Dorothy Fragaszy, PhD, is the chair of the Behavioral and Brain Sciences program and the director of the Primate Cognition and Behavior Laboratory at the University of Georgia.
She is also a co-director of the EthoCebus Project, together with colleagues from the Universidade de São Paulo and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
Dr. Fragaszy received her PhD from the University of California–Davis.
Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What is your most recent journal-editing experience?
I am a comparative psychologist with interests in learning, problem-solving, motor skills and instrumental activity in an inclusive sense.
I have primarily studied primates, particularly capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans. Most recently I have focused on the tool-using behavior of wild capuchin monkeys, but for most of my career I have worked with captive nonhuman primates.
I have served as an associate editor for the American Journal of Primatology and currently serve on the editorial board of Developmental Psychobiology and the advisory board of Primates.
This is my first position as the chief editor of a journal, and I am excited to take on that role for the Journal of Comparative Psychology.
Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, how will you grow readership, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract?
My main priorities are to make the journal a repository of the best research in the field, where readers can find forward-thinking, integrative articles that link comparative psychology to the broader disciplines of psychology and biology.
To this end, I would like to expand the list of what the journal publishes to include state-of-the-art reviews and conceptual essays. These changes are intended to broaden the interdisciplinary appeal and value of the journal.
I want authors to think of the Journal of Comparative Psychology first when considering where to publish their best work and to look for the latest developments in the field.
Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health? What are the hot issues in your area right now?
Comparative psychology links psychology with biology in its focus on behavioral diversity in biological context, and it links psychological studies of other animals with psychological studies of humans.
The Journal of Comparative Psychology stands out as uniquely placed within the field of psychology to link comparative studies with other areas of psychology. Comparative psychologists are positioned to provide theoretically and empirically grounded information and ideas to guide our colleagues in other areas of psychology in their application of evolutionary theory to their subject matter.
For our colleagues in neuroscience, comparative psychologists provide a wide view of behavior of organisms in their species-typical social and ecological settings.
What challenges, if any, lie ahead for the field?
Persistent challenges include integrating concepts and methods developed in experimental work with concepts and methods developed in work in natural settings — the field/lab integration problem.
New frontiers include integration of recent developments in evolutionary theory, epigenetics and microbiomes in our studies of behavior. Technological advances in imaging and spatial analysis at scales from nanometers to kilometers promise new avenues for behavioral research.
Comparative psychologists have a role to play in understanding adaptive strategies that diverse species may adopt to cope with climate change and other kinds of environmental change.
There are issues that we can address everywhere one turns.
Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Are you making any changes?
I will continue the established practice of publishing occasional special issues or special sections. I am open to inquiries about producing a special issue; I have not planned to organize one myself.
I am proposing three new features for the journal.
First, I would like to publish reviews and conceptual essays that integrate or synthesize findings and theories bridging comparative psychology with neighboring disciplines in biology and psychology.
Second, I hope to implement a "featured article" item, in which the editor and associate editor will select an article and write a short introduction to it to open each issue.
Third, I hope occasionally to invite short commentaries on particularly provocative articles, to discuss what the findings might mean for existing theories, what new questions they raise, what new opportunities they provide for work with colleagues in other fields, etc.
Editor Spotlight features interviews with the newly-appointed editors of APA Journals.
APA Journals produces an array of scholarly journals that cover the spectrum of modern psychology and feature the latest research in the field.
Journal of Comparative Psychology® publishes original empirical and theoretical research from a comparative perspective on the behavior, cognition, perception, and social relationships of diverse species.