•  46
    Developmental ecology: Platform for designing a communication system
    with Meredith West and Gregory Kohn
    Interaction Studies 12 (2): 351-371. 2011.
    In this article we provide a case history of the development of a communicative system in songbirds. In particular, we explore how brown-headed cowbirds, male and female, cooperate in the development and use of species-typical song. The goal is to show how social interactions between and within sexes create a platform for the production and perception of song. We consider six perspectives. First, we discuss the nature of the acoustic signal. Second, we look at the process of song learning. Third…Read more
  •  75
    Deconstructing innate illusions: Reflections on nature-nurture-niche from an unlikely source
    with Meredith J. West
    Philosophical Psychology 21 (3). 2008.
    Despite great advances in understanding genetic mechanisms, there still exists a bias toward equating genes with innate modules that determine important developmental events. But genes are equally relevant to understanding developmental plasticity shaped by ecological events. In other words, the term 'genetic inheritance' does not specify ontogenetic mechanisms. Here we present a case history of a species assumed to be under the control of prespecified genetic wiring to direct critical behaviora…Read more