AVOIDANCE-LEARNING AND PERSONALITY IN THE GUPPY (POECILIA-RETICULATA)

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.