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University of the Pacific

The effects of effort and day of exposure on imprinting

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

24 pairs of newly-hatched Leghorn chicks were randomly divided into 3 groups. Ss in one group followed a moving object for 30 min on Day 1 of life; Ss in another group followed for 30 min on Day 2; Ss in the remaining group followed for 15 min on Day 1 and 15 min on Day 2. One S in each pair followed by his own effort, while the other S rode behind the object in a transparent box. On Day 4, Ss were tested for the duration of following of the object. No important differences among groups were observed. On Day 6, Ss were tested for ability to discriminate between the original and a novel object, and for following the original. Active Ss scored significantly higher than passive Ss on all Day 6 tests; Ss trained on Day 2 scored significantly higher on the following than Ss trained on Day 1. The results suggest that the ‘law of effort’ may apply more to discrimination than to recognition of the imprinting object.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Psychology
Year dc:date.available
1974

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Van Dyke, Jean Elizabeth

Subjects

dc:subject × 7

Rights

dc:rights

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1837
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-2836

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of the Pacific
Base URL
scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Van Dyke, Jean Elizabeth. The effects of effort and day of exposure on imprinting. Thesis thesis, 1974. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1837