Posted September 30, 2019 in Monthly News

Living with Animals

From a poem by American poet, Walt Whitman:

     I think I could turn and live with animals,      they are so placid and self-contain’d,      I stand and look at them long and long.

     They do not sweat and whine about their condition,      They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,      They […]

Posted February 28, 2017 in Monthly News

The Skinner Box Called Life

Debra’s article this month, “Mohini,” provides an example of learned behavior. Having learned how much space she was allowed, Mohini remained within her learned limits, even when more space was available to her. Behavior is often developed—shaped—by environment. Humans demonstrate this every bit as much as tigers and other animals. B. F. Skinner was a […]

Posted March 8, 2015 in Monthly News

Communication Preferences

Although we rarely stop to think about the process of communication, it may be the single most important influencer of behavior. Humans aren’t the only species that communicates of course, nor are we the only species that uses language. For most of human history, we have assumed that we are the only ones who have […]