KONRAD ZACHARIAS LORENZ- Austrian scientist & Godfather of animal imprinting theory

-In the year 1963 he published the popular book ‘On Aggression’ that dealt with the
behavioural patterns of human beings as a social animal. In the year 1963 he published
the popular book ‘On Aggression’ that dealt with the behavioural patterns of human
beings as a social animal. In one experiment, Lorenz separated a nest of goose
eggs into an experimental group and a control group. He took the experimental
group to raise apart from the mother but left the control group with her. The
experimental geese only met Lorenz — not their goose mom — when they
hatched and attached to him as their mother. To test his hypothesis about the
hatchling-mother bond, he marked the two groups and put them together under a
box. Sure enough, when he brought in the mother goose and lifted the box, the
control group waddled back to their mother, but the experimental group came to
him. He named this phenomenon of certain birds learning who their parents
are filial imprinting. Lorenz emphasized that imprinting was unlike other forms
of learning for two reasons. First, it happened during what he called a critical
period — a definite phase during which the learning had to occur (although this
varied depending on the species). Second, Lorenz argued that imprinting was
permanent and irreversible. Next, we'll explore how further research called into
question some of Lorenz's conclusions.
BY JANE MCGRATH
Lorenz studied instinctive behavior in animals, especially in greylag geese and jackdaws. Working
with geese, he investigated the principle of imprinting, the process by which some nidifugous birds
(i.e. birds that leave their nest early) bond instinctively with the first moving object that they see
within the first hours of hatching. Although Lorenz did not discover the topic, he became widely
known for his descriptions of imprinting as an instinctive bond. Wikipedia
Lorenz is recognized as one of the founding fathers of the field of ethology, the study of animal
behavior. He is best known for his discovery of the principle of attachment, or imprinting, through
which in some species a bond is formed between a new born animal and its caregiver. This principle
had been discovered by Douglas Spalding in the 19th century, and Lorenz's mentor Oskar Heinroth
had also worked on the topic, but Lorenz's description of Prägung, imprinting, in nidifugous birds
such as greylag geese in his 1935 book Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels ("The Companion in
the Environment of Birds") became the foundational description of the phenomenon. [9]
Here, Lorenz used Jakob von Uexküll's concept of Umwelt to understand how the limited perception
of animals filtered out certain phenomena with which they interacted instinctively. For example, a
young goose instinctively bonds with the first moving stimulus it perceives, whether it be its mother,
or a person. Lorenz showed that this behavior of imprinting is what allows the goose to learn to
recognize members of its own species, enabling them to be the object of subsequent behavior
patterns such as mating.[11] He developed a theory of instinctive behavior that saw behavior patterns
as largely innate but triggered through environmental stimuli, for example the hawk/goose effect. He
argued that animals have an inner drive to carry out instinctive behaviors, and that if they do not
encounter the right stimulus they will eventually engage in the behavior with an inappropriate
stimulus.[12]
Lorenz's approach to ethology derived from a skepticism towards the studies of animal behavior
done in laboratory settings. He considered that in order to understand the mechanisms of animal
behavior, it was necessary to observe their full range of behaviors in their natural context. Lorenz did
not carry out much traditional fieldwork but observed animals near his home. His method involved
empathizing with animals, often using anthropomorphization to imagine their mental states. He
believed that animals were capable of experiencing many of the same emotions as humans.