Does my pet fish have a personality? Operationalizing introversion and extroversion in adult zebrafish
Location
SU-103
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Personality theory has been studied and applied to address the development of personality in humans. Trait theories, such as the Big 5, explain that individuals are shaped by a continuum of traits (e.g., Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism; OCEAN). However, there has been limited research measuring personality trait behaviors in animal models. This study aims to measure extroverted and introverted behaviors in zebrafish (n=20) based on social preference and exploratory behavior. The social preference test measures the total time (ms) in a specified zone near the stimuli (groups of 2 or 5 fish) in the tank. Exploratory behavior will be measured as the total distance swam (pxls) and the time (ms) spent at the top and bottom regions of the tank in a novel environment. To begin, zebrafish are recorded for 5 minutes in the social preference tests and interact with groups of either 2 or 5 fish positioned at the ends of the tank. After the social preference test, each subject is placed into the novel tank to assess exploratory behavior. A counterbalancing procedure will be used, with testing flipped every two fish. It is hypothesized that extroverted zebrafish will spend more time (ms) with larger groups (5 fish), while introverted zebrafish spend more time with smaller groups (2 fish). Additionally, it is hypothesized that extroverted zebrafish will show a larger total distance swam (pxls) and more time (ms) exploring the top region of the tank, while introverted zebrafish will show a smaller distance swam (pxls) and less time (ms) exploring the top region of the tank. The relevance of this study lies in identifying reliable measures of extroverted and introverted behaviors in zebrafish based on group size preference and exploratory behavior.
Faculty Sponsor
Shannon Saszik
Does my pet fish have a personality? Operationalizing introversion and extroversion in adult zebrafish
SU-103
Personality theory has been studied and applied to address the development of personality in humans. Trait theories, such as the Big 5, explain that individuals are shaped by a continuum of traits (e.g., Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism; OCEAN). However, there has been limited research measuring personality trait behaviors in animal models. This study aims to measure extroverted and introverted behaviors in zebrafish (n=20) based on social preference and exploratory behavior. The social preference test measures the total time (ms) in a specified zone near the stimuli (groups of 2 or 5 fish) in the tank. Exploratory behavior will be measured as the total distance swam (pxls) and the time (ms) spent at the top and bottom regions of the tank in a novel environment. To begin, zebrafish are recorded for 5 minutes in the social preference tests and interact with groups of either 2 or 5 fish positioned at the ends of the tank. After the social preference test, each subject is placed into the novel tank to assess exploratory behavior. A counterbalancing procedure will be used, with testing flipped every two fish. It is hypothesized that extroverted zebrafish will spend more time (ms) with larger groups (5 fish), while introverted zebrafish spend more time with smaller groups (2 fish). Additionally, it is hypothesized that extroverted zebrafish will show a larger total distance swam (pxls) and more time (ms) exploring the top region of the tank, while introverted zebrafish will show a smaller distance swam (pxls) and less time (ms) exploring the top region of the tank. The relevance of this study lies in identifying reliable measures of extroverted and introverted behaviors in zebrafish based on group size preference and exploratory behavior.