Ambiguous terminology in animal personality research: a self-report questionnaire and a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar ◽  
Maria Moiron ◽  
Petri Toivo Niemelä

Whether animal personality studies provide insights of broader evolutionary and ecological relevance to behavioural ecology is frequently questioned. One source of controversy is the vast, but often vague conceptual terminology used. From a statistical perspective, animal personality is defined as repeatable among-individual variance in behaviour; however, numerous conceptual definitions of animal personality exist. Here, we performed a 1) self-report questionnaire and 2) systematic literature review to quantify how researchers interpret conceptual and statistical definitions commonly used in animal personality research. We also investigated whether results from the questionnaire agree with those of the literature review. Among the 430 self-reported researchers that participated in our questionnaire, we observed discrepancies in key questions such as the conceptual definition of animal personality or the interpretation of repeatability. Our literature review generally confirmed the global patterns revealed by the questionnaire. Overall, we identified common disagreements in animal personality research and discussed potential solutions. We advocate for the usage of statistically-oriented terminology because conceptual definitions can seemingly be interpreted at multiple levels of biological organization. We expect that adopting such statistically-oriented terminology will, at least partly, avoid the confusion generated by the label “animal personality”, and ultimately help to clarify and move the field forward.

2021 ◽  
pp. 088541222199424
Author(s):  
Mauro Francini ◽  
Lucia Chieffallo ◽  
Annunziata Palermo ◽  
Maria Francesca Viapiana

This work aims to reorganize theoretical and empirical research on smart mobility through the systematic literature review approach. The research goal is to reach an extended and shared definition of smart mobility using the cluster analysis. The article provides a summary of the state of the art that can have broader impacts in determining new angles for approaching research. In particular, the results will be a reference for future quantitative developments for the authors who are working on the construction of a territorial measurement model of the smartness degree, helping them in identifying performance indicators consistent with the definition proposed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reuben Escorpizo ◽  
Michiel F. Reneman ◽  
Jan Ekholm ◽  
Julie Fritz ◽  
Terry Krupa ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
Zhanna Kalmatayeva

The purpose of the article was to study the problems of domestic violence of women and its consequences in Kazakhstan. The analysis of the results of the study of self-attitude and self-esteem of women subjected to domestic violence. Revealed there is a correlation between the level of self-attitude of domestic violence victims and the non-differentiated I-concept. 140 women participated in the present study, 70 women are control group which not subjected to domestic violence and 70 women of them who have currently reported domestic violence in the Crisis Center "Umit" in Nur-Sultan in the period from November 2017 to October 2019. Quantitative research method was used in terms of survey model by implementing a psychological test “The self-attitude test questionnaire (SA)” that assesses self-relation, differentiated by self-esteem, self-sympathy, self-interest, and expectations of self-reliance of participants. Also, during the study was used personal questionnaire “Who am I?” a variant of non-standardized self-report, approaching the projective methods of personality research. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the answers in terms of their levels of the participants’ self-esteem and self-relation and further, since it was revealed according to the results reflect the difference in the two groups by the values obtained from these scales, the Student's t-test for independent groups was used [2] was used to reveal whether there is any correlation between the components of the scale. The obtained results can be used to interventions and training of family for counselors in order to promote women's self-esteem and self-relation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-149
Author(s):  
N.N. Olomskaya ◽  
R.V. Patyukova

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 98 (1 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S10.2-S11
Author(s):  
Christina Master ◽  
Kristi Metzger ◽  
Mr. Daniel Corwin ◽  
Catherine McDonald ◽  
Melissa Pfeiffer ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo quantify variability in pediatric concussion recovery across multiple outcomes of interest.BackgroundPediatric concussion studies are hindered by a common significant limitation: lack of agreement on a standard definition of “recovery.” A variety of clinical outcomes of interest utilized across studies, including symptom self-report, neurocognitive testing results, self-reported return to activity, and physician clearance for activity, leads to challenges for both research, as well as clinical concussion management.Design/MethodsWe enrolled concussed youth, ages 11–18 years, from a specialty sports medicine clinic = 28 days of injury. Patients were followed as part of clinical care for concussion for up to 13 weeks. At each visit, participants completed questionnaires and a battery of clinical measures. From these data, we constructed 10 potential definitions of recovery: 3 based on self-reported symptoms (change from pre-injury, no symptoms, below pre-determined thresholds), 2 based on visio-vestibular examination (VVE) deficits (none, = 1), 2 based on physician clearance (for return to school/sport), and 3 based on self-assessment (“back to normal”, return to school/exercise).ResultsOne hundred seventy-four concussed youth were enrolled (median age: 15 years, 54.6% female) with a median time from injury to initial visit of 12 days (IQR: 7, 20). Median number of visits was 2 (range: 1, 5). We observed a wide variation in the proportion of participants recovered across the 10 definitions. Depending on definition, between 4% and 45% were considered recovered within 4 weeks, and between 10% and 80% were considered recovered at the end of follow-up. The VVE-based definition (=1 deficit) consistently had the highest proportion recovered at all time points, while self-reported return to exercise had the lowest proportion.ConclusionsRecovery from concussion is not a single unitary point in time. These results will provide valuable guidance to clinicians in managing concussion and researchers in designing future observational and interventional trials of pediatric concussion.


2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J Calabrese

This paper summarizes numerous conceptual and experimental advances over the past two decades in the study of hormesis. Hormesis is now generally accepted as a real and reproducible biological phenomenon, being highly generalized and independent of biological model, endpoint measured and chemical class/physical stressor. The quantitative features of the hormetic dose response are generally highly consistent, regardless of the model and mechanism, and represent a quantitative index of biological plasticity at multiple levels of biological organization. The hormetic dose-response model has been demonstrated to make far more accurate predictions of responses in low dose zones than either the threshold or linear at low dose models. Numerous therapeutic agents widely used by humans are based on the hormetic dose response and its low dose stimulatory characteristics. It is expected that as low dose responses come to dominate toxicological research that risk assessment practices will incorporate hormetic concepts in the standard setting process.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 1003-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore P. Beauchaine ◽  
Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp

AbstractDuring the last quarter century, developmental psychopathology has become increasingly inclusive and now spans disciplines ranging from psychiatric genetics to primary prevention. As a result, developmental psychopathologists have extended traditional diathesis–stress and transactional models to include causal processes at and across all relevant levels of analysis. Such research is embodied in what is known as the multiple levels of analysis perspective. We describe how multiple levels of analysis research has informed our current thinking about antisocial and borderline personality development among trait impulsive and therefore vulnerable individuals. Our approach extends the multiple levels of analysis perspective beyond simple Biology × Environment interactions by evaluating impulsivity across physiological systems (genetic, autonomic, hormonal, neural), psychological constructs (social, affective, motivational), developmental epochs (preschool, middle childhood, adolescence, adulthood), sexes (male, female), and methods of inquiry (self-report, informant report, treatment outcome, cardiovascular, electrophysiological, neuroimaging). By conducting our research using any and all available methods across these levels of analysis, we have arrived at a developmental model of trait impulsivity that we believe confers a greater understanding of this highly heritable trait and captures at least some heterogeneity in key behavioral outcomes, including delinquency and suicide.


Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Fontan

RÉSUMÉL’article présente les résultats d’une recherche portant sur les notions d’entrepreneur social et d’entrepreneur collectif. Après avoir défini le concept d’entrepreneur, nous voyons comment les qualitatifs « social » et « collectif » transforment l’idée d’entreprendre en un projet plus intégré où les objectifs sociaux, politiques et économiques sont « harmonieusement » agencés. La recherche repose essentiellement sur la réalisation d’une revue de littérature de textes clés produits en langue française et anglaise en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. L’analyse des données recueillies nous permet de présenter des critères simples pour proposer une définition de ces notions qui devrait rendre compte de la réalité des pratiques rencontrées sur le terrain et des contributions théoriques et critiques faites par les auteurs et travaux consultés. Elle permet aussi de présenter une dizaine de constats qui illustrent tant les points de convergence que les divergences observées entre les types d’entreprenariat étudiés.ABSTRACTThis article presents the results of a study bearing on the notions of social entrepreneur and collectiveentrepreneur. After defining the concept of entrepreneur, I look at how the adjectives “social” and “collective” transform the project of being an entrepreneur into a more integrated one where the social, political and economic objectives are “harmoniously” organized. The study is essentially based on a literature review of key English- and French-language texts written in North America and in Europe. The analysis of the collected data allows me to present simple criteria for proposing a definition of these notions that should take into account both the reality of the practices encountered in the field and the theoretical and critical contributions made by the authors and the texts that I consulted. It also enables me to present ten observations that illustrate both the points of convergence and divergence between the types of entrepreneurship that I studied.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document