Capuchin monkeys with similar personalities have higher-quality relationships independent of age, sex, kinship and rank

Abstract

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, within a species, these factors do not always predict partner choice. We examined whether similarity in any of five personality traits, Assertiveness, Openness, Neuroticism, Sociability and Attentiveness, independently contributed to variation in the affiliative and agonistic relationships of pairs of brown capuchin monkeys, Sapajus sp. Capuchins that were more similar in Neuroticism had higher affiliative relationship scores, while capuchins that were more similar in Sociability shared overall higher-quality relationships (i.e. the difference between the dyad's affiliative and agonistic scores). These effects were independent of age, sex, kinship and rank, suggesting that certain aspects of the psychology of these animals may contribute uniquely to the quality of their social relationships.