IMPRINTING Definition & Meaning

imprinting

[ im-prin-ting ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Animal Behavior, Psychology.

rapid learning that occurs during a brief receptive period, typically soon after birth or hatching, and establishes a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object, as attachment to parent, offspring, or site.

imprinting

/ ɪ��ˈ��ɪ�Գ�ɪŋ /

noun

the development through exceptionally fast learning in young animals of recognition of and attraction to members of their own species or to surrogates

imprinting

/ ĭ��′��ĭ��′tĭ�Բ� /

A rapid learning process by which a newborn or very young animal establishes a behavior pattern of recognition and attraction towards other animals of its own kind, as well as to specific individuals of its species, such as its parents, or to a substitute for these. Ducklings, for example, will imprint upon and follow the first large moving object they observe. In nature, this is usually their mother, but they can be made to imprint upon other moving objects, such as a soccer ball.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of imprinting¹

1937; imprint + -ing ¹, translation of German �ʰ�ä��ܲԲ�, K. Lorenz's term

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Howe immediately set about imprinting his methods at Newcastle.

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Thus, fathers have an important, albeit indirect, influence on the genetic imprinting of mitochondria and thereby on the energy metabolism of their children.

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By studying mice with heart failure, the researchers found evidence of stress imprinting on the epigenome, that is, chemical changes occurred to the mice's DNA.

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But in other cases, imprinting can be positive, by promoting the development of cross-reactive antibodies that neutralize strains in both the initial and subsequent vaccines.

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Photolithography, a process employed in crafting metalenses by imprinting patterns on silicon wafers using light, stands as a step in their fabrication.

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