Konrad Lorenz
(1903 – 1989)
The Founder of Ethology
(the study of animals in their natural
environment)
Dr. Lorenz
Cont.
Imprinting: duckling transferred it’s
response to him
Imprinting
• The primary formation of social bonds in infant
animals.
• Also considered a special type of learning.
• The newly hatched goslings and ducklings followed and
became socially bonded to the first moving object they
encountered.
• Even at maturity, these animals tried to court and
attempted to mate with humans if they were imprinted
to them.
• A young bird does not instinctively recognize adult
members of it’s own species but require this special
type of learning.
cont,.
• Bond formed immediately to moving object
and is irreversible.
• Only a few species of birds exhibit this kind of
behavior
• It is essential in learning that what has been
learned can be either forgotten or modified.
• Imprinting is restricted to very specific and
brief stages in development, often only lasting
a few hours.
Cont.
• Lorenz argued against the position of extreme
behaviorism that rejected the relevance of
instinct.
• He was instrumental in establishing an
understanding that innate behaviors play a
central role in the adaptations of organisms
and the evolutionary process underlies the
development of behavior.
Cont.
• Lorenz’ hope was that he had proved one
thing: “that the study of instinctive behavior is
not a field for extensive philosophical
speculation, but one in which, at least for the
time being, experimental analysis of each
individual case is the only legitimate
procedure.”
Cont.
• 1966 – wrote On Aggression
• Animal aggressive behavior is motivated by
survival, while human aggressive behavior may
be channeled or modified.
• Other books: King Solomon’s Ring (1949); Man
Meets Dog (1950); The Eight Deadly Sins of
Civilized Humanity, and The Decay of the
Humane.
• 1973 – Nobel Prize winner for his studies of
human and animal behavior.
References
• Hess, Eckhard. Imprinting: Early Experience and
the Developmental Psychobiology of
Attachment.1973
Sluckin, W. Imprinting and Early Learning. Aldine
Publishing Company, Chicago. 1965. Pages 6-16.
Hess, Eckhard and Petrovich, Slobodan.
Imprinting.1977 Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross
Inc.
Schiller, Claire. Instinctive Behavior. 1957.
Hallmark Press, New York