Sv. Budaev et Ay. Zhuikov, AVOIDANCE-LEARNING AND PERSONALITY IN THE GUPPY (POECILIA-RETICULATA), Journal of comparative psychology, 112(1), 1998, pp. 92-94
The authors examined the relationships between 2 ''personality'' dimen
sions (Approach and Fear Avoidance) and 2-way active avoidance learnin
g performance in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Contrary to expectat
ions (based on prior rodent studies), higher fearfulness facilitated b
oth earlier appearance and acquisition of the shuttlebox avoidance res
ponses, especially in the less exploratory and active fish. However, t
he overall maximum level of performance was not much affected by the 2
personality dimensions studied. Thus, the results emphasized the spec
ies-specific and interactional effect of fearfulness on the 2-way avoi
dance learning performance.