An Australian zoologist, Konrad Lorenz coined the phrase “imprinting”. Imprinting describes a phenomenon in which an earlier experience determines later social behavior. Other investigators observed similar effects before Lorenz, but he was the first to name it and to point out that it appeared to occur at a critical period early in the life of the animal. He first documented and coined the phrase imprinting while doing an experiment in Vienna. Lorenz took a clutch of eggs and split them into two groups. The first group was raised by the graylag goose to which they were born and the second group was raised in an incubator. When the first group hatched they immediately started following their mother around the estate, but when the second group hatched in the incubator their mother was not in sight. The first thing seen by the second group was Lorenz, so they immediately started following him around the estate. Later both groups of hatchlings were marked and put under a wooden box and then released with Lorenz and the female goose in plain site, as can be expected group one hatchlings
Students of behavior generally agree that early experience in animals including man effect adult behavior. Therefore, it is not the investigators job to determine whether early experience effects adult behavior, but to what degree and how does early behavior effect adult behavior.
There are three statements generally made about the effects of early experience. The first is that early habits are very persistent and may block the formation of new ones. Second, early perceptions deeply affect all future learning. This leads to difficult questions about perception, are the ways that we see the world acquired or inherited? The last is that early social contacts effect adult social behavior.
In conclusion, ducklings which are hatched follow the first thing that they identify with and through imprinting will follow that later in adulthood. If the ducklings are introduced to their real mother and the first object they saw they will follow the object. Second, most animals including humans need a certain amount of attention and handling during their critical period of development in order to develop normally. The
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