Understanding Imprinting Psychology | BetterHelp

An integral characteristic of imprinting is that it occurs at a specific point in someone's life, usually beginning the moment they are born. This period ... BusinessAboutAdviceFAQReviewsTherapistJobsContactLoginGetStartedAdviceHome>GeneralUnderstandingImprintingPsychologyBy JonJaehnig|UpdatedMarch14,2022MedicallyReviewedByKellyL.Burns,MA,LPC,ATR-PImprinting Doyouhavea"type"?Areyoueagertobearoundpeoplewhoremindyouofyourparents?OrdoyoufindMacsconfusingbecauseyoustartedonaPC?Whilethesepreferencesandimpulsesmaynotinitiallyappeartohaveanythingincommon,theyallhaveonedistinctandimportantthingincommon:imprinting. Definition Inpsychology, imprintingisdefinedas"aremarkablephenomenon…[inwhicha]newborncreaturebondstothetypeofanimalsitmeetsatbirth."Itcanprofoundlyimpacthowbabiesareraised,bothinhumansandinotheranimals.Whileitmayimmediatelybringupimagesofducklingsrunningafterthehumantheyfirstsawuponhatching,thephenomenoncanextendtomanyotherareasoflife.   Imprintingisn'tnecessarilygoodorbad,andweallexperienceittosomeextent;however,ithasastrongereffectonsomepeople.Again,thisisn'tnecessarilybad,butitcanimpacthowyouthink,feel,andbehave.Asaresult,understandinghowitaffectsyoucanhelpyouleadahappyandhealthylife.Itcouldalsohelpyousortthroughsomeunhealthybehaviorsorareasinwhichyoufeelstuck.   Learning Imprintingisimportantforraisingtheyoung,asitencouragesthemtofollowtheirparents.Thisisreferredtoas"filialimprinting."Forexample,inthewild,animalslearntohuntwhilewatchingtheirparentshunt.Inhumans,babieslearntospeakbymimickingtheirparents'speech.Manybirds"sing"byimitatingthosearoundthem.Allofthesebehaviors,inturn,allowanimalstobecomeintouchwiththeirinstinctsasanintrinsicformoflearning.Thisformoflearningestablishesandreinforcesthenormsandexpectationssetforthembythemembersoftheirspeciesandtheenvironmentinwhichtheyareraised.   Imprintingisalsooftenusedasaprotectivemeasureinthewild.Siamanggibbonsmakesong-likecallstocautionwhenpredatorsarenear,aformofimprintinglearnedfromothergibbonsaroundthem.Formanyanimals,itisnotjustsoundthatcanbeemulated,butvisionandsmellaswell,especiallyunderstresswhenprotectionisusuallymostneeded.   One'strueparentsarenotnecessaryforlearning.Whenbirdsareorphaned,theycanlearntoflybyimprintingonmicrolightaircraft,whichcanguidetheminthenecessarymigrationpatterns.Ofcourse,theaircraftisnottheirparentorevenalivingbeing,butthesamenaturaltendencytofollowoccurs.Sometimesanimalscanevencometobelievetheyareadifferentspecies.Forexample,acatmightinfluenceadogifitsmotherhasdied,oraduckmightinfluenceahumanwhohasraisedthem.   CriticalPeriods Anintegralcharacteristicofimprintingisthatitoccursataspecificpointinsomeone'slife,usuallybeginningthemomenttheyareborn.Thisperiodvariesbetweenspecies,rangingfromwithinadayorsoafterbirthtoalmostthefirstfewyearsoftheirlife.Oncesomeoneleavesthistimeframe,theywillnolongerbeabletoimprint. WhatDoesMyImprintingSayAboutMe?AskABoard-CertifiedPsychologyExpertNow. Learningcanstilloccur,butitwon'thavethesameeaseandsenseof"instinct".Forexample,humanscanlearndifferentlanguagesastheygetolder,butnonewillcomeaseasilyasthosetheylearnedintheirmostformativeperiod.Itisalsoconsideredtobeirreversible,orunforgettable,unlikethingsthatarelearnedlater.Criticalperiodsinhumanscanoccuratvariouspointsinone'slifefordifferentlearnedbehaviors.Whilelanguagecomesbeforetheageoffive,thecriticalperiodforcertainsocialskillsisaroundtheageofpuberty.   BabyDuckSyndrome Babyducksandgeeseimprintonthefirstmovinganimalorthingtheysee,typicallywithinthecriticalperiodofthefirst36hoursoftheirlives,basicallyfollowingthemfortherestoftheiradolescence.So,aducklingmaylearnfromitsmother,oritmaylearnfromoneofitsbrothersorsisters,whichiswhyduckswalkinline,astheyareallleadingoneanother.Incertaincircumstances,pairsofshoesofahumanthatwerepresentatthetimeoftheduckling'sbirthcanevenbeimprintedon,andtheducklingwillthenattempttofollowtheshoes.Theimprintedobjectbecomesasourceofgreatcomfort—essentially,theimprintedpersonoritembecomeswhattheducklingtrustsenoughtofollow.   Giventhis,psychologistshavecoinedtheterm"babyducksyndrome"todescribewhenhumansimprintoninanimateobjectsanddeemthemthebestoftheirkind.Thisisregardlessofanythingbetterbeingavailablebecauseitwasthefirstthingtheyencountered.Thisisoftenappliedtocomputersystems,notablyMacversusPC.Whicheveroperatingsystemislearnedfirstismostlikelytheonethattheuserwillconsidersuperiorandismorelikelytoreturntoitinthefuture. HowTheBrainChanges Thereappearstobeachemicalcomponenttoimprinting.Scientistshavebeenabletofindthattheintermediateandmedialpartsofthehyperstriatumventral(theIMHV)areinvolved,takingplaceonbothsidesofthebrain.Researchersbelievethisiswhereinformationregardingimprintingisstored.   Inbirdsandreptiles,thereisapartofthebraincalledthedorsalventricularridge,orDVR,whichiswheretheymaystorethisinformation.Thetheorywastestedbyremovingthesepartsofthebraininchicksandfindingthatasaresult,theywerenolongerabletoimprint.   SexualImprinting Forsome,thetermwasmadeespeciallypopularbytheTwilight seriesorthetelevisionshow MyStrangeAddiction.However,inpsychology,sexualimprintingisitsowndistinctprocess.   Whenananimalorhumanisraised,theytendtoconsidercertainattributesofthosewhoraisedthemimportant,makingthesesameattributesattractivequalitiesinamate. Totestthistheory,anexperimentwassetupwhereZebrafincheshadtheirbeakspaintedwithcolorednailpolish.Whenmating,theiroffspringwouldthenseekthosewithabeakofasimilarshade.   Thiscansometimesresultincertainanimalsbeingattractedtohumansorotheranimalsiftheyraisedtheminsteadoftheirspecies.Forexample,agiantpandaintheLondonZoowasraisedbyzookeepersandwouldpresentherselfsexuallytothem,butwhenshewasbroughttomatewithamale,sherefused.   Inhumans,thismayresultinhavinga"type."Often,peopledesirethecharacteristicsofaparent.Forexample,studieshaveshownthatwhendaughtershavefathersthatareparticularlyolder,theyaremorelikelytoseekanolderman.Whensonscomefromparentsofdifferentraces,theyaremorelikelytoseekapartnerofthesameraceastheirmother.However,sometimespeoplewillactivelyseekthosewholookandactnothingliketheirparents.Thisinadvertentlycreatesatypeinitself.Namely,peoplewhoaredifferentfromthosetheygrewupwith.Thiscanalsooccurwithinanimateobjectsifitoriginatesduringthecrucialstage.Oneofthemostcommoncasesiswhenpeoplefetishizehighheels.   ReverseImprinting Wemaysubconsciouslycovetcertainfeaturesofourclosestfamilymembersinapotentialmate.But,toprotectfrominbreeding,peoplewhoareraisedtogetherarenotnormallyfoundtobesexuallyattractedtooneanother.Thisisoftenreferredtoasthe Westermarckeffect.Yet,ifsiblingshadbeenseparatedduringthiscrucialtimeandmetlaterinlife,theymightfindoneanotherparticularlyappealing.   SigmundFreuddisagreedwiththeWestermarckeffect,believingthatfamilymembersarenaturallysexuallyattractedtoeachother,whichiswhysocietyhastoimposetaboostoavoidinbreeding.StevenPinkersuggeststhatFreudwasmistakenlyprojectinghisunique,personal-psychologicaldispositionontosocietyasawholeratherthanviewingpsychologicalinsightfromalarge-scaleperspective.   SeekingHelp Imprintingisn'tusuallydangerousorharmful,thoughitcansometimesbeawkward.Ifyoubelieveitisbehindaqualityyoudon'tlikeaboutyourself,talkingtoanin-personoronlinetherapistcangiveyouunderstandingandemotionalsupport.Undertheguidanceofatherapist,youwillalsodevelopstrategiestopromotepositivechange.   Convenientandaffordableprofessionaltherapistsandcounselorsareavailableonlinethrough BetterHelp. Onlinetherapycanseemstrangetopeoplewhoareusedtomoretraditionalin-persontherapy,butclientsreportimmenselypositiveexperiences.ConsiderthefollowingreviewsofBetterHelpcounselors.   CounselorReviews "InonesessionDouglashashelpedmerealizeandfindawaytobreakapatternthatI'vebeenhavingforthelastfewweeksandprobablylifelong.Thisisgoingtohelpmeimprovemyrelationshipsandmylifewillbemorefulfilling.I'mgladIgottotalktoDouglas,Icansenseheisagreatprofessional." WhatDoesMyImprintingSayAboutMe?AskABoard-CertifiedPsychologyExpertNow. "LeeBlouinisthereformeandItrulyfeelconfidentwithhisabilitytohelpmeunderstandmyconcerns.Hehasalreadygivenmehelpfuladviceandwaystopracticecopingwiththeissuesinmylife.IbelievethatLeereallylistensandhasadesiretohelp.IfinditveryhelpfuleverytimeweconverseaboutanythingthatIamstrugglingwithandIlookforwardtocontinuingworkingwithhim." Conclusion Imprintingisn'tawell-knownpsychologicalconcept,sojustdiscoveringitcanbeenoughtochangeyouroutlook.Otherwise,furthertoolstolearnaboutyourownbehaviorsandhowtomakethemhealthierareavailable.Itisnothingtobeashamedof.Instead,itisanassociativelearningexperiencethatallhumansandanimalsexperienceatsomepointintheirlives.Ifyoufeelthatitisattherootofpain,frustration,ordecliningmentalhealth,donothesitatetoreachoutforhelptoday.PreviousArticleWhatIsAThoughtProcessDisorder?NextArticlePlushophiliaMayNotBeAsUncommonAsYouThinkForAdditionalHelp&SupportWithYourConcernsSpeakwithaLicensedTherapistTodayTheinformationonthispageisnotintendedtobeasubstitutionfordiagnosis,treatment,orinformedprofessionaladvice.Youshouldnottakeanyactionoravoidtakinganyactionwithoutconsultingwithaqualifiedmentalhealthprofessional.Formoreinformation,pleasereadourtermsofuse.GetTheSupportYouNeedFromOneOfOurTherapistsGetStartedLearnMoreWhatIsOnlineTherapy?AboutOnlineCounselingTopCategoriesGeneralDepressionTherapyAnxietyLoveSeeallcategoriesRelatedarticlesFeelingOverwhelmed:HowToNavigateOverwhelmingFeelingsMentalHealthWritingContest–EndsMay31st,2017INeedHelpNow:SeeminglyNoOneToTalkToHowToOvercomeBoredomTheCompleteGuideToTalkingToStrangersTheinformationonthispageisnotintendedtobeasubstitutionfordiagnosis,treatment,orinformedprofessionaladvice.Youshouldnottakeanyactionoravoidtakinganyactionwithoutconsultingwithaqualifiedmentalhealthprofessional.Formoreinformation,pleasereadourtermsofuse.