TCU College of Science & Engineering | Department of Psychology

Programs

Graduate Program in Experimental Psychology Major in Psychology Minor in Psychology Major in Neuroscience Major in Child Development Minor in Child Development Minor in Psychology of Leadership Course and Calendar Information (via TCU Registrar)

Research

Attitudes Research Laboratory Behavioral Neuroscience Center for Applied Psychology Institute of Behavioral Research Institute of Child Development Perceptual Dynamics Laboratory

About Our Department

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Kenneth Leising

Department of Psychology

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX 76129

telephone: (817)-257-6436

email: k.j.leising@tcu.edu

I study the ability of human and non-human animals to encode, store, and retrieve from memory the information (e.g., temporal, spatial, and causal) necessary for them to successfully navigate the world and obtain biological necessities. My research studies these processes from within an associative
learning perspective, which predicts integration and competition among the objects that control behavior. Associative learning has long since been thought to be important for learning the predictive relationship between pairings of an object (e.g., a bell) and a reinforcer (e.g., food), but only recently has evidence emerged to indicate that much more (e.g., temporal, spatial, and causal information) can be learned from these seemingly simple pairings. For example, when several landmarks surrounding a feeding site are introduced in a piecemeal fashion (A-B, A-C) with a common element (A) they can be integrated in memory to generate novel inferences (i.e., B-C) that control search behavior. My research uses Pavlovian and instrumental procedures to study the content of representations formed during learning and how these representations influence future responses (e.g., timing, location, and magnitude). With regards to the content of memory, my research has found evidence to support the acquisition of spatial (where), temporal (when), and causal (how) information during associative procedures.

Selected Publications:

Leising, K. J., & Blaisdell, A. P. (2009). Associative basis of landmark learning and integration in vertebrates. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 4, 80-102.

Leising, K. J., Wong, J., Waldmann, M. R., & Blaisdell, A. P. (2008). The special status of actions in causal reasoning in rats. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 37(3), 514-527.

Leising, K. J., Sawa, K., & Blaisdell, A. P. (2007). Temporal integration in Pavlovian appetitive conditioning in rats. Learning & Behavior, 31 (1),11-18.

Blaisdell, A. P., Sawa, K., Leising, K. J., & Waldmann, M. R. (2006). Causal reasoning in rats. Science, 311, 1020-1022.

Sawa, K., Leising, K. J., & Blaisdell, A. P. (2005). Sensory-preconditioning in spatial learning using a touchscreen task in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior, 31 (3), 368-375.