Victoria Anne Cussen
Published: 2014
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The purpose of this dissertation was to examine if individual differences in personality and cognition explain why some parrots develop abnormal behaviors in captivity while others do not. Orange-winged Amazon parrots, Amazona amazonica, were used as the model species. Twenty parrots were hatched from an established breeding colony of A. amazonica. Chicks were parent-reared with human interaction until fledging at approximately 60 days post-hatch. The first study developed a multi-dimensional personality assessment for Amazona amazonica using subjective ratings, and then experimentally tested the prediction that a state difference in attention bias for threat would correlate with personality differences. The results showed that two personality dimensions, Neuroticism and Extraversion, could be reliably assessed using subjective assessment, and that personalities were stable over a one year period of time. Individual differences in Neuroticism were correlated with biologically relevant differences in cognition, as measured by attention biases for environmental stimuli. The strategies used by the parrots when learning the cognitive task were evaluated in a separate study. The parrots were able to alter their search strategies when reward contingencies changed, demonstrating cognitive flexibility. They were also able to remember the task over a six-month period. Lateralization had a significant influence on learning set acquisition but no effect on cognitive flexibility. The final study evaluated the relationship between personality dimensions and abnormal behaviors under different housing conditions. After being reared in an enriched environment, the parrots' enrichments were removed for 20 weeks and were then replaced for an additional 20 weeks. Personality not only played a role in the severity of abnormal repetitive behaviors, but different aspects of personality were related to distinct forms of abnormal behavior. More neurotic parrots had worse feather condition across the housing periods, while more extraverted birds developed fewer stereotypies during the deprivation period and had lower levels of these behaviors after re-enrichment. The studies in this dissertation are a starting point for understanding the factors that render certain individuals more or less susceptible to environmental stress and abnormal behavior development in captivity. In addition to contributing to the basic scientific understanding of personality, and of cognitive function in Neotropical parrot species, the work has important applied implications. The methods used in these studies have promise as tools for assessing the psychological well being of captive animals.
