Lorenz

Question 1

AO1

Answer 1

Lorenz studied imprinting in geese, and discovered that goslings imprint on the first thing they see when they hatch, then follow it around.
He took a batch of fertilised eggs and split them into a control group and an experimental group. He made sure that the experimental group saw him first after they hatched and that the control group went through the usual experience of seeing the mother goose as soon as they hatched.
He found that if the goslings saw him first, they would follow him, and the control group acted as predicted and followed the mother goose.
He concluded that the goslings had imprinted on him.
He also determined a critical period of 32 hours, meaning that after 32 hours the goslings are very unlikely to imprint.

Question 2

AO3 - field experiment

Answer 2

Lorenz’s study was a field experiment. Therefore, it has high ecological validity as it allows us to see imprinting in real life. Therefore, the findings can be generalised beyond the study.
However, due to the experiment being conducted in a real life setting, it means that the variables were unable to be controlled. Therefore, it cannot be replicated to produce the same results so has low reliability.

Question 3

AO3 - can’t generalise

Answer 3

There are significant issues associated with trying to generalise the findings of Lorenz’s study. This is because of the difference between goslings and human babies. Mammalian attachment systems are different to that of birds, because mammals can potentially form attachments at any time during their lives and at a greater emotional intensity. Therefore, the study has low population validity as the results cannot be generalised beyond goslings to humans.