B.A. Wisconsin, Ph.D. California, San Diego Honourary Research Professor

Office: SN1076

Phone: (709) 864-6771

Email: rita@play.psych.mun.ca Web: http://dogsbody.psych.mun.ca/cru/

Affiliations: Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology/Cognition

 

Research Interests

I retired in 2010 and am no longer available to supervise new graduate students. I have remained active in research as a Honourary Research Professor and continue to collaborate with colleagues and graduate students, mostly on canine-related research projects.

As a cognitive psychologist, I am interested in the cognition of human and nonhuman animals. With respect to human cognition, I have been intrigued by our ability to use mental imagery, especially to make discoveries and solve problems in the visual-spatial domain. For example, I and my students have investigated how the availability of perceptual support and being able to draw, working memory load, and the balance between the strategic and automatic processes involved in visual imagery influences how well people can use visual imagery to combine simple shapes to create novel, yet recognizable figures. We have also examined the influence of individual differences in visual imagery and cognitive development on performance in this mental synthesis task and other mental discovery tasks.

I also study cognitive aspects of communication and social behaviour in nonhuman animals, especially wolves (Canis lupus and C. rufus) and domestic dogs (C. familiaris). I and several of my students developed a motivationally-neutral coding system for use in the frame-by-frame coding of video tapes of social interactions between wolves (HYPERWOLF, v. 2.0, see reference below). HYPERWOLF has been used to examine the visual and postural cues diagnostic of adult wolf play and aggression. Other students have focused on the close-range squeaking vocalization of wolves. Because the wolf pack at the Canadian Centre for Wolf Research retired a number of years ago, my wolf research is now limited to analyses of archived videotape. Most recently, Carolyn Walsh and I and our students have initiated a research program investigating the social behaviors of domestic dogs.

Selected Canine Publications and Presentations

 

Weir, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (2011). Guest column: The zoosemiotic page:.Wolf matters. Semiotix XN-6. New Series. http://www.semioticon.com/semiotix/2011/10/the-zoosemiotic-page-wolf-matters/

Ottenheimer, L., Ricketts, C., Perry, E., Anderson, R. E. & Walsh, C. J. (2016, July). Breed group, but not oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism, is associated with owner-reported personality in dogs. Poster presented at the 4th Biennial Canine Science Forum, Padua Italy.

Ryan, M. G., Anderson, R. E., Storey, A. E. & Walsh, C. J. (2016, July). Evidence for synchronization of stress hormones in owners and dogs during the strange situation test. Poster presented at the 4th Biennial Canine Science Forum, Padua Italy.

Weir, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (2016, July). Comparing playful and aggressive interactions in pack-living captive wolves (Canis lupus). Poster presented at the 4th Biennial Canine Science Forum, Padua Italy.

Posluns, J., Anderson, R. E., & Walsh, C. J. (2014). Extraverts make new friends: Multiple indicators reflect successful interactions among unfamiliar dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 9, e10.

Walsh, C. J., Anderson, R. E., Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Penney, J. & Croucher, K. (2014). Canine salivary cortisol in frequent dog park visitors in predicted by individual differences in neuroticism (MCPQ-R). Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 9, e14.

Ottenheimer Carrier, L., Cyr, A., Anderson, R. E., & Walsh, C. J. (2013). Exploring the dog park: Relationships between social behaviours, personality and cortisol in companion dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 146, 96 – 106.

Weir, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (2011). Guest column: The zoosemiotic page: Wolf matters. Semiotix XN-6. New Series. http://www.semioticon.com/semiotix/2011/10/the-zoosemiotic-page-wolf-matters/

Schneider, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (2011). Tonal vocalizations in the red wolf (Canis rufus): Potential functions of nonlinear sound production. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 130, 2275 – 2284.

Dutton, E. E., Anderson, R. E. & Walsh, C. J. (2011). "Do I know you?" Does partner familiarity influence social interactions among dogs in a park setting? Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 6, 65.

Walsh, C. J., Howse, M., Green, C., Butler, L., & Anderson, R. E. (2011). "Stop that!": People interrupting dog behaviors in a dog park setting. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 6, 77.

Howse, M. S., Walsh, C. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2008, Aug). Exploring the normal behavior of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Poster presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Snowbird, UT.

Schneider, J. N., Weir, J. N., & Anderson, R. E. (2008, Aug). Life inside the wolf pack: Squeaking in red and gray wolves. Poster presented at the Second International Conference on Acoustic Communication by Animals, Corvallis, OR.

Anderson, R. E., Groves, M. F., Weir, J. N., Ryon, J., & Fentress, J. (2007, Aug). Close-range communication in wolves: Squeaking. Poster presented at the International Ethological Congress, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Schneider, J. N., Anderson, R. E., & Miller, E. H. (2006, May) Characteristics of nonlinear phenomena in the tonal vocalizations of a North American canid, Canis rufus. Paper presented at the 151st meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Providence, RI.

Anderson, R. E., Russell, J., White, J. & Weir, J. (2002). HYPERWOLF v. 2.0. A web-based motivationally-neutral, annotated coding system designed for the frame-by-frame video analysis of wolf social interactions, suitable for use by specialists in canid behaviour and others, such as veterinarians.

Weir, J. N. & Anderson, R. E. (1999, June). Individual and contextual variation in the squeaking vocalizations of wolves (Canis lupus). Poster: 37th Annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Lewisburg, PA.

Schenkel, R (1947/1999). A study on expression in wolves: Observations in captivity. Behaviour, 1, 81 - 129. [I commissioned and coordinated this new translation by U. Zuschlag & F. Morgenstern]

Selected Mental Imagery Papers and Presentations

Anderson, R. E., Healy, M. K., Arlett, C., & O’Keefe, C. (2003, Nov). Occurrence and consequences of AHA events in mental synthesis. Paper presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Vancouver, BC

Anderson, R. E. & Paterson, H. (2000, Nov.). Young children can use mental imagery productively. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, LA.

Anderson , R. E. (1999, July) Image reconstrual and mental synthesis: What is the difference? Paper presented at the 7th European Workshop on Imagery and Cognition, Windsor Great Park, England.

Anderson, R. E. (1998). Imagery and spatial representation. In W. Bechtel & G. Graham (Eds.), Companion to Cognitive Science (pp. 204 - 211). Oxford : Basil Blackwell.

Anderson, R. E. & Helstrup, T. (1993). Visual discovery in mind and on paper. Memory & Cognition, 21, 283 – 293.

B. Roskos-Ewoldsen, M. J. Intons-Peterson, & Anderson, R. E. (1993). Imagery, creativity and discovery: A cognitive perspective (Eds). Amsterdam: Elsevier.