Relation between conspicuousness of stimuli and their effectiveness in the imprinting situation.

Abstract

In a choice situation a significantly greater proportion of day-old domestic chicks approached a conspicuous static pattern than 2 less conspicuous patterns. In another experiment chicks were isolated with 1 of these patterns for 3 days and then exposed individually to 1 of 3 moving models. Those reared with the inconspicuous pattern avoided the models for a shorter period than did those reared with the conspicuous pattern. The same result was obtained after the runway in which the model moved had been painted with a conspicuous pattern.