Particularly interested by the concept of instinctive behaviour, a genetically based component whic protects the newborn from danger.
As a small boy, Lorenz noticed how a duckling would transfer it's affection to him - an observation that lead to his work on imprinting for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
AIM:
To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet.
METHOD:
A large clutch of goose eggs were split into two batches: one hatched naturally by the mother; the other hatched in an incubator, with Lorenz making sure he was the first moving object the goslings encountered.
Following behaviour was recorded.
All goslings were marked - to identify which batch they were from - and placed under an upturned box.
The box was removed and following behaviour recorded again.
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Results:
RESULTS:
Immediately after birth, the natually hatched goslings followed their mother about. The goslings hatched in the incubator followed Lorenz.
When released from the upturned box the naturally hatched goslings went straight to their mother; the incubated goslings went straight to Lorenz, showing no bond with their natural mother. These bonds proved to be irreversible.
Lorenz also noted how imprinting would only occur within a brief, set time period of between 4 - 25 hours after hatching. Would expect this if a natural phenomenon as the baby needs to know who it's aprents are the minute it is born and not wander off with some other parent a few days later, which would mean integrating with a different gene pool.
Lorenz subsequently reported on how gosling imprinted onto humans would, as matured adult birds, attempt to mate with humans.
When he tried the same experiment with inanimate objects such as a ball, even his wellies, results were the same.
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Conclusions & Evaluation:
CONCLUSIONS:
Imprinting - an adjunct to the genetic approach - is a form of attachment, exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds (ones that leave the nest early) whereby close contact is kept with the first large moving object encountered.
Imprinting is vital if a species is to survive. The lack of choice that imprinting creates ensures of the survival of the species.
EVALUATION:
The fact that imprinting is irreversible suggests the ability is under biological control, as learned behaviours can be modified by experience.
The fact that imprinting only occurs within a brief, set time period, influenced Bowlby's idea of a critical period within which an attachment between infant and carer must form.
The fact that goslings imprinted onto humans exhibit secual advances to humans when adults shows the importance of behaviour upon future relationships, something that Bowlby incorporated into his continuity hypothesis.
There are extrapolation issues with animal studies; the attachment behaviour of geese is not necessarily that of humans.
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Practical Applications:
Technique of imprinting used with migratory birds to imprint them onto microlight aircraft and teach them migratory paths. Successfully used to reintroduce birds to areas where they have become extinct.
Whooping Cranes - 1 flock of 15 left in North East America - were declared an endangered species, the technique above saw their numbers increase to hundreds and is rising.
Olfactory imprinting used by sheep farmers. Newborn lambs whose mother has died will not normally be accepted by another ewe that has lost her own lamb, even though she is producing milk. However, if the dead lamb is skinned and it's pelt tied to the orphaned lamb, there is a good chance that an attachment will occur.
In 1938 Lorenz joined the Nazi party and stated "my whole scientific work is devoted to the idea of the National Socialists".
Worked as a military psychologist in WW2, deciding which "half-breeds" would be sent to concentration camps.
Led to criticism that his involvment in Nazi eugenic policies contaminated his work with researcher bias.
Widely believed that his research did contain scientific objectivity and he apologised for his involvment with Nazis.
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