Psychology I / Imprinting and Sensitive Periods
Practice question · Put in order

Order the steps of filial imprinting in a newly hatched gosling.

Hints
  1. The window must open before the object can be imprinted on.
  2. Imprinting (forming the bond) precedes the following behavior it drives.
Show the answer
  1. The gosling hatches and its sensitive window opens.
  2. It encounters the first large moving object nearby.
  3. It imprints on that object with no reward involved.
  4. It follows the object closely, gaining protection.
  5. The bond shapes its later social and mate behavior.
Why

Hatching opens the window, the first moving object is encountered and imprinted on without reward, following behavior secures protection, and the bond then shapes later behavior. The reward-free, exposure-driven formation is the key feature.

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