Gail B. Peterson Associate Professor S223 Elliott, (612) 625-2863 peter004@umn.edu Education Ph.D., 1972, Indiana University

Statement of Interests

Gail Peterson obtained his Ph.D. at Indiana University, and then taught at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, for a year before joining the University of Minnesota faculty in 1973. His area of expertise is behavioral psychology, with special interests in applied behavior analysis, animal behavior, and biological and evolutionary psychology, as well as the history of psychology and philosophy of science. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Professor Peterson teaches courses at all levels of the curriculum, but is principally committed to undergraduate offerings. He is a recipient of the Walter D. Mink Undergraduate Teacher Award from the Minnesota Psychological Association, the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Teacher Award, and the prestigious Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. He is a member of the selective University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He has served as the Department of Psychology's Director of Undergraduate Studies for several years and was also heavily involved in the general administrative leadership of the department from 1984 to 1996, serving as Assistant Chair, Associate Chair, and Chair during that period. He has been extensively involved in a variety of administrative service and governance functions at the College and University levels, having been elected, for example, to the CLA Assembly and the University Senate.

Originally a basic-mechanisms animal laboratory researcher, Professor Peterson now focuses his attention instead on translational work, i.e., extending basic behavioral science findings and principles to the solution of practical problems in both human and animal behavior. For example, over the past several years he has collaborated with licensed community service agencies to provide an undergraduate internship program in support of in-the-home, science-based behavior therapy and educational programming for young children in the area who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. He takes seriously the basic concept and distinctive mission of a Land Grant institution.

Raised on a farm in south central Minnesota near the town of New Ulm, the love of animals and outdoor life he acquired there is reflected in his pastimes and hobbies. He is an avid fancier of Birmingham Rollers, a variety of pigeons bred for their high flying and aerial acrobatic abilities. He also raises, trains, and shows purebred Siberian Huskies. He enjoys horseback riding, biking, canoeing, camping, cross-country skiing, dogsledding, and ballroom dancing. For quiet relaxation, he enjoys music and reading.

Representative Publications

Peterson, G. B., & Newman, F. L. (1970). Differential human eyelid conditioning as a function of the probability of reinforcement and CS similarity. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 85, 318-320.

Peterson, G. B., Ackil, J. E., Frommer, G. P., & Hearst, E. S. (1972). Conditioned approach and contact behavior toward signals for food or brain-stimulation reinforcement. Science, 177, 1009-1011.

Peterson, G. B. (1975). Response selection properties of food and brain stimulation reinforcers in rats. Physiology and Behavior, 14, 681-688.

Peterson, G. B., & Trapold, M. A. (1980). Effects of altering outcome expectancies on pigeons' delayed conditional discrimination performance. Learning and Motivation, 11, 267-288.

Peterson, G. B. (1984). How expectancies guide behavior. In H. L. Roitblat, T. G. Bever, & H. S. Terrace (Eds.) Animal Cognition: Proceedings of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Conference. Hillsdale, N. J.: Earlbaum Associates.

Peterson, G. B., Linwick, D. C., & Overmier, J. B. (1987). On the comparative efficacy of memories and expectancies as cues for choice behavior in pigeons. Learning and Motivation, 18, 1-20.

Peterson, G.B., Larsson, E.V., & Riedesel, K.L. (2003). A conceptual toolkit for intensive early behavioral intervention teachers. Journal of Behavioral Education, 12, 131-146.

Peterson, G.B. (2004). A day of great illumination: B.F. Skinner's discovery of shaping. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82, 317-328.