuman animals is of great interest due to recent advances that demonstrate a relationship between temperament and animal welfare, immune functioning, social dynamics, and reproductive success (e.g., Capitanio et al. 1999; Fairbanks and Jorgensen 2011; Sih et al. 2004). In humans, temperament is defined as inherited early behavioral tendencies that are observed and continue to develop into adulthood and serve as the building blocks for personality (Gosling 2001). However, identifying what constitutes as temperament in nonhuman animals has been difficult to agree upon in the literature. The terms temperament and personality have at times been used interchangeably when describing the different behavioral responses an animal can exhibit. When expressed as separate terms, temperament tends to describe an individual’s inherited genetic-based behavioral differences in a nonsocial context,...
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Frick, E.E. (2022). Temperament. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_960
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