Animal Studies – attachment
The term “attachment” was introduced by ethologists
Ethologists’ studies animals in their natural environment
Lorenz’s research – KEY
One ethologists Konrad Lorenz 1935 notes the way in which Greylag geese
followed their parent’s around from very soon after hatching
Lorenz called this form of attachment imprinting (it is as if the image of the
moving object becomes “imprinted” on the young animal) and defined it as a
rapid attachment which is formed as a result of following the first large object
they saw after birth (mother)
If it is kept isolated during this time, it will fail to come imprinted; it will never
learn to follow its mother (or any other moving object, for that matter)
Procedure
Lorenz set up a classical experiment in which he randomly divided a clutch of
goose eggs into two groups
Half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose present in their natural
environment
The other half were hatched in an incubator with Lorenz present
Lorenz ensured that he was the first “thing” seen by the incubator group when
they hatched out of the eggs
The behaviour of all goslings was recorded
Findings
o The greylag geese imprinted on the first thing they saw
The incubator group follow Lorenz everywhere whereas the control
group, hatched in the presence of their mother, followed her
A short time after the geese had hatched, Lorenz put both groups of
geese into a container to mix them up and then released them
Lorenz observed who/what they followed
They rapidly separated
The control group continued to follow the mother and the experiment
group followed Lorenz
Lorenz suggested that this occurred in a short critical period in which
attachment must occur, or it will fail to develop
In later studies, Lorenz varied the time between birth and seeing the
moving object so he could measure the critical period for imprinting.
The term “attachment” was introduced by ethologists
Ethologists’ studies animals in their natural environment
Lorenz’s research – KEY
One ethologists Konrad Lorenz 1935 notes the way in which Greylag geese
followed their parent’s around from very soon after hatching
Lorenz called this form of attachment imprinting (it is as if the image of the
moving object becomes “imprinted” on the young animal) and defined it as a
rapid attachment which is formed as a result of following the first large object
they saw after birth (mother)
If it is kept isolated during this time, it will fail to come imprinted; it will never
learn to follow its mother (or any other moving object, for that matter)
Procedure
Lorenz set up a classical experiment in which he randomly divided a clutch of
goose eggs into two groups
Half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose present in their natural
environment
The other half were hatched in an incubator with Lorenz present
Lorenz ensured that he was the first “thing” seen by the incubator group when
they hatched out of the eggs
The behaviour of all goslings was recorded
Findings
o The greylag geese imprinted on the first thing they saw
The incubator group follow Lorenz everywhere whereas the control
group, hatched in the presence of their mother, followed her
A short time after the geese had hatched, Lorenz put both groups of
geese into a container to mix them up and then released them
Lorenz observed who/what they followed
They rapidly separated
The control group continued to follow the mother and the experiment
group followed Lorenz
Lorenz suggested that this occurred in a short critical period in which
attachment must occur, or it will fail to develop
In later studies, Lorenz varied the time between birth and seeing the
moving object so he could measure the critical period for imprinting.
