Open AccessThe role of personality traits in pair bond formation: pairing is influenced by the trait of exploration
Author(s) -
Katerina M. Faust,
Michael H. Goldstein
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1568-539X
pISSN - 0005-7959
DOI - 10.1163/1568539x-bja10076
Subject(s) - courtship , personality , trait , mate choice , aggression , psychology , big five personality traits , pair bond , preference , quality (philosophy) , social psychology , ecology , biology , mating , philosophy , epistemology , computer science , microeconomics , economics , programming language
In species with long-term pair bonds, such as zebra finches, evaluating the quality of potential mates is critically important. Courtship is an opportunity to evaluate information from dynamic behavioural cues. Personality traits, as stable individual differences in behaviour, could predict the quality of a potential mate. How might personality traits influence mate choice? We examined the influence of several personality traits, including exploration, aggression, and social preference, on pair formation in zebra finches. We provided birds with a variety of potential mates and allowed them to select a pair partner. Our semi-naturalistic mate choice paradigm allowed birds to observe social information over an extended period, simulating the challenges of social evaluation that birds encounter in the wild. We found that pairing is influenced by personality, with birds selecting mates similar to them in exploration. The partner's exploration score relative to their own was more important than the absolute exploration score.