Lorenz - imprinting

• what is imprinting?

  reciprocal - even more important that the infant imprints on a parent
• what did Lorenz then suggest?

  bird species that are mobile from birth attach and follow the first moving object they see. It is important for short term protection and feeding
• Lorenz suggested that there was a ___________ in which imprinting needs to take place

  critical period that can just be a few hours
• Lorenz stated that imprinting was important for what long term factor?mating
• what was Lorenz's second study in 1952?

  a peacock reared in a reptile house at a zoo, first saw a giant tortoise after hatching. as an adult the peacock would only direct courtship behaviour towards the giant tortoise -> sexual imprinting
• what was the strength of Lorenz?

  Guitan 1966 showed this could be a yellow rubber glove on his study with chicks. HE later found males tried to mate with the yellow glove
• what were the weaknesses of Lorenz?Guitan 1966 found that he could reverse the imprinting of the gloves

  hould take caution generalising animal behaviour to humans

  now believed that imprinting is like any other learning

  imprinting is a plastic and forgiving mechanism - Hoffman
• what was the procedure of Lorenz’s study?

  1. took a clutch of gosling eggs and separated them into two groups
  2. group 1 stayed with their natural mother and the other group put in an incubator
  3. the first thing the incubator goslings saw when they hatched was Lorenz and they imprinted on him
  4. he mixed up the two groups but the goslings that saw him first followed him and the others followed their mother