- This process occurs during a early, critical period of an animals life.
- The animal is innately equipped with all the patterns of instinct, but lacks some information about the releasing stimulus.
- When this information is filled in, the process of imprinting occurs.
- For example: A gosling knows it has an instinct to follow, it knows it has to get into a single file line, and it knows that the releaser is it's mother when she departs. But it does not know what it's mother looks like. This information is revealed when the gosling follows the first moving object seen during the critical period. This object would be the goslings mother.
- When Lorenz studied Greylag goslings, they imprinted on him and took him for their "mother."
- Lorenz was not the first person to observe imprinting, but he was the first to establish the critical period.
- The critical period is the specific time early in life that the young animal must be exposed to an object to form an attachment and follow it.
- Lorenz observed that species differ with the range of objects that they will imprint.
- Imprinting can determine behavior not only in the young, but in later social behaviors as well, such as sexual preferences.
- Imprinting occurs in many birds and mammals that live in groups (including sheep, deer, buffalo, etc.), move about soon after birth, and are under strong predator pressure.
- Imprinting safeguards the baby animal, causing it to follow an escaping parent when being threatened, as well as, allows a special bond between the young and its parent to form.
- Imprinting may also occur in other species such as primates, but more slowly.
- Young chimpanzees do not show concern over who they are with until about 3 or 4 month of age. After this, they know who their mother is and are wary of others.
- Similar process may occur in human children.
Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development: Concepts and applications (sixth edition). Boston MA:
Prentice Hall.
Fericean, M. L., Rada, O., & Badilita, M. (2015). The history and development of ethology. Research
Journal Of Agricultural Science, 47(2), 45¬51.
Smith, K. P. (1990). Ethology, sociobiology and developmental psychology: In memory of Niko
Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 8(2), 187¬200.
Stan, E. (2013). Education and Ethology. Journal Of Educational Sciences & Psychology, 3(2), 72¬77.
Tamir, P. (1993). The curriculum potential of Darwin's theory of evolution. Interchange, 24(1¬2),
73¬86.
van Rosmalen, L., van der Horst, F. P., & van der Veer, R. (2016). From secure dependency to
attachment: Mary Ainsworth’s integration of Blatz’s security theory into Bowlby’s attachment theory. History Of Psychology, 19(1), 22¬39. doi:10.1037/hop0000015
Ethological Theories
Imprinting
Modern Ethology: Lorenz and Tinbergen
Konrad Lorenz (1903- 1989)
Instincts
- Often called the father of modern ethology.
- Born and raised in Austria.
- His father was a renowned physician, who encouraged him to earn his medical degree.
- However, his passion was with nature and wildlife, and he later earned a Ph.D. in zoology.
- Had a childhood friendship with his future wife, Gretl.
- Began studying ethology in the early 1930s.
- Made many of his observations at his large estate, where numerous species roamed.
- During World War II he was called into the Army Medical Service in 1943.
- Captured by the Russians in 1944 and held in a prison camp for 3 years.
- During this time he wrote about animal behavior, and the theory of knowledge, on cement bags.
- In 1948, he finally returned to his home, his wife, and a third child he was seeing for the first time.
- Ethologists are interested in instincts.
- Instincts are referred to as a special class of unlearned behavior.
- They are released by a specific external stimulus. Ex.) Rescuing behavior of chicken.
- They are species-specific- particular behavior patterns are found only in members of a specific species.
- They always include a fixed action pattern- a stereotyped motor component. Fighting gestures, courtship behavior, and modes of following all contain a fixed aspect.
- Lorenz and Tinbergen came up with the concept of fixed action pattern during their collaborative studies of egg-rolling in Greylag geese.
- The fixed action pattern has a drive component that causes an urge for the instinctive behavior to occur, to the point that less specific stimuli will suffice.
- Finally, instincts have survival value. Ex.) Tinbergen and the herring gulls.
Niko Tinbergen (1907- 1988)
(Crain, 2016)
(Smith, K. P . 1990)
- Said to be "in Lorenz's shadow", but his work was equally as important in the field of ethology.
- Was born in The Hague in the Netherlands.
- Was also fascinated with animals and wildlife at an early age.
- Only excelled in subjects that interested him; often viewed by teachers as lazy.
- Went on to received his PH. D in biology at the University of Leiden in 1932.
- In 1932, he also married Elizabeth Rutten.
- He then began his ethological studies, in fact, their honeymoon consisted of a Dutch expedition to East Greenland where he studied the Snow Bunting, and the Red-necked Phalarope.
- Him and his wife had two sons and three daughters.
- His studies were interrupted when he was put in an internment camp for protesting the dismissal of Jewish professors at Leiden University.
- He did not waste time during his imprisonment; he wrote on ethology and also wrote some children's books.
(Crain, 2016)
(Smith, K. P . 1990)
Theory of Attachment
Phases of Attachment
- Bowlby considered actions such as following, crying out, and clinging- actions that maintain proximity to a parent- attachment behaviors.
- Said similar behaviors occur in human babies, to help us survive and provide protection from predators.
- Said human children go through an imprinting process, as well, it just develops later than in other animals.
Phase 1 (birth to 3 months): Social Gestures with Limited Selectivity
- Children begin social smile, babbling, and crying, but are not selective in who they perform these actions with.
Phase 2 (3 to 6 months): Focusing on Familiar People
- Social responses become much more selective.
- Are most responsive to 2-3 familiar people.
Phase 3 (6 months to 3 years):Intense Attachment and Active Proximity Seeking
- Attachment to a particular person becomes increasingly intense.
- Demonstrate separation anxiety.
- Exhibit fear of strangers.
- Use caretaker as a secure base from which to explore.
Theory of Evolution
Phase 4 (3 years to end of childhood): Partnership Behavior
- Child becomes more willing to accept the parent going away and can visualize where they are at.
- Relationship becomes more like a partnership.
- Limits on amount of physical separations still exist.
- Through Darwin's observations of fossils and living species, he came up with the conclusion that newer species had either died out or had changed to meet the requirements of their changing environments.
- This idea would conflict with common theological views, saying that species had not been created in a fixed way, but that they had evolved.
- Since this idea was unpopular to common religious beliefs, Darwin was hesitant to publish it.
- It was not until 1858 that Darwin published the theory under joint authorship with Alfred Wallace.
- A year later he published The Origin of Species, his most famous work that gave a detailed explanation of his theory.
- Came up with the term natural selection, which explains that nature "selects" those who can best adapt to their surroundings, and that the "fittest" members of the species are those who live to transmit their characteristics (genes) to further generations.
Ethology is the study of animal and human behavior within an evolutionary context. (Crain, 2016)
The term ethology derives from the Greek language ethos meaning
"character" and logia meaning "the study of". (Fericean, Rada, & Badilita, 2015)
John Bowlby (1907-1990)
(Crain, 2016)
(Tamir, 1993)
- Generally regarded as the founder of attachment theory (with the help of Mary Ainsworth).
- Born in London from as part of an upper-class family.
- Taught in two progressive schools for children.
- Grew concerned for children who grew up in orphanages and nurseries because they were unable to form solid attachments to a mother figure early in life.
- Also interested in toddlers who had formed relationships to their parents, but went to the hospital for several weeks and were separated from parents (late 1940s and early 1950s).
- Worked with his young coworker, James Robertson, to convince hospitals to allow parents to stay with their children.
- In 1952, Robertson produced the film, A Two Year Old Goes to Hospital.
- Contrary to beliefs of medical professionals, Bowlby felt that toddlers' distress was natural, and found answers to prove this through ethology.
The Case of Humans
Mary D. S. Ainsworth (1913-1999)
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- 12 years later, Darwin published The Origin of Species, which explained the evolution of humans.
- In the book he explained that humans and other species come from common ancestors, and in that fact, we and other living species are all related.
- He recognized not only the physical similarities in our species and other species, but also the cognitive and emotional similarities we share.
(Crain, 2016)
- Grew up in Toronto, Canada.
- Entered University of Toronto at the age of 16.
- Influenced by William Blatz, who exposed her to the theory of development and security.
- Married Len Ainsworth in 1950.
- Moved to England, where she became John Bowlby's research assistant.
- Began a 40-year collaboration.
- In 1954, moved to Uganda where she did studies in villages on how babies become attached to their mothers.
- Returned from Africa and began her Baltimore study.
Patterns of Attachment:
Strange Situation
1. Securely Attached Infants
- When entering the playroom, used mother as a base to explore.
- When mother left room, play lessened and sometimes became upset.
- When mother returned, they greeted her, and eventually resumed exploring.
- Ainsworth believed these children demonstrated healthy attachment behavior.
(Rosmalen, 2016)
(Crain, 2016)
2. Insecure- Avoidant Infants
- Appeared quite independent, rushing off to inspect toys.
- Did not use mother as secure base.
- Did not appear upset when mother left room.
- Ainsworth viewed these children as having experienced painful separations.
3. Insecure-Ambivalent Infants
- Clung to mother so much they hardly explored at all.
- Became extremely upset when mother left room.
- Doubtful of mother when she returned- one moment reached for her, the other moment they pushed her away with anger.
- These children dealt with inconsistency at home.
4. Disorganized/ Disoriented Infants
- Added later.
- Do not fit into the other three categories.
- In many cases children walked toward mother when she returned, but in a trance-like state, with averted faces.
- Seemed as if they were not sure how to approach mother, afraid.
- Possible physical abuse may be cause of behavior.
Human Attachment: Bowlby and Ainsworth
Extending the Approach: The Case of Play
Biography
- Is children's play expendable? Or is it an innate need that must be respected for children to develop fully?
- Animals appear innately driven to play.
- It appears as if children, have this same urge as animals, therefore it should be recognized by educational policymakers.
- In this sense, a school can be related to a zoo in that it constrains children as it does animals.
- Born in Shrewsbury, England
- Came from a prominent family, his father being a physician and his grandfather a physician, poet, and philosopher.
- At his young age, it appeared as if he would not be successful as his family was.
- Studied at Cambridge University, where he showed interest in nature and wildlife.
- Was recommended by his professor, John Henslow, for a naturalist position on a voyage across the world on the H.M.S. Beagle in 1831.
- This voyage would contribute to his observations that led to his theory of evolution.
(Stan, 2013)
(Crain, 2016)
References