Personality in Sanctuary-Housed Chimpanzees: A Comparative Approach of Psychobiological and Penta-Factorial Human Models

We evaluate a sanctuary chimpanzee sample (N = 11) using two adapted human assessment instruments: the Five-Factor Model (FFM) and Eysenck's Psychoticism-Extraversion-Neuroticism (PEN) model. The former has been widely used in studies of animal personality, whereas the latter has never been used to assess chimpanzees. We asked familiar keepers and scientists (N = 28) to rate 38 (FFM) and 12 (PEN) personality items. The personality surveys showed reliability in all of the items for both instruments. These were then analyzed in a principal component analysis and a regularized exploratory factor analysis, which revealed four and three components, respectively. The results indicate that both questionnaires show a clear factor structure, with characteristic factors not just for the species, but also for the sample type. However, due to its brevity, the PEN may be more suitable for assessing personality in a sanctuary, where employees do not have much time to devote to the evaluation process. In summary, both models are sensitive enough to evaluate the personality of a group of chimpanzees housed in a sanctuary.