Contingencies of Reinforcement for the Acquisition and Maintenance of Imprinted Responses

Abstract

The present paper discusses the acquisition and maintenance of imprinted responses by newly hatched precocial birds. First, Lorenz’s (1935, 1937) ethological view of imprinting is introduced, and then the views of perceptual and associative learning theory, Hoffman and Ratner’s (1973) reinforcement model of imprinting based on respondent conditioning, and the behavior analysis view emphasizing contingencies of reinforcement in imprinting are explained. Next, the ways that precocial birds acquire and maintain their imprinted responses through imprinting from each of these positions are discussed. From the results of laboratory studies about imprinting and also the above discussion, the conclusion is drawn that a behavior analysis viewpoint can adequately explain behavioral processes related to the acquisition and maintenance of imprinted responses. The viewpoint of behavior analysis in the present article is based on suggestions made by Skinner (1966, 1969) and Higuchi, Mochizuki, Moriyama, and Sato (1976, in Japanese). This view does not regard imprinted responses as innate, but rather emphasizes the interaction of phylogenic and ontogenetic contingencies of reinforcement in imprinting. Furthermore, the position of Higuchi et al. (1976) suggests the involvement of contingencies of food reinforcement in the maintenance of imprinted responses. Finally, a study by the present author which verifies Higuchi et al.’s (1976) view is described and the significance of a behavior analytic view of imprinting is discussed.