Weather

Dr. Meredith J. West

Professor of Psychology and Biology
Class of '71 Chancellor's Professor
Director of Graduate Studies

Contact Information

Office: PY 348
Office Phone: 812-855-9597
Lab: Animal Behavior Farm
Lab Phone:812-855-1297
E-mail:

Web site: The Animal Behavior Farm

Educational Background

1975 - Ph.D., Psychology, Cornell University
1968 - B.S., Psychology, Tufts University

Areas of Study

Biology, Behavior, and Neuroscience
Animal Behavior

Research Topics

Naturally-occurring forms of early experience such as play, exploration, and social dynamics
Development of communication and social behavior
Development of parental behavior
Inheritance of environments

Representative Publications

In Press - West, King, White, Gros-Louis & Freed-Brown - The development of local song preferences in female cowbirds (Molothrus ater): Flock living stimulates learning. Ethology.

2005 - King, West, Goldstein. Nonvocal shaping of avian song development: Parallels to human speech development. Ethology, 111, 101-117.

2003 - West, King, White. The case for developmental ecology. Animal Behavior, 66, 617-622.

2003 - King, West, White. Female cowbird song perception: Evidence for plasticity of preference. Ethology, 109, 1-13.

2003 - Goldstein, King, West. Social interaction shapes babbling: testing parallels between birdsong and speech. PNAS, Vol. 100, no. 13.

2003 - King, White & West. Female proximity stimulates development of male competition in juvenile brown-headed cowbirds, (Molothrus ater). Animal Behaviour, 66, 817-828.