Dr. Diana Reiss

Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Marine Mammal Science

Hunter College, City University of New York

1990s–presentNew York Aquarium, Hunter College
Specialization

Dolphin cognition, self-awareness, and symbolic communication

Key Findings
  • • Proved dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors (mirror self-recognition)
  • • Showed dolphins are more precocious than human infants in developing self-recognition
  • • Pioneered research on dolphin symbolic communication systems
  • • Demonstrated dolphins use mirrors as tools to examine parts of themselves