Lorenz Research On Geese Flashcards
What did Lorenz research suggest
Suggested that organisms have a biological propensity to form attachments to one single subject
What was the method of his investigation
• took a clutch of goose eggs and randomly divided them into 2 groups
• the control group hatched with its mother
• the experiment hatched in an incubator under Lorenz’s care
• once they hatched, their behaviour was observed
• Lorenz marked all of the goslings so he could determine which goslings was from which group
• he then placed all of them under an upturned box
• the box was then removed and the following behaviour was again recorded
What did Lorenz find
He found that the goslings proceeded to follow the first moving object they saw between 13 and 16 hours after hatching
What period did Lorenz identify
He identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place, between 4 and 25 hours after hatching. Depending on the species, if imprinting does not occur within this time, the chicks did not attach themself to a mother figure
What did Lorenz investigate in a case study: courtship behaviour
He described a peacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zoo that housed giant tortoises. When the peacock became an adult, the bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises. He concluded that the peacock undergone sexual imprinting
Evaluate Lorenz research: guidon et al 1966
Lorenz stated that imprinting has a permenant effect on mating behaviour, however this has been questioned. Guiton et al found that chickens imprinted on yellow washing up gloves and would try to mate with them as adults, but with experience they learnt that they preferred mating with other chickens instead
