All Outputs (15)

Communicating information about the psychology of a wild carnivore, the red fox, influences perceived attitudinal changes but not overall tolerance in people (2024)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Henri, D., Adaway, K., Adaway, K. A., Soulsbury, C., Soulsbury, C. D., & Hopkins, C. R. (2024). Communicating information about the psychology of a wild carnivore, the red fox, influences perceived attitudinal changes but not overall tolerance in people. Biological Conservation, 296, Article 110653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110653

Studies on wild animal psychology are growing in popularity due to the important role they play in understanding how wildlife is responding to human-driven environmental changes. However, communicating psychological information to the general public... Read More about Communicating information about the psychology of a wild carnivore, the red fox, influences perceived attitudinal changes but not overall tolerance in people.

Personality structure in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). (2021)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Robinson, L. M., Brando, S., & Weiss, A. (2021). Personality structure in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 135(2), 219-231. https://doi.org/10.1037/com0000259

Comparative studies can help identify selective pressures that contributed to species differences in the number and composition of personality domains. Despite being adapted to an aquatic lifestyle and last sharing a common ancestor with primates som... Read More about Personality structure in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)..

Studying animal innovation at the individual level: A ratings-based assessment in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] sp.). (2021)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., Brosnan, S. F., Thierry, B., Paukner, A., Essler, J. L., Marcum, C. S., & Lee, P. C. (2021). Studying animal innovation at the individual level: A ratings-based assessment in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] sp.). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 135(2), 258-265. https://doi.org/10.1037/com0000264

Large-scale studies of individual differences in innovative behavior among nonhuman animals are rare because of logistical difficulties associated with obtaining observational data on a large number of innovative individuals across multiple locations... Read More about Studying animal innovation at the individual level: A ratings-based assessment in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] sp.)..

Do wild raccoons (Procyon lotor) use tools? (2020)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B. (2020). Do wild raccoons (Procyon lotor) use tools?. Animal Cognition, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01430-y

Being able to make and use tools was once considered to be an evolutionary hallmark of our species, but has since been documented in other animals. However, for reasons that remain unclear, not all species naturally use tools. Racoons (Procyon lotor)... Read More about Do wild raccoons (Procyon lotor) use tools?.

Data reduction analyses of animal behaviour: avoiding Kaiser's criterion and adopting more robust automated methods (2019)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., & Altschul, D. (2019). Data reduction analyses of animal behaviour: avoiding Kaiser's criterion and adopting more robust automated methods. Animal behaviour, 149, 89-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.003

Data reduction analyses such as principal components and exploratory factor analyses identify relationships within a set of potentially correlated variables, and cluster correlated variables into a smaller overall quantity of groupings. Because of th... Read More about Data reduction analyses of animal behaviour: avoiding Kaiser's criterion and adopting more robust automated methods.

Divergent personality structures of brown (Sapajus apella) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) (2016)
Journal Article
Robinson, L. M., Morton, F. B., Gartner, M. C., Widness, J., Paukner, A., Essler, J. L., Brosnan, S. F., & Weiss, A. (2016). Divergent personality structures of brown (Sapajus apella) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130(4), 305-312. https://doi.org/10.1037/com0000037

One way to gain insights into personality evolution is by comparing the personality structures of related species. We compared the personality structure of 240 wild white-faced capuchin monkeys to the personality structure of 100 captive brown capuch... Read More about Divergent personality structures of brown (Sapajus apella) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus).

Happiness is positive welfare in brown capuchins (Sapajus apella) (2016)
Journal Article
Robinson, L. M., Waran, N. K., Leach, M. C., Morton, F. B., Paukner, A., Lonsdorf, E., Handel, I., Wilson, V. A., Brosnan, S. F., & Weiss, A. (2016). Happiness is positive welfare in brown capuchins (Sapajus apella). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 181, 145-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.05.029

Questionnaires that allow people who are familiar with individual animals to rate the welfare of these animals are an underutilised tool. We designed a 12-item welfare questionnaire and tested its reliability and associations with subjective well-bei... Read More about Happiness is positive welfare in brown capuchins (Sapajus apella).

Using photographs to study animal social cognition and behaviour: Do capuchins' responses to photos reflect reality? (2016)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Brosnan, S. F., Prétôt, L., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., O'Sullivan, E., Stocker, M., D'Mello, D., & Wilson, V. A. (2016). Using photographs to study animal social cognition and behaviour: Do capuchins' responses to photos reflect reality?. Behavioural Processes, 124, 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2015.10.005

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Behavioural responses to photos are often used to infer what animals understand about their social environment, but are rarely validated against the same stimuli in real life. If subjects' responses to photos do not reflect respo... Read More about Using photographs to study animal social cognition and behaviour: Do capuchins' responses to photos reflect reality?.

Capuchin monkeys with similar personalities have higher-quality relationships independent of age, sex, kinship and rank (2015)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Weiss, A., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., & Lee, P. C. (2015). Capuchin monkeys with similar personalities have higher-quality relationships independent of age, sex, kinship and rank. Animal behaviour, 105, 163-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.04.013

Social relationships vary in content, quality and patterning. Most researchers focus on whether and how nondispositional factors, including age, sex, kinship and rank, predict variance in the content, quality and patterning of relationships. However,... Read More about Capuchin monkeys with similar personalities have higher-quality relationships independent of age, sex, kinship and rank.

Using the relational event model (REM) to investigate the temporal dynamics of animal social networks (2015)
Journal Article
Tranmer, M., Marcum, C. S., Morton, F. B., Croft, D. P., & de Kort, S. R. (2015). Using the relational event model (REM) to investigate the temporal dynamics of animal social networks. Animal behaviour, 101, 99-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.005

Social dynamics are of fundamental importance in animal societies. Studies on nonhuman animal social systems often aggregate social interaction event data into a single network within a particular time frame. Analysis of the resulting network can pro... Read More about Using the relational event model (REM) to investigate the temporal dynamics of animal social networks.

Facial width-to-height ratio relates to alpha status and assertive personality in capuchin monkeys (2014)
Journal Article
Lefevre, C. E., Wilson, V. A. D., Morton, F. B., Brosnan, S. F., Paukner, A., & Bates, T. C. (2014). Facial width-to-height ratio relates to alpha status and assertive personality in capuchin monkeys. PLoS ONE, 9(4), Article e93369. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093369

Social dominance hierarchies play a pivotal role in shaping the behaviour of many species, and sex differences within these hierarchies often exist. To date, however, few physical markers of dominance have been identified. Such markers would be valua... Read More about Facial width-to-height ratio relates to alpha status and assertive personality in capuchin monkeys.

Personality and facial morphology: Links to assertiveness and neuroticism in capuchins (Sapajus [Cebus] apella) (2013)
Journal Article
Wilson, V., Lefevre, C. E., Morton, F. B., Brosnan, S. F., Paukner, A., & Bates, T. C. (2014). Personality and facial morphology: Links to assertiveness and neuroticism in capuchins (Sapajus [Cebus] apella). Personality and individual differences, 58, 89-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.10.008

Personality has important links to health, social status, and life history outcomes (e.g. longevity and reproductive success). Human facial morphology appears to signal aspects of one's personality to others, raising questions about the evolutionary... Read More about Personality and facial morphology: Links to assertiveness and neuroticism in capuchins (Sapajus [Cebus] apella).

Personality structure in brown capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella): Comparisons with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), orangutans (Pongo spp.), and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). (2013)
Journal Article
Blake Morton, F., Lee, P. C., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., Brosnan, S. F., Thierry, B., Paukner, A., de Waal, F. B. M., Widness, J., Essler, J. L., & Weiss, A. (2013). Personality structure in brown capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella): Comparisons with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), orangutans (Pongo spp.), and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 127(3), 282-298. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031723

Species comparisons of personality structure (i.e., how many personality dimensions and the characteristics of those dimensions) can facilitate questions about the adaptive function of personality in nonhuman primates. Here we investigate personality... Read More about Personality structure in brown capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella): Comparisons with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), orangutans (Pongo spp.), and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)..

Observational monitoring of clinical signs during the last stage of habituation in a wild Western Gorilla Group at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic (2013)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Todd, A. F., Lee, P., & Masi, S. (2013). Observational monitoring of clinical signs during the last stage of habituation in a wild Western Gorilla Group at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. Folia primatologica, 84(2), 118-133. https://doi.org/10.1159/000350916

Anthropozoonotic disease transmission to great apes is a critical conservation concern, and has raised ethical doubts regarding ape habituation. We monitored over a 3-year period clinical signs within a group of wild western gorillas (G. gorilla) und... Read More about Observational monitoring of clinical signs during the last stage of habituation in a wild Western Gorilla Group at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic.

Taking personality selection bias seriously in animal cognition research: A case study in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella) (2013)
Journal Article
Morton, F. B., Lee, P. C., & Buchanan-Smith, H. M. (2013). Taking personality selection bias seriously in animal cognition research: A case study in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). Animal Cognition, 16(4), 677-684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0603-5

In most experimental work on animal cognition, researchers attempt to control for multiple interacting variables by training subjects prior to testing, allowing subjects to participate voluntarily, and providing subjects with food rewards. However, d... Read More about Taking personality selection bias seriously in animal cognition research: A case study in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella).