What’s tall and pink and stands on one leg? A flamingo, of course. Everyone knows what flamingos are, but not many people, scientists included, have thought much about the real creatures behind the plastic lawn ornaments. “There’s not a lot of empirical research out there on the flamingo,” said Matthew Anderson, Ph.D., a behavioral psychologist and an assistant professor of psychology. “No one really knows why, for instance, they stand on one leg. It’s kind of hard to believe.” Anderson owes his fascination with flamingos in part to his toddler daughter, who decided after a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo that flamingos were her favorite animal. In an effort to educate them both about the birds, Anderson did some research and quickly found that many of his questions had never been scientifically answered. Curiosity piqued, Anderson and senior psychology major Sarah Williams (Audubon, N.J.), set to work last summer to uncover more about the unusual tropical birds. They tested several hypotheses to solve the one-leg flamingo enigma in a project made possible by the University’s Summer Scholars program, through which students and faculty collaborate on research. Anderson and Williams, along with senior psychology major Edward O’Brien (Cherry Hill, N.J.), had made a first discovery about flamingos in fall 2007 when they determined that the birds, while resting, have a personal
NEWS
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MATTHEW ANDERSON, PH.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
Anderson
preference for curving their necks in one direction over the other. Their research was recently published in the journal Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. Anderson says he enjoys working with SJU students in research settings. “Fostering intellectual curiosity in the lab (and at the zoo) is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” he said. Anderson’s academic focus is primarily on animal learning and behavioral processes, as he and his students continue to add to research on flamingos and other animals. He has published widely on cognition, memory, and curiosity in animals and he hopes to gain further insight into general behavior in many species, including humans. Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Susquehanna University and master’s and doctoral degrees in experimental psychology at Kent State. — Kelly Welsh ’05 (M.A.)
AFRICAN PEACEMAKER SPEAKS ON CAMPUS Sr. Pauline Silver Acayo, a peace officer working in Uganda for Catholic Relief Services, visited Saint Joseph’s last fall to discuss the conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group in Africa. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice in San Diego chose Sr. Acayo as one of the Women Peacemakers of the Year in 2005. She also received a certificate of recognition in 2006 for her peace-building work from the New York-based Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.
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