Early Indications: As an undergraduate I was attracted to experimental psychology, because it seemed to provide a scientific approach to understanding animal and human behavior.
Pivotal Papers: There were two; one in each area that has turned out to be a focus of the lab. "Crouching as an Index of Fear" (J Comp Physiol Psychol, 67:370-5, 1969) raised the heretical specter of a powerful unconditioned fear response and also provided a neat demonstration of rapid and potent context conditioning. "Aggressive Behavior in the Rat" (Behav Biol, 21:197-224, 1977) introduced the notions of offensive and defensive strategies in conspecific fighting. We had a lot of trouble getting it published, which is often a good sign.
Mentors of Merit: Judson Brown, at Iowa, was an inspiration because he loved what he was doing. Bob Bolles' approach was more useful, although I met him only a couple of times. My real mentor, and ...
