Michael Brown, Ph.D.
Director, Graduate Programs in Psychology
Professor
Department of Psychology
Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Area of Expertise:
- Animal Cognition
- Animal Learning
- Spatial Learning and Cognition
Summary
Dr. Brown's research into spatial learning and memory in animals has revealed some interesting parallels to human learning, memory and behavior. His work provides a solid basis for stories on leading research in this field including social working memory, a phenomenon in which the observed behavior of one member of a group influences the behaviors of others. Spatial working memory, a mechanism that avoids redundant actions is another area of focus.
Education
- Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
- B.S., University of Michigan
Selected Publications
- Sturz, B.R., Brown, M.F., and Kelly, D.M. (in press), "Facilitation of learning spatial relations among locations by visual cues: Implications for theoretical accounts of spatial learning," Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, (2009).
- Brown, M.F., T.N., and Doyle, K.E. "Social effects on spatial choice in the radial arm maze," Learning and Behavior, 37, 269-280
- Brown, M.F. Farley, R.F. and Lorek, E.J., "Remembrance of places you passed: Social spatial working memory in rats," Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 33, 213-224.
- Brown, M.F., "Spatial patterns: Behavioral control and cognitive representation," book chapter in E.A. Wasserman and T.R. Zentall (Eds.) Comparative Cognition: Experimental Exploration of Animal Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Brown, M.F., "Abstracting spatial locations among global locations," book chapter in M. Brown and R.G. Cook (Eds.), Animal Spatial Cognition: Behavioral, Comparative, Computational & Neural Approaches [On-line]; available: www.comparativerecognition.org/asc, 2006.
Selected Professional Experience
- Associate Professor; Assistant Professor, Villanova University
Selected Research
- "Animal Behavior Program," National Science Foundation Grant, 2009.
- Development of Summer Course: "Research Experience in Animal Cognition," Villanova Institute for Teaching and Learning, 2006.
- "A Preliminary Investigation of Social Aspects of Spatial Memoray in Rates," Villanova University Faculty Summer Research Grants, 2005.
