invaluable guidance and support throughout this project. I would also like to thank my committee member, Dr. Lorraine Bahrick, for her constructive feedback on this project. Moreover, I am very grateful to our lab manager and the undergraduate research assistants who have helped me in collecting data. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the continual encouragement of my husband without whose support I would not have been exposed to this wonderful world of scientific research. iv ABSTRACT OF THE

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... THESIS CAN INTERSENSORY REDUNDANCY AND SOCIAL CONTINGENCY ENHANCE MEMORY IN BOBWHITE QUAIL HATCHLINGS? by Namitha Raju Florida International University, 2012 Miami, Florida Professor Robert Lickliter, Major Professor Recent findings indicate that bimodal-redundant stimulation promotes perceptual learning and recruits attention to amodal properties in non-human as well as human infants. However it is not clear if bimodal-redundant stimulation can also facilitate memory during the postnatal period. Moreover, most animal and human studies have employed an operant paradigm to study memory, but have not compared the effectiveness of contingent versus passive presentation of information on memory. The current study investigated the role of unimodal versus bimodal presentation and, the role of a contingent versus passive exposure in memory retention in the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Results revealed that contingently trained chicks demonstrated a preference for the familiarized call under both unimodal and bimodal conditions. Between-group analyses revealed that the contingent-bimodal group preferred the familiarized call as compared to the passive-bimodal group. These results indicate that the contingency paradigm accompanied with the bimodal stimulus type facilitated memory during early development.