Erin Colbert-White

Erin Colbert-White is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where she chairs the Psychology Department (2022–2025). She directs the Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab, focusing on nonhuman animal behavior and human-animal interactions.

• Education
• BS, Denison University (2007)
• MS, University of Georgia (2009)
• PhD, University of Georgia (2013)

Her research explores the origins of language, animal cognition, and interspecies social relationships, particularly comparing parrot speech with child language. Recent projects include studies on dogs' use of human social cues, raptor cognition, and empathy-like behaviors in Norway rats.

She teaches courses in Introductory Psychology, Research Design, Animal Cognition, Learning and Behavior, and an interdisciplinary seminar on consciousness in other species. She co-authored the SURE Workbook, a research mentoring guide, and advises the campus BIPOC STEM club Visible Spectrum.

Contact: Weyerhaeuser Hall 317, (253) 879-3032, ecolbertwhite@pugetsound.edu