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Coping styles and behavioural flexibility: towards underlying mechanisms
Open accessAbstract
A coping style (also termed behavioural syndrome or personality) is defined as a correlated set of individual behavioural and physiological characteristics that is consistent over time and across situations. This relatively stable trait is a fundamental and adaptively significant phenomenon in the biology of a broad range of species, i.e. it confers differential fitness consequences under divergent environmental conditions. Behavioural flexibility appears to be an important underlying attribute or feature of the coping style that might explain consistency across situations. Proactive coping is characterized by low flexibility expressed as rather rigid, routine-like behavioural tendencies and reduced impulse control (behavioural inhibition) in operant conditioning paradigms. This article summarizes some of the evidence that individual differentiation in behavioural flexibility emerges as a function of underlying variability in the activation of a brain circuitry that includes the prefrontal cortex and its key neurochemical signalling pathways (e.g. dopaminergic and serotonergic input). We argue that the multidimensional nature of animal personality and the terminology used for the various dimensions should reflect the differential pattern of activation of the underlying neuronal network and the behavioural control function of its components. Accordingly, unravelling the molecular mechanisms that give rise to individual differences in the coping style will be an important topic in biobehavioural neurosciences, ecology and evolutionary biology.
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“, behavioral syndrome or coping style (Koolhaas et al., 1999; Coppens et al., 2010).”
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BackgroundNogues, E., Weary, D. M., & von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. (2023) · Journal of Dairy Science · doi:10.3168/jds.2023-23553 · Cited by 14
“Proactive individuals tend to be less flexible in their behavior, while reactive individuals cope better with changes in their social or physical environment (Coppens et al., 2010).”
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“This is in line with previous work showing that more active and explorative animals tend to perform better under variable or unpredictable conditions (Carere et al., 2010; Coppens et al., 2010; Koolhaas et al., 2010).”
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“When confronted to a challenging situation, such as a physical restraint, proactive individuals tend to respond with a strong sympathetic activation and increase in noradrenergic stimulation, resulting in a general fight-or-flight behavioural response (e.g. Carere et al., 2010; Koolhaas et al., 2010; Coppens et al., 2…”
BackgroundExperimental manipulation of monoamine levels alters personality in crickets
Abbey-Lee, R. N., Uhrig, E. J., Garnham, L., Lundgren, K. A., Child, S., & Løvlie, H. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34519-z · Cited by 14
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“…23 July 2021 Behavioural Processes 191 (2021) 104464 there is considerable variation in the extent that individuals can adjust their behaviour (Coppens et al., 2010; Dougherty and Guillette, 2018; Sih and Del Giudice, 2012) and some individuals do not adjust their behaviour irrespective of…”
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“…contexts if individual reaction norm slopes are consistent across different environmental axes (e.g., Cornwell et al. 2019), as expected if common physiological or cognitive machineries underpin plasticity in multiple contexts (Coppens et al. 2010; Dingemanse and Wolf 2013; Stamps 2016).”
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“However, our results add to the growing literature on consistent behaviours and its complex interplay with physiological stress that help individuals to cope with the unpredictable environments in which they live (Coppens et al. 2010).”
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Behavioral, physiological, and genetic drivers of coping in a non-human primate
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“By releasing glucocorticoids, the HPA axis affects a wide spectrum of an organism’s functions, such as metabolism, energy mobilization, immune system, behavior and gene expression (Bonier et al., 2011; Coppens et al., 2010; Phuc Le et al., 2005; Schmid et al., 2013;Wingfield and Ramenofsky, 1999), and hence helps the…”
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Reactive stress-coping styles show more variable reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes
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“One important variable that can be used to assess behavioral flexibility is exploratory behavior (Coppens et al. 2010).”
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Martín-González, E., Olmedo-Córdoba, M., Prados-Pardo, Á., Cruz-Garzón, D. J., Flores, P., Mora, S., & Moreno, M. (2022) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105170 · Cited by 12
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Finkemeier, M., Krause, A., Tuchscherer, A., Puppe, B., & Langbein, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.916459 · Cited by 11
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“…of the joystick task could also be used to complement previous analyses of cognitive and behavioral flexibility, which have used task/set switching tasks, or discrimination and reversal learning paradigms (e.g., Floresco et al., 2006; Block et al., 2007; Coppens et al., 2010; Richter et al., 2014).”
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“, singing) would be required (Bell, 2007; Coppens et al., 2010).”
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“Cognitive ability is often measured by the ability to reach a learning criterion, and cognitive flexibility is usually measured by the ability to reverse or inhibit a previously learned cue or task (Coppens et al. 2010; Griffin et al. 2015).”
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“Our results suggested that slow exploring individuals habituated faster compared with fast exploring juveniles, which fits within the general idea that fast exploring individuals are less flexible compared with slow individuals (Coppens et al. 2010).”
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“…coping style, in which they do not track environmental changes but modify their reproduction based on internal routines; slower types have a more ‘reactive’ coping style and adaptively anticipate environmental conditions repeatedly (Coppens et al., 2010; Duckworth, 2006; Nicolaus et al., 2015).”
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“Behavioural flexibility refers to the extent to which behaviour is influenced by environmental factors, and it is crucial for successful survival [1].”
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“These results are broadly suggestive of the proactive–reactive axis, a behavioral syndrome whereby ‘proactive’ individuals are characterized as bold, fast-exploring, and aggressive, while ‘reactive’ individuals are shy, slow-exploring, and non-aggressive (Koolhaas et al. 1999; Coppens et al. 2010).”
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Sheep's coping style can be identified by unsupervised machine learning from unlabeled data
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“and routines, whereas the behaviour of reactive individuals is guided by environmental input [10,11].”
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Williams, S. K., Barber, J. S., Jamieson‐Drake, A. W., Enns, J. A., Townsend, L. B., Walker, C. H., & Johns, J. M. (2012) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2826.2012.02291.x · Cited by 8
Joshi, S., & Pillay, N. (2016) · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2016.06.006 · Cited by 8
Štofík, J., Merganič, J., Merganičová, K., et al. (2016) · Polish Journal of Ecology · doi:10.3161/15052249pje2016.64.2.011 · Cited by 8
Animal Personality, the Study of Individual Behavioral Differences
Réale, D. J. F., & Montiglio, P. (2021) · doi:10.1002/9781119109556.ch13 · Cited by 8
Perceived stress and coping strategies used by undergraduate dental students: An observational study
Atif, S., Mustafa, N., & Ghafoor, S. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0318152 · Cited by 7
Imani, M., Lo, S., Fakour, H., Kuo, C., & Mobasser, S. (2021) · Atmosphere · doi:10.3390/atmos13010016 · Cited by 7
Estimating the repeatability of behavioral traits in Norduz sheep subjected to an arena test
Çakmakçı, C. (2022) · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105704 · Cited by 7
O'Brien, J. A., & Austin, P. J. (2024) · Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology · doi:10.1007/s11481-024-10132-y · Cited by 7
“…of the individual and their resulting behavioural flexibility; rats may be categorised as proactive or reactive in response to an external stressor (Coppens et al. 2010 ), and these rats have fundamental baseline changes in biological function across the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems…”
BackgroundBudaev, S. V., Mikheev, V. N., & Pavlov, D. S. (2015) · Biology Bulletin Reviews · doi:10.1134/s2079086415050023 · Cited by 7
“Research on mammals and birds (Kool haas et. al., 1999; Bakshi and Kalin, 2002; Coppens et al., 2010), and, to a lesser degree, on fish (Øverli et al., 2005), demonstrated that alternative strategies of coping are related to a multitude of neuroendocrine differences, as well as metabolism intensity.”
BackgroundWiese, A.-S., Needham, E. K., Noer, C. L., Balsby, T. J. S., Dabelsteen, T., & Pakkenberg, B. (2018) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-018-1606-4 · Cited by 7
“and that this may be unrelated to the level of fearfulness/shyness (Coppens et al. 2010).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialColchen, T., Gisbert, E., Ledoré, Y., et al. (2020) · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2020.104947 · Cited by 7
“, 2017), and result in individual behaviour changes (Coppens et al. 2010).”
BackgroundEsattore, B., Šlipogor, V., Saggiomo, L., & Seltmann, M. W. (2021) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104361 · Cited by 8
Linking the roles of personality and stress physiology for managing the welfare of captive big cats
Vaz, J., McElligott, A. G., & Narayan, E. J. (2022) · Animal Welfare · doi:10.7120/09627286.31.1.009 · Cited by 8
Pritchard, A. J., & Palombit, R. A. (2022) · American Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1002/ajp.23429 · Cited by 7
“…how individuals vary in social interactions (Capitanio, 1999); such a distinction between style and content parallels the distinction between coping styles (how individuals respond to a stressor) and stress reactivity (the magnitude of the response) (Coppens et al., 2010; Koolhaas et al., 1999).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPersonality-mediated speed-accuracy tradeoffs in mating in a 17-year periodical cicada
Roth, A. M., Kent, S. M., Hobson, E. A., Kritsky, G. R., & Nakagawa, S. (2022) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/arac082 · Cited by 7
Sbragaglia, V., Roy, T., Thörnqvist, P., et al. (2022) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/s00265-022-03258-7 · Cited by 7
“For example, brain serotonergic and dopaminergic systems have been suggested as key modulators of several behavioral traits (Coppens et al. 2010; Winberg and Thörnqvist 2016; Soares et al. 2018).”
BackgroundPeignier, M., Bégué, L., Ringler, M., Szabo, B., & Ringler, E. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-30546-7 · Cited by 5
Boldness predicts plasticity in flight responses to winds
Gillies, N., Weimerskirch, H., Thorley, J. B., et al. (2023) · Journal of Animal Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13968 · Cited by 7
Dzieweczynski, T. L., Sullivan, K. R., Forrette, L. M., et al. (2012) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.02017.x · Cited by 7
Janisse, K., Capelle, P. M., Heath, J. W., Dender, M. G. E., Heath, D. D., & Semeniuk, C. A. D. (2019) · Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences · doi:10.1139/cjfas-2018-0311 · Cited by 7
Barou‐Dagues, M., Hall, C. L., & Giraldeau, L. (2019) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.011 · Cited by 7
Garnham, L. C., Boddington, R., & Løvlie, H. (2022) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-022-01598-5 · Cited by 7
Predation Risk Reduces a Female Preference for Heterospecific Males in the Green Swordtail
Pilakouta, N., Correa, M. A., & Alonzo, S. H. (2016) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/eth.12573 · Cited by 7
“…plasticity among individuals has been a topic of increasing interest in recent years (Jennions & Petrie 1997; Wagner 1998; Wolf et al. 2008; Coppens et al. 2010; Dingemanse et al. 2010; Mathot Ethology 123 (2017) 95–104 © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH100 et al. 2011, 2012; Westneat et al.…”
BackgroundIncreased dietary 5-hydroxytryptophan reduces fearfulness in red junglefowl hens (Gallus gallus)
Lundgren, K. A., & Løvlie, H. (2023) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1213986 · Cited by 6
Aggression shapes the gut microbiome; a study in rats
Voulgari‐Kokota, A., Salles, J. F., & Schoemaker, R. G. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312423 · Cited by 6
“In the present study, the level of aggressive behavior towards an unfamiliar intruder in the territory of a resident rat was used as a measure of coping strategy [12, 15, 39].”
MethodHilgendorf, J., Lautrette-Quinveros, H., Chan, W. S., Puerto, O. D., Ge, J., Noort, K. J., Ronanki, S., Loureiro, S., Spurgeon, D., & Selck, H. (2025) · Environmental Sciences Europe · doi:10.1186/s12302-025-01292-6 · Cited by 6
Metadata
- Authors
- Coppens, C. M., de Boer, S. F., & Koolhaas, J. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Department of Behavioural Physiology, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands
- Venue
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-12-27
- Volume
- 365
- Issue
- 1560
- Pages
- 4021-4028
- ISSN
- 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-2970
- PMC
- PMC2992750
- OpenAlex
- W2136361247
- Semantic Scholar
- a728963ac55bd0a912d799a48dfeb94690ee6746
- Cited by
- 610
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 27.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (submittedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- coping styles, behavioral flexibility, animal personality, behavioral syndromes, proactive coping, behavioral inhibition, individual differences, prefrontal cortex, dopamine signaling, brain circuits
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Models, Neurological, Models, Psychological, Personality, Receptors, Dopamine, Reward, Prefrontal Cortex, Behavioral Research
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