Animal Studies - Lorenz

• Imprinting

  Forming strong bonds with mother after birth
• Lorenz (1935)


  Goose eggs randomly divided in 2, half taken by Lorenz and hatched in an incubator, varying the time of hatching and seeing moving objects

  • Found that the goslings imprinted on him, when released from a box, half goslings followed him
  • Critical period = 32hrs, if it didn't see mother, lost imprinting ability
• (+) A03: Support from Bowlby


  Bowlby claims there is a similar critical period for humans being 6 - 30 months
• (+) A03: Economic Implications

  Promotes mothers to physically touch baby after birth to create that imprinting bond
• (-) A03: Extrapolation


  Cannot extrapolate animal behaviours to humans due to the difference in intelligence, not generalisable