Imprinting
Alannah Goode
What is Imprinting?
When a young animal has its attention fixed on the first object that it has visual, auditory, or tactile experience with and follows it, imprinting is occurring. Most of the time, the infant's mother is the one this happens to, and people tend to think that she is the only one it can happen to. But the thing is, Mother isn't always the one that gets imprinted on.
Inanimate Objects
Believe it or not, infants can imprint on inanimate objects. Whether it be a bouncy ball or a toy train, nothing is immune to this unique ability animals have. All there has to be is that one object that moves at the right place at the right time, and the animal will grow an attachment to it.
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http://study.com/academy/lesson/imprinting-in-psychology-definition-lesson-quiz.html
Siblings or Relatives
Besides Mom, any family member can be imprinted on. For instance, ducks can imprint on their siblings or any other animal that is related to them. The ties between ducks and their own species are not that strong, so it is normal for them to imprint on one of their relatives.
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Humans
Konrad Lorenz was the first person credited to have experimented with imprinting and to have studied its wider implications. Within the first few days after hatching, Lorenz found that he could be imprinted on by goslings. This imprinting affects the goslings' behaviors in later life, such as their sexual preferences.
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Other Animals
The one thing that moves gets imprinted on, even if it is another animal. In this photo, the ducklings have imprinted on the dog. The dog will be their guide and teacher and the infants will copy the dog's actions and learn from it.
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http://www.kendragoheen.com/blog/2012/09/the-intimacy-of-imprinting/
Mom and Dad
It's not always just Mom that gets the special treatment. The most common form of imprinting is ¨filial imprinting¨, which is when an animal recognizes the characteristics of its parent. Filial imprinting in nidifugous birds and reptiles is most obvious, who imprint on their parents.
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