AO1 - Lorenz

• What was the aim of Lorenz? (what was he attempting to investigate?)

  To test imprinting to see if animal infants bond with the first subject they meet.

  Behaviourist assumption: Animals and humans learn in the same way, therefore results from animal studies (e.g. attachment) can be applied/generalised to humans
• What does animal studies of attachment include?

  Harlow's study for 'contact comfort'
• Aim:

  To investigate the effects of imprinting and how this affects attachment behaviour in geese.
• Method:

  Lorenz’s method used a classic experiment that consisted of an experimental and control group (one group exposed to the stimulus, the other group not exposed to the stimulus). The experimental group was with Lorenz in a laboratory (incubator). Whereas, the control group was with their mother in a natural environment.
• Procedure: 5m

  Lorenz took 12 gosling eggs and randomly divided them into two groups. 1 group was left with their natural mother, so when hatched the first living thing they saw was their natural mother. The other half were placed in an incubator. When the incubator eggs hatched, the first living thing they saw was Lorenz. Lorenz marked the 2 groups of goslings so he could easily identify them. Once hatched, the two groups were mixed up and Lorenz observed who/what they followed. He varied the time between birth and seeing a moving object so he could measure the critical period for imprinting.
• What else can you refer to in the procedure?

  You could also refer to the case study of sexual imprinting in a peacock here.
• Results:

  The geese imprinted on the first thing they saw. Lorenz’s group of goslings showed no recognition of their natural mother.
• Conclusion:

  • Lorenz called this phenomenon imprinting, which is where birdlike species attach to and follow the first moving object/thing they see
  • Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place. This period depends on the species
  • If imprinting does not occur within the critical period, the chicks will not attach to a mother figure
  • Failure to form an attachment during the critical period can result in negative consequences
• Lorenz - sexual imprinting:

  • Lorenz also investigated the relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences
  • He observed that birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans
  • In a case study, Lorenz described a peacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zoo, where the first moving objects the peacock saw after hatching were giant tortoises
  • As an adult, this bird would direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises
  • Lorenz concluded that this meant he had undergone sexual imprinting
• Long-lasting effects:

  • Sexual imprinting: There is a relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences
  • Critical period: If imprinting does not occur in the first few hours after hatching, the chicks will not attach themselves to a mother figure. Otherwise, there will be negative consequences (e.g. they won’t be a good parent)