I currently have two main areas of interest, both centered around animal cognition and linked by the idea that it is possible to use theories and models developed for research on humans to gain insight into animals.  I have found that many ideas based on humans appear to be easily modified to create testable hypotheses for animal research, and that this type of methodological approach not only minimizes the need to “reinvent the wheel”, but also   strengthens the our understanding of evolutionary relationships between animals and humans. 

The focus of my dissertation research (with Dr. Curt Burgess, a psycholinguist in the Psychology and Neuroscience departments at the University of California, Riverside) was syntax and semantics in animal vocalizations.  Dr. Burgess has developed a computer model, Hyperspace Analog to Language (HAL), which is used to detect global co-occurrence in language (for example, the idea that “street” and “road” mean the same thing, but don’t occur in the same sentence; they are essentially substitutable within context).  I am using HAL to examine animal vocal communication for evidence of this type of contextual organization, the existence of which would be compelling evidence for a high degree of cognitive capability.  My dissertation dealt with 3 specific areas—humpback whale song, the speech of an African Gray Parrot, and the ultrasonic courtship songs of male mice bred as a model for Fragile X syndrome in humans.  My research in all three of these areas is ongoing.

Additionally, I am interested in innovation in animals. My husband studies creativity in people, and we have brought together ideas from both of our fields to create a framework within which animal innovations can be studied.  Secondary to this, we have identified (via literature review) distinct neurological structures which correspond to levels in our framework.  I am also interested in how current methodologies in both creativity research and psychological research in general, such as consensual assessment or inter-observer reliability, can be applied to observational studies of animal behavior.

I am currently an adjunct professor at California State University, San Bernardino

Allison's Vita	Allison B. Kaufman California State University, San Bernardino 5500 University Parkway San Bernardino, CA 92407 (909) 537-3841                               akaufman@csusb.edu