Michelle Becker

Michelle L. Becker
Department of Psychology 
Campus Box 526400 
The University of Memphis 
Memphis, Tennessee, 38152-6400 
USA 
E-mail: bushbaby@bellsouth.net

background
Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1991. 
I gained my first exposure to primate research, working with Golden Lion Tamarins. 

Master of Science from Northeast Louisiana University, 1995. 
Thesis: Changes in the Siamang Duet Following Dispersal of an Offspring. 

Currently working toward my PhD in Psychology, under the supervision of Jeannette P. Ward, with an emphasis on Comparative and Experimental Psychology. 

current project
Focus on the vocalisations and associated social contexts in captive Otolemur garnettii. Social contexts include mother-infant interactions, sex behaviour, and reintroduction of familiar pairs and introduction of unfamiliar pairs. In a collaborative effort, we are also investigating the vocal tract mechanisms responsible for vocalisation with Dr. Joel Kahane, and we are looking at the sequential aspects of vocalisation and behaviour with Dr. Eugene Buder, both from the School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the University of Memphis.

publications
Becker, M. L., Watson, S. L., Ward, J. P. (1999). Mirror-directed social behaviors of Garnett's Greater Bushbaby (Otolemur garnettii). International Journal of Primatology, 20(5), 633-650.

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