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Problems in Animal Perception and Learning and their Implications for Models of Imprinting

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Ontogeny

Part of the book series: Perspectives in Ethology ((PEIE,volume 5))

Abstract

A common model of imprinting holds that a representation of the imprinted object, formed in the nervous system of the young bird, is compared to later stimulus input. This “neuronal model” or “internal representation” view raises two problems, both of them general ones for understanding the organization of animal behavior. The first is the role of recognition in behavior; a number of neurophysiological, ethological and psychological theories, in giving a primary role to recognition of stimulus classes, fail to grasp the dynamic, fine-grained control of behavior by the environment characteristic of many animals, particularly the vertebrates.

The second is how a representation is acquired and organized; here the need is for models of how properties of the flow of sensory information generated by an animal’s movements are analyzed and represented in memory. Both of these considerations lead to specific suggestions for theoretical and experimental research in imprinting, and also point to more general problems in understanding the organization of nervous systems and behavior.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Patrick R. Green

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  1. Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England

    P. P. G. Bateson

  2. Department of Zoology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Peter H. Klopfer

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Green, P.R. (1982). Problems in Animal Perception and Learning and their Implications for Models of Imprinting. In: Bateson, P.P.G., Klopfer, P.H. (eds) Ontogeny. Perspectives in Ethology, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7578-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7578-8_5

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