Imprinting

Type of psychology: Learning
Fields of study: Biological influences on learning; endocrine system
Imprinting is an endogenous, or inborn, animal behavior by which young mammals
and birds learn specific, visible physical patterns to associate with important concepts
such as the identification of one’s mother, navigation routes, and danger. The phenomenon,
which relies primarily upon visual cues and hormonal scents, is of high
survival value for the species possessing it.
Key concepts

• conditioning
• critical period
• endogenous behavior
• ethology
• exogenous behavior
• imprinting
• pheromone
• plasticity
• visual cues
• vocal cues

Imprinting is an important type of behavior by which an animal learns specific
concepts and identifies certain objects or individuals that are essential
for survival. Imprinting events almost always occur very early in the life of an
animal, during critical periods or time frames when the animal is most sensitive
to environmental cues and influences. The phenomenon occurs in a variety
of species, but it is most pronounced in the homeothermic (warmblooded)
and socially oriented higher vertebrate species, especially mammals
and birds.

Imprinting is learned behavior. Most learned behavior falls within the domain
of exogenous behavior, or behavior that an animal obtains by its experiences
with fellow conspecifics (members of the same species) and the
environment. Imprinting, however, is predominantly, if not exclusively, an
endogenous behavior, which is a behavior that is genetically encoded within
the individual. An individual is born with the capacity to imprint. The animal’s
cellular biochemistry and physiology will determine when in its development
it will imprint. The only environmental influence of any consequence
in imprinting is the object of the imprint during the critical period.
Ethologists, scientists who study animal behavior, debate the extent of endogenous
and exogenous influences upon animal behavior. Most behaviors
involve a combination of both, although one type may be more pronounced
than the other.

The capacity for an animal to imprint is genetically determined and,
therefore, is inherited. This type of behavior is to the animal’s advantage for critical situations that must be correctly handled the first time they occur.
Such behaviors include the identification of one’s parents (especially one’s
mother), the ability to navigate, the ability to identify danger, and even the
tendency to perform the language of one’s own species. Imprinting behaviors
generally are of high survival value and hence must be programmed
into the individual via the genes. Biological research has failed to identify
many of the genes that are responsible for imprinting behaviors, although
the hormonal basis of imprinting is well understood. Most imprinting studies
have focused upon the environmental signals and developmental state of
the individual during the occurrence of imprinting.