Matthew H. Babb

Georgia State University
Language Research Center

Education

B.S. Biology – University of North Carolina

M.A. Psychology – Georgia State University

How do animals make decisions?

I am a current Ph.D. student at Georgia State University and a graduate researcher at the Language Research Center. I am broadly interested in how animals make decisions within more socially relevant contexts. My specific interests include understanding prosocial behavior, how non-human animals react to unequal outcomes, how these behaviors influence decision-making, and the relationship that hormones have to all of these topics. In the past, I have worked on a range of species including, tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). 

 

In addition to my research, I am proficient in both Python and R programming languages and have a wealth of knowledge on GLMM statistical models. If you are interested in using any of my programs or apparatus designs in your research, check out my coding and design pages.

I will end on a highly personal note. The wisest decision I ever made with regard to science, I made as a child. In the summer of 1932, shortly after my thirteenth birthday, I decided to become a zoologist, because I thought it would be fascinating to visit distant parts of the world and study exotic animals. 

I was right. It has been. 

– George A. Bartholomew (2005) p. 332