Konrad Lorenz, a legacy to awaken to life

Konrad Lorenz was, without a doubt, one of the scientists and researchers most important of the 20th century. He studied, practically like no other, animal behavior. He is known as the “father of ethology”, which is precisely the discipline that studies animal behavior. His research has significantly enriched what we knew about the laws of adaptation and survival.

This notable scientist was born in Vienna in 1903. From a very young age he showed a special love for animals. . He had numerous pets and dedicated a good part of his time to taking care of them carefully.. Curiously, he had a great attraction for wild geese and from that fascination his first discoveries were born. For all these reasons, he always wanted to study zoology, but his father expected him to be a doctor and Konrad did not want to disappoint him.

This is how Konrad Lorenz ended up studying medicine at Columbia University, New York. However, as soon as he graduated he continued his research in zoology. This led him to complete doctoral studies in that discipline at the University of Vienna.

Konrad Lorenz and ethology

Konrad Lorenz was a great observer. He spent much of his time watching what the wild geese and other birds were doing. In 1936 he met Niko Tinbergen, a biologist and ornithologist. They both shared the same fascination for animals, so they started working together. Between the two of them, they laid the foundations for what would later become ethology, a science that studies animal behavior.

The ethology It is a purely biological science, but it is closely related to psychology.. This is because it also studies the bases of behavior. What is found in animals is contrasted with human behavior and vice versa.

One of the most relevant aspects of Konrad Lorenz’s studies was that designed, with the help of his teacher, Oskar Heinroth the concept of “fixed patterns of behavior”. As the name indicates, it is a series of invariable behavioral patterns that were found in many animal species.

He discovered that there were instinctive responses, which were marked by genetic programming. Given certain stimuli, these behaviors were launched, many of which included true rituals. This is the case of bird mating rituals.

The imprint, an interesting concept

Another of the most important concepts developed by Konrad Lorenz is that of imprinting.. It is a type of mark or footprint that is fixed on some animals from the moment they are born. Lorenz discovered this by observing newborn goose and ducklings.

He detected that the chicks hatched and followed the first moving object they saw. They didn’t notice if that object was his mother or not.. They simply acted automatically, chasing whatever moved in front of them. He called that behavior imprinting.

Konrad Lorenz also noticed that this importance was not limited to the first minutes of life, but was maintained over time.. Reaching a point where imprinted animals could try to mate with human beings upon reaching maturity. They even reject members of their own species, giving priority to humans. This does not occur in all animal species, but it does occur in several.

A great legacy

Konrad Lorenz’s studies had great impacts on psychology. One of the most important was to have demonstrated that instinct plays a very important role in all animals, including humans. This contradicted some behaviorist theses, which postulated that all human behaviors were learned.

In the same way, The concept of “imprint” has allowed us to define new points of view regarding the impact that circumstances have on behavior.. He clearly demonstrated that under certain conditions, even instinct is capable of leading us along unsuspected paths thanks to its springs.

Konrad Lorenz’s research, globally, provided valuable elements to understand the laws of adaptation and survival in the animal kingdom, which can be extrapolated to humans. In this way, he won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1973 and became responsible for the creation of a new discipline: ethology. His mark is alive in current knowledge and his name already has an indisputable place among the greats of history.

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