My research interests are in the area of learning, memory and comparative cognition. Recent research has focused primarily on the mechanisms and processes of short-term retention in pigeons. One question of interest is whether the short-term retention system in pigeons is better characterized as automatic or controlled. We have addressed this question primarily through studies in which we have attempted to gain control over the act of remembering. That is, to-be-remembered information is followed by cues to either remember or forget that information. We have found that cues to forget function to terminate a process (rehearsal?) necessary to the act of remembering, a phenomenon known as "directed forgetting". The occurrence of directed forgetting suggests that the information processing system in pigeons is characterized by flexible, controlled processes. Additional work on this problem involves an attempt to specify further (a) the conditions necessary and sufficient to establish effective cues to forget and (b) the mechanism through which such cues influence retention. We are also investigating the extent to which processes of coding are flexible, controlled processes. To answer this question, we are varying various aspects of the matching task (e.g., type of assessment task, sample-to-comparison mapping arrangement) and assessing the form of coding employed. Our results suggest that coding processes are flexible and controlled. Further research in this area is focused on identifying critical features of tasks which determine the form of coding.

The laboratory is completely computerized and permits eight pigeons to be tested concurrently. The day-to-day care and maintenance of the pigeon colony is provided by paid technicians. A research assistant conducts the experimental sessions and handles data collection five days per week. Graduate and/or undergraduate students typically assume these duties on one of the weekend days.