Lorenz

• What did Lorenz study ?

  • imprinting in geese
  • goslings imprint on the 1st thing they see
  • important survival mechanism to keep them: safe, warm, food, and learn to swim
• What was Lorenz procedure ?

  • classical experiment
  • randomly divide a clutch geese eggs in half
  • half hatch in natural environment with the mother
  • half hatch in an incubator where the first thing they see is Lorenz
• Findings ?

  • incubator group followed Lorenz
  • control group follow the mother
  • even when mixed up they stuck with the person they imprinted on
• What is imprinting ?


  Bird species are mobile from birth and attach + follow up he first thing they see

  • Lorenz identifies a critical period that imprinting must take place
  • if imprinting doesn’t take place chicks won’t attach to a mother figure at all
• What is sexual imprinting ?


  the idea there is a relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences
• What did Lorenz do to study sexual imprinting ?

  • observed birds who imprinted on humans would later display courtship behaviours towards humans
  • same with peacocks reared in reptile house shows behaviour towards a giant tortoise
• evaluation

  1. Can’t generalise to humans
  2. human babies born immobile- can’t demonstrate imprinting
  3. counter with other attachment of explanation