Jennifer Cunha

Jennifer Cunha
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis | IUPUI

Juris Doctor

About

10
Publications
3,547
Reads
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28
Citations
Introduction
I research symbol-representation communication in animals, including sound-text correspondence, text-based semantic processing skills, choice-symbol objects, and auditory-symbol vocabulary development. I also collaborate with researchers by designing symbol-representation training protocols for research projects. Do you have a parrot? Check out our learning enrichment program at www.parrotkindergarten.com

Publications

Publications (10)
Article
Full-text available
Symbolic representation acquisition is the complex cognitive process consisting of learning to use a symbol to stand for something else. A variety of non-human animals can engage in symbolic representation learning. One particularly complex form of symbol representation is the associations between orthographic symbols and speech sounds, known as gr...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Recent technological advances have made touchscreen devices more widely available for animal-computer interaction, but there is little consensus about methods for discrimination task training frameworks. Here we discuss the potential enrichment and communicative uses for touchscreen-based interactions as well as benefits and limitations of automate...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Research demonstrates that parrots are capable of high-level cognitive processing, including inference-by-exclusion, counting, music preference, symbol use, and abstract concept processing. Yet captive parrots also have high levels of stereotypy. Researchers have suggested that enhanced enrichment can include non-traditional learning opportunities...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Augmentative and alternative communication devices (AACs) are designed to assist humans with complex communication needs. Recently, AAC use has been reported in non-human animals. Such tools may potentially provide enrichment and increase interspecies connection. However, there is no evaluation framework and little data available to assess AAC pote...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Reading is a cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning. Although it has been assumed to be a uniquely-human skill, there is evidence that other species, e.g., pigeons and baboons, can master some orthographic processing skills-discriminating written words from written nonword letter combinations. An Umbrella cockatoo has also demonstr...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning. It has been assumed that reading is a uniquely-human skill, although baboons and pigeons have been observed to successfully master orthographic processes. In this work, three cockatoos were trained with modified systematic phonics instruction on grapheme-phoneme correspon...

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