Imprinting: what is this type of learning?

The term imprint refers to a way of acquiring learning essential for the survival of a species. It is a phenomenon in which psychic, biological and social processes converge.

Although it is a concept that has emerged through biological studies, it has been adapted in an important way to psychology and has provided different ways of understanding the development of the human being. Below we review what imprinted learning is about, what its background is, and what applications it currently has in psychology.

• You may be interested in: "The 13 types of learning: what are they?"

What is the imprint?

The word "imprint" can mean different things. It generally refers to a brand, footprint or reproduction of images on a relief. If we take psychology and biology, the term "imprinting" is used to describe fixed learning at a specific period of development in which a human or animal is most sensitive to certain stimuli.

In other words, an imprint is a learning that we have acquired by recognizing a certain stimulus, at a certain stage of development

. The stimulus towards which our sensitivity is directed generally depends on the survival needs of the species.

For example, most imprinting involves learning to recognize parents or potential sexual partners. The study of this type of learning has developed significantly in ethology (the branch of biology that studies animal behavior in its own habitat), especially it has been observed in the behavior of birds.

• Related article: "What is Ethology and what is its object of study?"

Background: Konrad Lorenz and the family of geese

The pioneer in this type of study was the American physician and zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989), considered one of the fathers of ethology. Lorenz studied the behavior of geese, and his knowledge has been applied to reproduce animal habitats where it has been achieved. that the youngest acquire survival skills, even if they are bred in captivity.

In fact, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973 for having described imprinting, and it was They were given because the judges considered that their studies could contribute significant knowledge to the psychiatry. In other words, since the second half of the last century, imprinting has also been developed in the study of human behavior.

• You may be interested in: "History of Psychology: authors and main theories"

Types of imprinting in the study of behavior

Both in ethology and in psychology, imprinting can occur in different ways and according to the characteristics of the species itself. However, generally speaking, two types of imprint are recognized, basic and necessary for the survival of any species: the filial imprint and the sexual imprint.

1. filial imprint

The concept of imprinting has been applied frequently in the theory of attachment psychology, with which, it is It has been related in an important way to filial relationships and how these are basic for survival.

The latter is known as a "filial imprint", and it is an innate mechanism that is activated when a young animal recognizes the characteristics of its parents, specifically from the mother, who is generally the first being observed at birth.

Filial imprinting has been observed in both birds and reptiles, and later in other species. From this it has been suggested that the recognition and follow-up of parents at an early age makes it possible to the hatchlings move away and protect themselves from predators. Likewise, it facilitates the necessary learning to obtain the food, water and heat that parents initially provide.

For this, it is necessary to consider how the senses are structured and how they are connected with cognitive processes. In this sense, neuroscience and cognitive sciences have had a particular interest in the study of imprinting.

For example, it has been widely used to explain the phenomenon of memory through visual impressions. Many of the memory theories suggest that any experience or event strengthens and shapes to particular pathways in the brain, which may correspond to much of the theory of imprint.

2. sexual imprinting

It is the process by which an animal learns to recognize the characteristics of a desirable sexual partner. One of its effects is, for example, the tendency of living things to relate to beings of the species in which they were raised; those that have characteristics similar to those recognized by the filial imprint.

In the case of human beings, for example, the inverse effect of sexual imprinting has been studied when coexistence occurs in the same domestic space. It is one of the ways to explain why it often happens that brothers who have grown up together do not develop sexual attraction for each other; however, if they are reared separately, this may occur more easily.

This last effect is known as Westermarck effect, by the anthropologist who developed it (Edvard Westermarck), and has been useful in analyzing how inbreeding has been suppressed between different human societies.

Bibliographic references:

• Horn, G. (2004). Pathways of the past: the imprint of memory. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5: 108-120.
• New World Encyclopedia. (2018). Imprinting (psychology). Retrieved May 28, 2018. Available in http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Imprinting_(psychology).
• Squire, L. (2003). Fundamental Neuroscience. Academic Press: USA.