An opponent-process theory of motivation: III. Some affective dynamics in imprinting

Abstract

The theory suggests that for immature precocial birds, the stimulation from an appropriate imprinting object innately arouses a primary effective process that is hedonically pleasant. The occurrence of this process automatically generates (via an opponent loop system) an opponent-process which is hedonically unpleasant. When the imprinting object is withdrawn, the primary process rapidly terminates, but the opponent-process persists, unopposed, for some time. By assuming that the opponent-process becomes stronger with its repeated (or prolonged) arousal, it is possible to account for many of the motivational factors in imprinting. These include: (1) the pattern of distress vocalization that occurs when an imprinting object is first presented to and then withdrawn from newly hatched ducklings, (2) the reinforcement and punishment effects that characterize imprinting, and (3) the priming effects that occur in the context of imprinting.