Email Address:
hlyn@southalabama.edu
Phone Number:
(251) 460-6372
Location:
UCOM 1024
Office Hours:
By Appointment
Lab Website

Heidi Lyn, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Joan M. Sinnott Chair of Psychology

Department of Psychology

Education

PH.D Georgia State University 2001: Psychology: Comparative animal communication and cognition
M.A. Georgia State University 1998: Psychology: Comparative animal communication and cognition
B.A. University of Pennsylvania 1992: Linguistics
B.S. University of Pennsylvania 1992: Computer Science Engineering

Dr. Lyn will be reviewing graduate student applications for the 2025-2026 academic year. Apply here

Research Interests

Nonhuman cognition
Nonhuman communication
Neural and behavioral correlates in nonhuman primates
Intelligence in animals

Heidi Lyn is an Associate Professor and Joan M. Sinnott chair of Psychology at The University of South Alabama where she studies nonhuman animal cognition and communication. She has published over 25 articles on the intelligence of animals, including the differences between large and small dogs, environmental influences on intelligence and social behavior in apes, the communicative and cognitive behaviors of sea mammals such as dolphins, belugas, and walrus, and on neural and behavioral correlates in nonhuman primates. Her research has been featured in Scientific American, Science magazine as well as in two books and she has been interviewed by major newspapers and the Today show. She previously held positions at UCLA, the New York Aquarium, St. Andrews University, and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Publications

Broadway, M. S., Samuelson, M. M., Christopher, J. L., Jett, S. E., & Lyn, H. (2017). Does size really matter? Investigating cognitive differences in spatial memory ability based on size in domestic dogs. Behavioural processes, 138, 7-14.
Lyn, H., Russell, J. L., & Hopkins, W. D. (2010). The impact of environment on the comprehension of declarative communication in apes. Psychological Science, 21(3), 360-365.
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P. M., Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Gillespie-Lynch, K., & Hopkins, W. D. (2011). Nonhuman primates do declare! A comparison of declarative symbol and gesture use in two children, two bonobos, and a chimpanzee. Language & communication, 31(1), 63-74.
Lyn, H., Pierre, P., Bennett, A. J., Fears, S., Woods, R., & Hopkins, W. D. (2011). Planum temporale grey matter asymmetries in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus), rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and bonnet (Macaca radiata) monkeys. Neuropsychologia, 49(7), 2004-2012.

Journal Articles

McBride-Kebert, S., Taylor, J. S., Lyn, H., Moore, F. R., Sacco, D. F., Kar, B., and Kuzcaj, S. A. (in press) How Can Spatial Bias Affect Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Habitat Use Results: Comparing Standardized Photographic-identification Surveys to Opportunistic Surveys. Aquatic Mammals.
Broadway, M., Samuelson, M., Christopher, J. Jett, S., and Lyn, H. (2017). Does size really matter? Investigating cognitive differences in spatial memory ability based on size. Behavioural Processes.
Lyn, H. (2017). The Question of Capacity: Why Enculturated and Trained Animals have much to Tell Us about the Evolution of Language. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. 24(1) p. 85-90 doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1129-z
Samuelson, M., Lauderdale, L., Pulis, K., Solangi, M., Hoffland, T., and Lyn, H. (2016) Olfactory enrichment in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus): An effective tool for captive welfare? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Greenfield, P. M., Lyn, H., & Savage-Rumbaugh, S. (2014). Gestural and symbolic development among apes and humans: support for a multimodal theory of language evolution. Frontiers in Psychology. 5:1228. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01228
Lyn, H., Russell, J. L., Leavens, D., Bard, K. A., Boysen, S. T., Schaeffer, J. A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2014). Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters. Animal Cognition. 17, 85-94 DOI 10.1007/s10071-013-0640-0
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Feng, Y., Greenfield, P. M., Savage-Rumbaugh, S., & Lyn, H. (2013). A cross-species study of gesture and its role in symbolic development: Implications for the gestural theory of language evolution. Frontiers in Psychology. 4, 160. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00160
Lyn, H., Coleman, A., Broadway, M., Klaus, J., Finerty, S., Shannon, D., & Solangi, M. (2012). Displacement and Site Fidelity of Rehabilitated Immature Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii). Marine Turtle Newsletter, 135, 10-13.
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Greenfield, P. M., Lyn, H., & Savage-Rumbaugh, S. (2011). The role of dialogue in the ontogeny and phylogeny of early word combinations : A cross-species comparison of bonobo, chimpanzee, and human learners. First Language, 31(4), 442-460. doi: 10.1177/0142723711406882
Russell, J. L., Lyn, H., Schaeffer, J. A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2011). The Role of Socio-Communicative Rearing Environments on the Development of Social and Physical Cognition in Apes. Developmental Science, 14(6), 1459-1470. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01090.x
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P. M., & Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S. (2011). Semiotic combinations in Pan: A cross-species comparison of communication in a chimpanzee and a bonobo. First Language, 31(3), 300-325. doi: 10.1177/0142723710391872
Lyn, H., Pierre, P., Bennett, A. J., Fears, S., Woods, R., & Hopkins, W. D. (2011). Planum Temporale Grey Matter Asymmetries in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus), Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Bonnet (Macaca radiata) monkeys. Neuropsychologia, 49, 2004-2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.03.030
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P. M., Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Gillespie-Lynch, K., & Hopkins, W. D. (2011). Nonhuman primates do declare! A comparison of declarative symbol and gesture use in two children, two bonobos, and a chimpanzee. Language and Communication, 31, 63-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.langcom.2010.11.001
Lyn, H. (2010). Environment, methodology, and the object choice task in apes: Evidence for declarative comprehension and implications for the evolution of language. Evolutionary Psychology. 8(4), 333-349. doi: 10.1556/JEP.8.2010.4.3
Lyn, H., Russell, J. L., & Hopkins, W. D. (2010). The impact of environment on the comprehension of declarative communication in apes. Psychological Science 21(3), 360-365.
Franks, B., Lyn, H., Klein, L. & Reiss, D. L. (2009) The influence of feeding enrichment, and seasonal context on the behavior of Pacific Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). Zoo Biology, 28,1-8.
Hopkins, W. D., Lyn, H., and Cantalupo, C. (2009) A Preliminary Study of Volumetric and Lateralized Differences in the Brains of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Primatology. 71, pp. 1-10.
Lyn, H. & Rumbaugh, D. M. (2009) Saliences, Propositions, and Amalgams: Emergent learning in non-humans. Behavioral & Brain Sciences 32(2) 213-214.
Lyn, H., Franks, B., and Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S. (2008) Precursors of morality in the use of the symbols “good” and “bad” in two bonobos (Pan paniscus) and a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Language and Communication 28(3) 213-224 DOI 10.1016/j.langcom.2008.01.006.
Greenfield, P. M., Lyn, H., & Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S. (2008). Protolanguage in ontogeny and phylogeny: combining deixis and representation. Interaction Studies, 9(1), 34-50.
Lyn, H. (2007) Mental representations of symbols as revealed by vocabulary errors in two bonobos (Pan paniscus), Animal Cognition. 10(4), 461-475. DOI 10.1007/s10071-007-0086-3
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P. G., and Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S. (2006) The development of representational play in chimpanzees and bonobos: evolutionary implications, pretense, and the role of interspecies communication, Cognitive Development, 21, 199-213. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2006.03.005
Sickler, J., Fraser, J., Webler, T., Reiss, D., Boyle, P., Lyn, H., Lemcke, K., Gruber, S. (2006) Social narratives surrounding dolphins: Q Method study. Society and Animals. 14(4) 351-382. DOI 10.1163/156853006778882457
Lyn, H. and Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S. (2000) Observational word learning in two bonobos (Pan paniscus): Ostensive and non-ostensive contexts. Language & Communication. 20(3) 255-273.

Book Chapters:

Lyn, H. (in press) On Floating Cats, Good Boys, and Shapeshifting Zookeepers: Animals in Night Vale. In J. A. Weinstock (Ed.) Between Weather and the Void: Critical Approaches to Welcome to Night Vale. Palgrave Macmillan.
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Savage-Rumbaugh, S., & Lyn, H (in press) Language Learning in Non-human Primates, In P. Brooks & V. Kempe (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language Development. Sage.

Lyn, H. (2012). Apes and the evolution of language: taking stock of 40 years of research. In J. Vonk & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Lyn, H. and Savage-Rumbaugh, S. (2012) The Use of Emotion Symbols in Language-Using Apes. In S. Watanabe and S. Kuczaj (Eds.), Emotions of Animals and Humans: Comparative Perspectives. Springer.
Lyn, H. (2008). Artificial symbol systems in dolphins and apes: analogous communicative evolution or evidence for basic communicative rules? In A. D. M. Smith, K. Smith & R. Ferrer i Cancho (Eds.), The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference (EVOLANG7). Singapore: World Scientific Press.
Greenfield, P. G. and Lyn, H. (2006) Symbol combination in Pan: language, action, culture. In Washburn, D. (Ed.) Primate perspectives on behavior and cognition, APA.
Lyn, H. and Rumbaugh, D. M. (2003) Early environmental influences on apes and the development of cognitive and language skills. In J. M. Miller, R. M. Lerner, L. B. Schiamberg, & P. M. Anderson (Eds.), Human ecology: an encyclopedia of children, families, communities, and environments. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.

Edited Books:

Cartmill, E., Roberts, S. Lyn, H., Cornish, H. (Eds) (2014) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference (EVOLANG10) Vienna, Austria 14-17 April 2014.

Book Reviews:

Lyn, H., & Christopher, J. (2017). Hindrances of the human mind, or, sometimes we’re not very smart. PsycCRITIQUES., 62(40). DOI: 10.1037/a0041035
Lyn, H. (2014). Minding the Gap: could we build a bridge? [Review of the book The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us From Other Animals, by T. Suddendorf]. PsycCRITIQUES, 59(24). doi: 10.1037/a0036805
Lyn, H. (2013). Gorillas, Explorers, and the Politics of Victorian Science [Review of the book Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm, by M. Reel]. PsycCRITIQUES, 58(42). doi: 10.1037/a0034279

Published abstracts:

Lyn, H., Jett, S., Broadway, M. (2018). Greeting and Meeting: Vocal interactions and use of signature whistles in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) during an introduction. In Cuskley, C., Little H., et al. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference (EVOLANG12) Torun, Poland 16-19 April 2018.
Lyn, H., Jett, S., Broadway, M., Samuelson, M. (2016). Nonhuman animals’ use of ostensive cues in an Object Choice Task. In Roberts, S., Little, H. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference (EVOLANG11) New Orleans, USA 21-24 March 2016.
Lyn, H. (2014). Comparative Psychology and the evolution of language: Methodology Matters. In Cartmill, E., Roberts, S. Lyn, H., Cornish, H. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference (EVOLANG10) Vienna, Austria 14-17 April 2014.
Schaeffer, J.A., Russell, J.L., Bogart, S.L., Lyn, H, and Hopkins, W.D. (2012) Differences in the spatial cognitive abilities of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Primatology. 73 (Supplement 1), p. 94.
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., Gillespe-Lynch, K., Hopkins, W. D. (2012) Nonhuman primates do declare! Declaratives as evidence for mental time-travel in apes. In Scott-Phillips, T.C., Tamariz, M., Cartmill, E. A., Hurford, J.R. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference (EVOLANG9) Kyoto, Japan 13-16 March 2012.
Lyn, H., Russell, J.L., Schaeffer, J.A., Pierre, P., Bennett, A. J., Fears, S., Woods, R., Hopkins, W. D. (2012) Building a language-competent species: contributions of brain and environment to cognition and communication in apes and monkeys. In Scott-Phillips, T.C., Tamariz, M., Cartmill, E. A., Hurford, J.R. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference (EVOLANG9) Kyoto, Japan 13-16 March 2012.
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., Russell, J.L., Gillespe-Lynch, K., Hopkins, W. D. (2010) Declaratives in apes: impact of environment on purely informative communications. In Smith, A.D.M., Schouwstra, M. and De Boer, B. (Eds) The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference (EVOLANG8) Utrecht, Netherlands, 14-17 April 2010.
Russell, J.L., Schaeffer, J.A., Lyn, H., Herndon, J.G., and Hopkins, W.D. (2010) The Effects of Environment on Physical and Social Cognitive Abilities in Pan. American Journal of Primatology. 72 (Supplement 1), p. 63.
Lyn, H., Russell, J.L., Hopkins, W.D. (2009) Nurture, not nature, determines comprehension of declarative communication in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Primatology. 71 (Supplement 1), p. 37.
Lyn, H., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., And Rumbaugh, D.M. (1999) Observational word learning in two bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Primatology. 45 (2), p. 193.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS:

Lyn, H. (2015) The Ubiquity of Gestural Comprehension. Symposium on Ontogeny and Language Evolution. Protolang conference. Rome, Italy.
Lyn, H. (2015) Environment and gesture in primates. ECOM workshop, University of Connecticut.
Lyn, H (2014) Marine and Terrestrial Mammals: Analogies in Cognition. Department of Coastal Sciences seminar series, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Ocean Springs, MS.
Lyn, H. (2011) Cognitive parallels in divergent species: what analogous abilities may tell us about the evolution of the human mind. Comparative Psychology and Evolutionary Psychology – Bridging Divisions Fosters Crosstalk and Collaborations, Symposium at the Conference of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.
Lyn, H. (2007) Artificial symbol systems and very distant relatives: what apes and dolphins can tell us about language evolution. Evolutionary Approaches to Culture, Cognition and Communication. ESRC Research Seminar Series. St. Andrews, UK.
Greenfield, P.G. and Lyn, H. (January, 2001) Semiotic combinations in Pan: A cross-species comparison of communication in a chimpanzee and a bonobo. Communication workshop; International Primatological Society, Adelaide, Australia.
Lyn, H. (June, 2000) Vocabulary errors as evidence of semantic knowledge in bonobos (comparisons to human development) University of California, Los Angeles, developmental department workshop.

Recent conference presentations

Smith, C. E., Seely, E., Ellifrit, D., Giles, D., Phillips, N. M., and Lyn, H. (October, 2017) Evaluating vessel exposure and social network dynamics of Bigg’s killer whales (Orcinus orca) within a transboundary region. Poster presented at the Society for Marine Mammalogy meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotie, Canada.
Christopher, J., Baker, T., Lyn, H. (June, 2017). Grooming as An Agonistic Behavior in Garnett’s Small-Eared Bushbaby (Otolemur garnettii). Paper presented at the Animal Behavior Society meeting, Toronto, Canada.
Lyn, H., Jett, S. E., and Veliz-Aguilar, M. (April, 2017). Quantity Judgments in Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Paper presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne, FL.
Broadway, M. M., & Lyn, H. (April, 2017). Signature whistle production during a bottlenose dolphin group integration: Preliminary results. Poster presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne, FL.
Lyn, H., Jett, S. E., Broadway, M., Samuelson, M. M., Christopher, J., & Chenkin, B. (April, 2016). Overt Intentionality in an Object Choice Task in Bonobos and Dogs. Paper presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne, FL.
Samuelson, M. M., Solangi, M., Hoffland, T., & Lyn, H. (April, 2016). Olfactory enrichment for California sea lions: A product of evolution or cognition? Paper presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne, FL.
Lyn, H., Jett, S., Broadway, M., Samuelson, M. (March, 2016). Nonhuman animals’ use of ostensive cues in an Object Choice Task. Paper presented at the Evolution of Language Conference, New Orleans, USA 21-24 March 2016.
Broadway, M. M., & Lyn, H. (March, 2016). Signature Whistles in an Introductory Context. Paper presented at the Evolution of Language Conference, New Orleans, USA 21-24 March 2016.
Lyn, H. (2014). Comparative Psychology and the evolution of language: Methodology Matters. Paper presented at the Evolution of Language Conference, Vienna, Austria, March, 2014.
Bahe, H., Broadway, M., Hoffland, T., Lyn, H. (2014) Choice and Control of Enrichment for Rescued and Rehabilitated Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2014.
Broadway, M., Bahe, H., Stevens-Serafin, B., Shelley, J., Hoffland, T., & Lyn, H. Signature Whistle Production During Bottlenose Dolphin Group Integration Phase I: Identification of Signature Whistles. Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2014.
Stern, A., Jett, S., Lyn, H. (2014) An Investigation of Visual Causality in Vultures. Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2014.
Roller, A., Paschall, B., and Lyn, H. (2014) Corpus Callosum Volume of Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) and Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder. IOSSBR Biloxi Conference (Best Paper Award).
Lyn, H., Broadway, M., Klaus, J., Shannon, D., Hoffland, T., Coleman, A., Solangi, M. (2013). Cognitive mechanisms in navigation in sea turtles: What do Kemp’s Ridleys do in a radial maze? Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2013.
Broadway, M., Lyn, H., Coleman, A., Klaus, J., Pitchford, J. (2013) Site Fidelity of Juvenile Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: A Cognitive Mystery. Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2013.
Jett, Lyn, and Mong (2013) A Survey of Spatial Memory and Transposition in Primates, Presented at the Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2013.
Lyn, H., Greenfield, P., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., Gillespe-Lynch, K., Hopkins, W. D. (2012) Nonhuman Primates do Declare! Declaratives as evidence for mental time-travel in apes. Poster presented at the Evolution of Language Conference, Kyoto, Japan, March, 201
Lyn, H., Russell, J.L., Schaeffer, J.A., Pierre, P., Bennett, A. J., Fears, S., Woods, R., Hopkins, W. D. (2012) Building a language-competent species: contributions of brain and environment to cognition and communication in apes and monkeys. Paper presented at the Evolution of Language Conference, Kyoto, Japan, March, 2012
Broadway, M., Lyn, H., Klaus, J., Finerty, S., Shannon, D., and Solangi, M. (2012). Site fidelity and effect of displacement on Kemp’s ridley turtles. Presented at the Southeast Regional Sea Turtle Meeting, Jekyll Island, Georgia, February, 2012.
Schaeffer, J.A., Russell, J.L., Bogart, S.L., Lyn, H, and Hopkins, W.D. (2012) Differences in the spatial cognitive abilities of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Presented at the American Society of Primatologists meeting, 2012.
Lyn, H., Hoffland, T., Shannon, D., and Solangi, M. (2011) Enrichment for aging Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in human care. International Marine Animal Trainers Association conference. Miami, FL. November, 2011.
Lyn, H., Hoffland, T., Shannon, D., and Solangi, M. (2011) Enrichment for aging Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in human care. Biology of Marine Mammals conference. Tampa, FL. November, 2011.
Lyn, H., Russell, J. L., Leavens, D. A., Bard, K. A., Boysen, S. T., Schaeffer, J., Hopkins, W. D. (2011) Apes Communicate about Absent and Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters, Comparative Cognition Conference, Melbourne Beach, FL. March, 2011
Lyn, H., Russell, J.L., Hopkins, W.D. (2009) Nurture, not nature, determines comprehension of declarative communication in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Paper Presented at the American Society of Primatologists meeting, San Diego.
Lyn, H., Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S., and Rumbaugh, D.M. (1999) Observational word learning in two bonobos (Pan paniscus). Paper Presented at the American Society of Primatologists meeting, Texas.