AO1 - Lorenz

• Aim: To investigate the effects of 'imprinting' on goslings
• Method: Field experiment
• Procedure:

  • randomly divided goose eggs, half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment (control group), the other half were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz (experimental group)
  • Lorenz recorded the behaviour of the goslings - who they imprinted on
  • once the eggs hatched, the two groups of goslings were mixed up and Lorenz observed who they followed
  • he varied the time between birth and seeing a moving object so he could measure the critical period of imprinting
• Findings:

  • incubator group that saw Lorenz first imprinted upon and followed Lorenz everywhere, whereas the group who saw the mother goose first imprinted upon and followed her
  • identified a critical period of 12-17 hours after hatching om which imprinting needs to take place, if it doesn't occur Lorenz suggests that goslings will not attach themselves to a mother figure
  • goslings who imprinted on humans would (as adult birds) attempt to mate with humans - sexual imprinting
• Conclusion: Goslings imprint on the first moving object that they see, there is a specific time period in which this needs to take place otherwise they may not attach