Dorothy Cheney
Animal Learning and Behavior
Evolutionary Psychology
Specific Research Areas
communication and social behavior of non-human primates
Research Synopsis
My research focuses on the communication and social behavior of non-human primates. My current research is conducted on free-ranging baboons in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. My research is conducted jointly with Robert Seyfarth, a member of Penn’s Psychology Department.
Appointments
Biology Graduate Group; Psychology Graduate Group
Ph.D. Cambridge University
Books
Cheney, D.L. & Seyfarth, R.M. 2007. Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Cheney, D.L. & Seyfarth, R.M. 1990. How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Smuts, B., Cheney, D., Seyfarth, R., Wrangham, R. & Struhsaker, T. 1987. Primate Societies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Journal Articles
Wittig, R.M., Crockford, C., Lehmann, J., Whitten, P.L., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2008. Focused grooming networks and stress alleviation in wild female baboons. Hormones and Behavior 54, 170-177. pdf
Crockford, C., Wittig, R.M., Whitten, P.L., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2008. Social stressors and coping mechanisms in wild female baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus). Hormones and Behavior 53, 254-265. pdf
Wittig, R.M., Crockford, C., Wikberg, E., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2007. Kin-mediated reconciliation substitutes for direct reconciliation in female baboons. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 274, 1109-1115. pdf
Wittig, R.M., Crockford, C., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2007. Vocal alliances in chacma baboons, Papio hamadryas ursinus. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 61, 899-909. pdf
Crockford, C., Wittig, R.M., Seyfarth, R.M. Cheney, D.L. 2007. Baboons eavesdrop to deduce mating opportunities. Animal Behaviour 73, 885-890. pdf
Engh, A.E., Beehner, J.C., Bergman, T.J., Whitten, P.L., Hoffmeier, R.R., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2006. Female hierarchy instability, male immigration, and infanticide increase glucocorticoid levels in female chacma baboons. Animal Behaviour 71, 1227-1237. pdf
Engh, A.E., Beehner, J.C., Bergman, T.J., Whitten, P.L., Hoffmeier, R.R., Seyfarth, R.M. & Cheney, D.L. 2006. Behavioural and hormonal responses to predation in female chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London , Series B. 273, 707-712. pdf
Engh, A.E., Hoffmeier, R.R., Cheney, D.L. & Seyfarth, R.M. 2006. Who, me? Can baboons infer the target of vocalisations? Animal Behaviour 71, 381-387. pdf