Irene Pepperberg

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Irene Pepperberg
Born
Irene Maxine Platzblatt

(1949-04-01) April 1, 1949 (age 75)
Brooklyn, New York
Education
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science (1969)
  • Harvard University (1971)
Years active1977-present
Known forStudy of animal cognition

Irene Maxine Pepperberg (born April 1, 1949) is an American scientist noted for her studies in

METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence). She is well known for her comparative studies into the cognitive fundamentals of language and communication, and she was one of the first to work on language learning in animals other than primate species (exemplified by the Washoe project), by extension to a bird species. Pepperberg is also active in wildlife conservation
, especially in relation to parrots.

Early life, family and education

Born in 1949 as Irene Platzblatt in

budgies.[2]

She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969,[1] and brought one of her budgies there with her. She subsequently earned a master's degree in Chemistry in 1971 at Harvard University, followed by a doctorate in Chemical Physics in 1976 at Harvard.[1] During her doctoral program, she saw an episode of the PBS TV series Nova about animals and language, which influenced her to focus on that instead of chemistry.[4]

Work history

Pepperberg has been a researcher, lecturer and adjunct or visiting professor at multiple universities. She was a research associate and lecturer at Purdue University (1979–1984) and Harvard University (in the 1970s and since 2005). At the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2004–2005) and an adjunct associate professor at Brandeis University (2002[4]–2013),[1] where its bird laboratory was named for her.[5]

Research work

Although parrots have long been known for their capacities in vocal mimicry, Pepperberg set out to show that their vocal behavior could have the characteristics of human language. She worked intensively with a single grey parrot, Alex,[3][6] and reported that he acquired a large vocabulary and used it in a sophisticated way, which is often described as similar to that of a four-year-old child.[7] Alex could understand labels to describe objects, colors, shapes, and materials.[8] Pepperberg and her colleagues sought to show that Alex could differentiate meaning and syntax, so that his use of vocal communication was unlike the relatively inflexible forms of "instinctive" communication that are widespread in the animal kingdom. Although such results are always likely to be controversial, and working intensively with a single animal always incurs the risk of Clever Hans effects, Pepperberg's work has strengthened the argument that humans do not hold the monopoly on the complex or semi-complex use of abstract communication. With interspecies communication, Pepperberg speculated that grey parrots are comparable to primates, having similar social systems.[7]

Some researchers believe [9] that the training method that Pepperberg used with Alex, (called the model/rival technique)[4] holds promise for teaching autistic and other learning-disabled children who have difficulty learning language and communication skills, numerical concepts and empathy.[10][11] When some autistic children were taught using the same methods Pepperberg devised to teach parrots, their response exceeded expectations.[10]

From work with the single subject Alex, Pepperberg and her colleagues have gone on to study additional

necropsy revealed no discernible cause of death.[12]

Model/rival technique

The model/rival technique involves two trainers, one to give instructions, and one to model correct and incorrect responses and to act as the student's rival for the trainer's attention; the model and trainer also exchange roles so that the student sees that the process is fully interactive. The parrot, in the role of student, tries to reproduce the correct behavior.[13]

The use of this model/rival technique resulted in Alex identifying objects by color, shape, number and material at about the level of chimpanzees and dolphins. His language abilities were equivalent to those of a 2-year-old child and he had the problem solving skills of a 5-year-old. Alex was learning the alphabet, had a vocabulary of 150 words, knew the names of 50 objects and could count up to eight when he died. He could also answer questions about objects.[14]

Pepperberg countered critics' claims that Alex had been taught a script by explaining that the controls and tests she used made it impossible for him simply to recite words when she asked questions. The

Clever Hans effect did not apply, she argued, as Alex would talk to anyone, not just to her.[2] Building on Pepperberg's research, cognitive scientist Michael Trestman has argued that scaffolding and modeling, both approaches that the model/rival technique utilizes, can account for the cognitive evolution in humans, including "language, advanced social cognition, and elaborate forms of tool craft."[15]

Pepperberg's implementation of the model rival technique has been used to successfully train several other parrots, such as Apollo.[16]

The Alex Foundation

Pepperberg is president of The Alex Foundation, a not-for-profit

501(c)(3) organization,[17] which she started. The foundation supports Pepperberg and her team's research. In a 2006 interview, Pepperberg said that the foundation was her only funding source, having lost her paid research position due to a funding crunch at MIT's Media Lab,[18] although the reporter of that interview does not mention her research associate position at Harvard University since 2005.[1] The Alex Foundation raises money through donations, from direct sale of parrot-related gifts, and indirectly from sales through sponsoring businesses.[19]

AI research

Some researchers have suggested that studying avian cognition might allow a useful

corvid level complexity brain would be adequate such as for image sorting. In recent years it was found that pigeons could sort CT scan data as well as microscope slides with equal or better accuracy than a human expert with only weeks of behavioral training needed.[20][21]

Personal life

Pepperberg was married for more than twenty years to David Pepperberg, a neuroscientist.[2] They divorced in 1997.[6][2]

Awards and honors

Works

  • The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots by Irene Maxine Pepperberg.
    ISBN 0-674-00806-5
    .
  • Animal Cognition in Nature: The Convergence of Psychology and Biology in Laboratory and Field by Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, A. C. Kamil.
    ISBN 0-12-077030-X
    .
  • Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, by Irene M. Pepperberg
    ISBN 978-0061673986
  • Beyond Words, by Laura Maria Censabella. Drama inspired by the life story of Irene Pepperberg and Alex. World premiere directed by Cassie Chapados at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in March 2024.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Dr. Irene Pepperberg". The Alex Foundation. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "What's in a Bird's Brain?". The New Yorker. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  3. ^ a b Pepperberg, Irene M. (2008). Alex & Me. HarperCollins.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Profile: Irene Pepperberg & Alex Clip". Nova. Season 5, Episode 4. PBS. 9 February 2011 – via PBS.org.
  5. ^ a b "Alex the African Grey parrot". Brandeis.edu. Brandeis University. September 10, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Royte, Elizabeth (November 7, 2008). "The Caged Bird Speaks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Pepperberg, I. (2002). Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(3), 83-87.
  8. ^ Pepperberg, Irene. "Alex". The Alex Foundation. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  9. ISBN 978-0-15-603144-8
    .
  10. ^
    S2CID 40103687
    .
  11. doi:10.1044/aac17.4.144
    .
  12. ^ "Alex the African Grey parrot and subject of landmark studies of bird intelligence dies at 31". alexfoundation.org. The Alex Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03.
  13. Science Daily
    . July 11, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Alex the African Grey". The Economist. September 20, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-19. Science's best known parrot died on September 6th, aged 31
  15. S2CID 86461282
    .
  16. ^ ApolloandFrens (2021-10-14). "ApolloandFrens Channel Description". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  17. ^ The Alex Foundation Inc., Nonprofit Organization Lookup, Melissa DATA Corp. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  18. ^ "Friday Grey Matters: Irene Pepperberg Interview!" Archived 2008-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, by Shelley Batts, December 8, 2006, ScienceBlogs. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  19. ^ "Support Us". alexfoundation.org. The Alex Foundation. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Pigeons Trained to Spot Cancer". iflscience.com. 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  21. PMID 26581091
    .
  22. ^ "Beyond Words". Central Square Theater. Retrieved 2024-03-31.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irene_Pepperberg&oldid=1218013893"