engage more in colony defence and prey capture, while others are docile and engage more in brood care. Groups containing both these two different personalities have better fitness than groups of only one personality type. This is because aggressive females are more efficient at foraging, web construction and defence, while docile females are better at raising the young. When groups contain a mix of both personalities, overall group performance is improved benefiting all group members. In the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola individuals differ in their boldness, with bolder individuals having a greater risk appetite. Boldness changes were found to relate to social interactions with nest mates, indicating that individual personality is more plastic in groups. Criticism Many researchers are critical of the lack of consistency in the terminology surrounding animal personality. For example, temperament, behavioural syndrome, disposition and animal personality have been used interchangeably by some while others maintain that each term has a unique meaning. Additionally, there is some concern that researchers may be misinterpreting the relationship between personality and behavioural plasticity. Behavioural ecologist Niels Dingemanse illustrates that one could erroneously determine that variation in behaviour between individuals exists if the subjects have not been examined across a gradient of ecological contexts, and urges fellow researchers to apply behavioural reaction norms whenever possible. In addition, because of critical anthropomorphism, ethology, and comparative psychology are relatively unknown concepts to the layman, there are critics that question the validity in the claim that animals have a personality schema. There are those that fear that, while assessing behaviors, researchers will project anthropomorphic ratings onto the animals. References Personality Ethology Anthropomorphism Personality