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The Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science
Paradigm
for Research on Individuals (TPS-Paradigm)
TPS-Paradigm: Theoretical, metatheoretical and
methodological papers
Empirical studies with nonhuman primates
using the TPS-Paradigm
Personality questionnaires for nonhuman primates
Empirical studies with
nonhuman primates using the TPS-Paradigm
Great Apes: chimpanzees (Pan
troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), gorillas (Gorilla
gorilla), orangutans (Pongo abelii; Pongo pygmaeus)
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Uher, J. (2011b). Personality in nonhuman primates:
What can we learn from human personality psychology? In A. Weiss, J.
King, & L. Murray (Eds.). Personality and Temperament in Nonhuman
Primates (pp. 41-76). New York, NY: Springer.
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Uher, J. & Asendorpf, J.B. (2008). Personality
assessment in the Great Apes: Comparing ecologically valid behavior
measures, behavior ratings, and adjective ratings.
Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 821-838.
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Uher, J., Asendorpf, J.B., & Call, J. (2008).
Personality in the behaviour of great apes: Temporal stability,
cross-situational consistency and coherence in response.
Animal Behaviour, 75, 99-112.
Crab-eating macaques (Macaca
fascicularis), also known as long-tailed macaque; Java monkey,
cynomolgus monkey
Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus
spp., formerly
Cebus apella)
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Uher, J., & Visalberghi, E. (2016).
Observations versus assessments of personality: A five-method
multi-species study reveals numerous biases in ratings and
methodological limitations of standardised assessments. Journal of
Research in Personality, 61, 61-79.
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Uher, J., Addessi, E., & Visalberghi, E. (2013).
Contextualised behavioural measurements of personality differences
obtained in behavioural tests and social observations in adult
capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Journal of Research in
Personality, 47, 427-444.
Comparative study involving Weeper capuchin
monkeys (Cebus olivaceus), mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx),
toque macaques (Macaca sinica) and rhesus macaques (Macaca
mulatta)
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Abstracts and PDF-Downloads
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Uher, J., & Visalberghi, E. (2016).
Observations versus assessments of personality: A five-method
multi-species study reveals numerous biases in ratings and
methodological limitations of standardised assessments. Journal
of Research in Personality, 61, 61-79.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.02.003 [Download] [Supplemental
Material]
[Highlights]
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Personality assessments and observations were contrasted by applying a
philosophy-of-science paradigm and a study of 49 human raters and 150
capuchin monkeys. Twenty constructs were operationalised with 146
behavioural measurements in 17 situations to study capuchins'
individual-specific behaviours and with assessments on trait-adjective and
behaviour-descriptive verb items to study raters' pertinent mental
representations. Analyses of reliability, cross-method coherence, taxonomic
structures and demographic associations highlighted substantial biases in
assessments. Deviations from observations are located in human impression
formation, stereotypical biases and the findings that raters interpret
standardised items differently and that assessments cannot generate
scientific quantifications or capture behaviour. These issues have important
implications for the interpretation of findings from assessments and provide
an explanation for their frequent lack of replicability. |
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Uher, J. (2015e). Comparing individuals within
and across situations, groups and species: Metatheoretical and
methodological foundations demonstrated in primate behaviour. In D.
Emmans & A. Laihinen (Eds.). Comparative neuropsychology and
brain imaging (Vol. 2), Series Neuropsychology: An interdisciplinary
approach. (chapter 14, pp. 223-284). Berlin: Lit Verlag.
ISBN
978-3-643-90653-3
[Download]
[GoogeBooks] |
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Individuals are explored in various kinds of phenomena and contexts.
But how can scientists compare individual variations across phenomena with
heterogeneous properties that require different methods for their
exploration? How can measurements of individual variations be made directly
comparable between different studies, groups of individuals or even species?
This research applies the Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science Paradigm
for Research on Individuals (TPS-Paradigm) to elaborate metatheoretical
concepts and analytical methodologies for quantitative comparisons of
individual variations within and across situations, groups and species using
behavioural phenomena as examples. Established concepts from personality
psychology, differential psychology and cross-cultural and cross-species
research are systematically integrated into coherent frameworks and extended
by adding concepts for comparing individual-specific variations (i.e.,
“personality”) between species. Basic principles for establishing the
functional comparability of behavioural and situational categories are
elaborated while considering that individuals from different groups and
species often show different behaviours and encounter different situations
and therefore cannot be studied with identical variables as is done in
assessment-based research. Building on these principles, the chapter
explores methodologies for the statistical analyses of the configurational
comparability of constructs and of mean-level differences between groups and
species. It highlights that situational properties are crucial for
quantitative comparisons of individual variations. Fundamental differences
between observational methods and assessment methods are explored, revealing
serious limitations and fallacies inherent to comparisons of individuals on
the basis of assessments. Implementations of the methodological principles
and concepts presented are illustrated with behavioural data from four
primate species (weeper capuchins, mandrills, toque macaques and rhesus
macaques). |
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Uher, J., Werner, C. S. &
Gosselt, K. (2013). From observations of individual
behaviour to social representations of personality: Developmental pathways,
attribution biases, and limitations of questionnaire methods. Journal of
Research in Personality, 47, 647-667.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.03.006 [Download]
[Highlights] |
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Socio-cognitive abilities to recognise and to represent
individual-specificity-even in some nonhuman species-are central to human
life. Using a novel philosophy-of-science paradigm, we explored these
abilities over 3 years in 6 waves by investigating individual-specific
behaviours of 104 crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and the
representations that 99 human observers-experts and novices-developed of
them. By applying the non-lexical Behavioural Repertoire x Environmental
Situations Approach, we generated 18 macaque-specific personality
constructs. They were operationalised with behavioural measures to study the
macaques and with two rating formats to study the observers'
representations. Analyses of reliability, cross-method coherence, taxonomic
structures, associations with demographic factors, and 12-24-month
stabilities highlighted essential differences between individual-specific
behaviours and pertinent representations, explored developmental pathways of
representations, and illuminated attribution biases and limitations of
questionnaire methods. |
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Uher, J.,
Addessi, E., & Visalberghi, E. (2013). Contextualised
behavioural measurements of personality differences obtained in behavioural
tests and social observations in adult capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 427-444.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.01.013 [Download]
[Supplemental
material] [Highlights] |
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We applied a new framework for behavioural research on personality
differences in 26 adult tufted capuchin monkeys. Using the Behavioural
Repertoire x Environmental Situations Approach, we generated systematically
20 non-lexical emic personality constructs that have high ecological
validity for this species. For construct operationalisation, we obtained 141
contextualised behavioural measures repeatedly in 15 experimental situations
and 2 group situations using computerised and video-assisted methods. A
complete repetition after a 2-3-week break within a 60-day period yielded
significant test-retest reliability from individual-oriented and
variable-oriented viewpoints at different levels of aggregation. In
accordance with well-established findings on cross-situational consistency,
internal consistency was only moderate. This new and important finding
highlights fundamental differences between behavioural approaches and
judgment-based approaches to personality differences. |
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Uher, J. (2011b). Personality in nonhuman
primates: What can we learn from human personality psychology? In A.
Weiss, J. King, & L. Murray (Eds.). Personality and temperament
in nonhuman primates (pp. 41-76). New York, NY: Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0176-6_3
[Download]
[Highlights]
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Primate personality research encounters a number of puzzling
methodological challenges. Individuals are unique and comparable at the same
time. They are characterized by relatively stable individual-specific
behavioral patterns that often show only moderate consistency across
situations. Personality is assumed to be temporally stable, yet equally
incorporates long-term change and development. These are all déjà-vus from
human personality psychology. In this chapter, I present classical theories
of personality psychology and discuss their suitability for nonhuman
species. Using examples from nonhuman primates, I explain basic theoretical
concepts, methodological approaches, and methods of measurement of empirical
personality research. I place special emphasis on theoretical concepts and
methodologies for comparisons of personality variation among populations,
such as among species. |
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Uher, J. & Asendorpf, J. B. (2008).
Personality assessment in the Great Apes: Comparing ecologically valid
behavior measures, behavior ratings, and adjective ratings. Journal of
Research in Personality, 42, 821-838.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.10.004 [Download]
[Highlights] |
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Three methods of personality assessment (behavior measures, behavior
ratings, adjective ratings) were compared in 20 zoo-housed Great Apes:
bonobos (Pan paniscus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus),
gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus
abelii). To test a new bottom-up approach, the studied trait constructs
were systematically generated from the species’ behavioral repertoires. The
assessments were reliable, temporally stable, and showed substantial
cross-method coherence. In most traits, behavior ratings mediated the
relations between adjective ratings and behavior measures. Results suggest
that high predictability of manifest behavior is best achieved by behavior
ratings, not by adjectives. Empirical evidence for trait constructs beyond
current personality models points to the necessity of broad and systematic
approaches for valid inferences on a species’ personality structure. |
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Uher, J., Asendorpf, J. B., & Call, J.
(2008). Personality in the behaviour of great apes: Temporal stability,
cross-situational consistency and coherence in response.
Animal Behaviour, 75, 99-112.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.04.018
[Download]
[Highlights] |
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Using a multidisciplinary approach, the present study complements
ethological behaviour measurements with basic theoretical concepts,
methods and approaches of the personality psychological trait paradigm.
Its adoptability and usefulness for animal studies is tested exemplarily
on a sample of 20 zoo-housed great apes (five of each of the following
species): bonobos, Pan paniscus; chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes
verus; gorillas,
Gorilla gorilla gorilla; and orang-utans, Pongo pygmaeus abelii.
Data on 76 single trait-relevant behaviours were recorded in a series of
14 laboratory based situations and in two different group situations. Data
collection was repeated completely after a break of two weeks within a
50-day period. All behaviour records were sufficiently reliable.
Individual- and variable-oriented analyses showed high/substantial
temporal stability on different levels of aggregation. Distinctive and
stable individual situational and response profiles clarified the
importance of situations and of multiple trait-relevant behaviours. The
present study calls for a closer collaboration between personality
psychologists and behavioural biologists to tap the full potential of
animal personality research.
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