The term, imprinting, as used by modern comparative
psychologists, refers mainly, although not exclusively,
to certain learning situations which occur very early
in the lives of ground-nesting birds. But the word is
also increasingly used more loosely, implying a partic-
ular aetiology (causal explanation) of adult modes of
behavior in both animals and human beings. Although
the notion of imprinting derives directly from
European zoological ethology (now defined as the
scientific study of animal behavior, especially in rela-
tion to habitat—not to be confused with ethology
as meaning “the science of character,” as used by
J. S. Mill, or with ethology, meaning environmentalism,
as used by Julian Huxley), its roots are deep in the
history of thought. It is especially related to the idea
of “indelible impressions on young minds,” long cur-
rent in philosophical writings. Thus, the old concept
of mental imprinting was a precursor of the later one
of behavioral imprinting.
