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PloS one2011; 6(2); e14659; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014659

Does work affect personality? A study in horses.

Abstract: It has been repeatedly hypothesized that job characteristics are related to changes in personality in humans, but often personality models still omit effects of life experience. Demonstrating reciprocal relationships between personality and work remains a challenge though, as in humans, many other influential factors may interfere. This study investigates this relationship by comparing the emotional reactivity of horses that differed only by their type of work. Horses are remarkable animal models to investigate this question as they share with humans working activities and their potential difficulties, such as "interpersonal" conflicts or "suppressed emotions". An earlier study showed that different types of work could be associated with different chronic behavioural disorders. Here, we hypothesised that type of work would affect horses' personality. Therefore over one hundred adult horses, differing only by their work characteristics were presented standardised behavioural tests. Subjects lived under the same conditions (same housing, same food), were of the same sex (geldings), and mostly one of two breeds, and had not been genetically selected for their current type of work. This is to our knowledge the first time that a direct relationship between type of work and personality traits has been investigated. Our results show that horses from different types of work differ not as much in their overall emotional levels as in the ways they express emotions (i.e. behavioural profile). Extremes were dressage horses, which presented the highest excitation components, and voltige horses, which were the quietest. The horses' type of work was decided by the stall managers, mostly on their jumping abilities, but unconscious choice based on individual behavioural characteristics cannot be totally excluded. Further research would require manipulating type of work. Our results nevertheless agree with reports on humans and suggest that more attention should be given to work characteristics when evaluating personalities.
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Publication Date: 2011-02-09 PubMed ID: 21347405PubMed Central: PMC3036583DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014659Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article discusses a study carried out to determine if the type of work a horse does influences its personality. The study involved observing over a hundred horses that had similar backgrounds but different types of work, investigating potential changes in their emotional reactivity as a result of different work types.

Objective of the Research

  • The main goal of the study was to understand the relationship between work and personality, specifically investigating if the type of work affects the personality in horses. This research works off the hypothesis that job characteristics can lead to personality changes, a theory that also extends to human psychology.

Methodology

  • The research was conducted on over a hundred adult male horses (geldings). The horses had similar living conditions in terms of housing and food.
  • They were either of two breeds and were not genetically selected for their type of work, hence eliminating genetic factors from the series of influences on their personality.
  • To measure the impact of the different types of work on horses’ personality, standardised behavioural tests were conducted.

Findings

  • The study revealed that horses involved in different types of work expressed emotions differently, contributing to diversified personality traits.
  • Interestingly, the type of work did not significantly affect overall emotional levels, but it did affect the ways in which those emotions were expressed.
  • Dressage horses, for example, showed the highest levels of excitation, whereas voltige horses were the quietest.
  • On another note, the study suggested that the horses’ work types, which were largely chosen based on their jumping abilities, may also inadvertently incorporate a selection based on individual behavioural characteristics.

Implication of the Research

  • The study highlights that work characteristics may have a significant influence on the personality of beings, shedding light on a largely unexplored research area.
  • While the research needs further exploration on the way work type is manipulated, the findings are in line with some reports on humans.
  • This suggests that attention should be given not only to the nature of the work, but also to the personalities of those undertaking it, whether they are human or equine.

Cite This Article

APA
Hausberger M, Muller C, Lunel C. (2011). Does work affect personality? A study in horses. PLoS One, 6(2), e14659. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014659

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 6
Issue: 2
Pages: e14659
PII: e14659

Researcher Affiliations

Hausberger, Martine
  • Université de Rennes 1, UMR 6552 Ethologie Animale et Humaine, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France. martine.hausberger@univ-rennes1.fr
Muller, Christine
    Lunel, Christophe

      MeSH Terms

      • Animal Feed
      • Animals
      • Behavior, Animal
      • Female
      • Horses / psychology
      • Housing, Animal
      • Humans
      • Male
      • Models, Animal
      • Personality
      • Work / psychology

      Conflict of Interest Statement

      The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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      Citations

      This article has been cited 18 times.
      1. Rochais C, Lerch N, Gueguen L, Schmidlin M, Bonamy O, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M. Horses' Tactile Reactivity Differs According to the Type of Work: The Example of Equine-Assisted Intervention. Vet Sci 2023 Feb 7;10(2).
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      2. Rochais C, Stomp M, Sébilleau M, Houdebine M, Henry S, Hausberger M. Horses' attentional characteristics differ according to the type of work. PLoS One 2022;17(7):e0269974.
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        doi: 10.3390/ani11092533pubmed: 34573500google scholar: lookup
      4. Mendonça T, Bienboire-Frosini C, Kowalczyk I, Leclercq J, Arroub S, Pageat P. Equine Activities Influence Horses' Responses to Different Stimuli: Could This Have an Impact on Equine Welfare?. Animals (Basel) 2019 May 29;9(6).
        doi: 10.3390/ani9060290pubmed: 31146422google scholar: lookup
      5. Sénèque E, Lesimple C, Morisset S, Hausberger M. Could posture reflect welfare state? A study using geometric morphometrics in riding school horses. PLoS One 2019;14(2):e0211852.
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