ABSTRACT
In becoming imprinted the young bird learns to discriminate among different features of its environment ; it is clear that imprinting can be an important element of learning early in life generally. In this chapter we shall concern ourselves briefly with the broader setting of imprinting, that is with the topics of early learning and early experience. We shall be no longer primarily concerned with precocial species, nor shall we confine ourselves to birds; indeed, for our present purposes species classifications are not of crucial importance. However, we shall defer until Chapter 12 references to human beings, and in particular a discussion of the implications of imprinting for the understanding of human behaviour.
