Bermuda Post

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Dolphins have similar personality traits to humans, new study shows

Dolphins have similar personality traits to humans, new study shows

Scientists have identified a convergence of certain traits - especially relating to curiosity and sociability.

Dolphins have developed a number of similar personality traits to humans and primates, such as curiosity and sociability, a study has found.

The project, which studied 134 bottlenose dolphins from around the world, has helped researchers understand how certain human traits have evolved independently of immediate environments.

Lead author Dr Blake Morton said it was the first time dolphins' personalities had been studied in this way.

Dr Morton, a psychology lecturer at the University of Hull, said the team chose dolphins because, like primates, they are intelligent animals that live in social groups but are very different in many other ways.

He said the research has identified a convergence of certain personality traits - especially relating to curiosity and sociability - despite dolphins evolving in a completely different environment from primates and their last common ancestor living around 95 million years ago.

Dolphins have brains that are considerably larger than their bodies require for basic bodily functions


Dr Morton said: "Dolphins, like many primates, have brains that are considerably larger than what their bodies require for basic bodily functions; this excess of brain matter essentially powers their ability to be intelligent, and intelligent species are often very curious."

He said: "Dolphins were a great animal for this kind of study because, like primates, dolphins are intelligent and social.

"We reasoned that if factors such as intelligence and gregariousness contribute to personality, then dolphins should have similar personality traits to primates."

Dr Morton explained the most widely accepted model of human personality is defined by five traits - summarised as openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

These are replicated everywhere in humans, regardless of environment.

He said extensive studies have looked at the extent to which these traits are shared by primates but his team wanted to look at intelligent animals in a completely different setting.

"Scientists still do not fully understand why our behaviour comes down to those five traits, so one way of doing that is to compare ourselves to other animals - what we share in common and why," Dr Morton said.

He said: "We've known for some time that dolphins are similar to us in other respects - for instance, you can just watch dolphins on television and see they're very obviously smart and social.

"We see those characteristics mirrored in our own behaviour.

"But even on top of that, their personalities are also similar to our own in some respects."

Dr Morton said: "I don't want people to misinterpret that and say human and dolphins have the same personality traits - they don't. It's just that some of them are similar."

The authors collected data on 56 male and 78 female dolphins, from different facilities across eight countries - Mexico, France, the United States, Curacao, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands.

They assessed each dolphin's personality using questionnaires given to staff from each facility who knew them well.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×