title: A theoretically based model of rat personality with implications for welfare.
abstract: As animal personality research becomes more central to the study of animal behavior, there is increasing need for theoretical frameworks addressing its causes and consequences. We propose that regulatory focus theory (RFT) could serve as one such framework while also providing insights into how animal personality relates to welfare. RFT distinguishes between two types of approach motivation: promotion, the motivation to approach gains, and prevention, the motivation to approach or maintain safety. Decades of research have established the utility of RFT as a model of human behavior and recent evidence from zoo-housed primates and laboratory rats has suggested that it may be applicable to nonhuman animal behavior as well. Building on these initial studies, we collected data on 60 rats, Rattus norvegicus, navigating an automated maze that allowed individuals to maintain darkness (indicative of prevention/safety-approach motivation) and/or activate food rewards (indicative of promotion/gain-approach motivation). As predicted, both behaviors showed stable individual differences (Ps <0.01) and were inversely associated with physiological signs of chronic stress, possibly indicating poor welfare (Ps <0.05). Subsequently, half the rats were exposed to a manageable threat (noxious novel object) in the homecage. Re-testing in the maze revealed that threat exposure increased darkness time achieved (P<0.05), suggesting a mechanism by which prevention motivation may be enhanced. These results point toward the potential utility of RFT as a model for animal behavior and welfare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Becca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Franks
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: E Tory
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Frances A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Champagne
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010551:Personality; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012044:Regression Analysis
references.citation: J Comp Psychol. 2012 Nov;126(4):347-54
references.pmid: 22390620
references.citation: Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2007 May;82(2):291-318
references.pmid: 17437562
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 1999 Aug;67(2):189-96
references.pmid: 10477049
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2004;55:1-22
references.pmid: 14744208
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Mar 1;410(6824):35-6
references.pmid: 11242031
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Mar 22;274(1611):755-61
references.pmid: 17251088
references.citation: Nature. 2007 May 31;447(7144):581-4
references.pmid: 17538618
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1997 Dec;52(12):1280-300
references.pmid: 9414606
references.citation: Behav Neurosci. 2004 Jun;118(3):488-97
references.pmid: 15174926
references.citation: Am Psychol. 2000 Nov;55(11):1217-30
references.pmid: 11280936
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2010 Oct 7;277(1696):2895-904
references.pmid: 20685706
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Dec 23;100(26):16131-6
references.pmid: 14673078
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2010 Sep;25(9):504-11
references.pmid: 20638151
references.citation: Behav Processes. 2012 Jul;90(3):331-6
references.pmid: 22480792
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2010 Nov;25(11):653-9
references.pmid: 20832898
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 2005 Sep;47(2):136-44
references.pmid: 16136549
references.citation: Zoo Biol. 2012 Jan-Feb;31(1):1-12
references.pmid: 21370251
references.citation: Zoo Biol. 2013 Jul-Aug;32(4):427-35
references.pmid: 23649664
references.citation: Brain Behav Evol. 2007;70(4):218-26
references.pmid: 17914253
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2006 Jul 15;171(1):26-49
references.pmid: 16678277
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2001 Jan;127(1):45-86
references.pmid: 11271756
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010 Dec 27;365(1560):4043-50
references.pmid: 21078656
references.citation: Nature. 2004 Jan 22;427(6972):312
references.pmid: 14737158
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2004 Jul;19(7):372-8
references.pmid: 16701288
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010 Aug;99(2):215-31
references.pmid: 20658840
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Oct 15;66(8):743-9
references.pmid: 19482266
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1999 Nov;23(7):925-35
references.pmid: 10580307
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010 Dec 27;365(1560):3959-68
references.pmid: 21078648
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 1994 Nov;9(11):442-6
references.pmid: 21236920
references.citation: Ecol Lett. 2012 Mar;15(3):278-89
references.pmid: 22239107
references.citation: Nat Methods. 2010 Oct;7(10):825-6
references.pmid: 20835246
references.citation: Anim Behav. 2009 Apr 1;77(4):771-783
references.pmid: 24707058
references.citation: Acta Biotheor. 2011 Jun;59(2):121-37
references.pmid: 21347723
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2003 Dec;29(12):1521-32
references.pmid: 15018683
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010 Dec 27;365(1560):3937-46
references.pmid: 21078646
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Jun;35(7):1452-65
references.pmid: 21510975