Abstract
This study investigated the persistence of a mate preference that resulted from early social experience.Coturnix males that achieved an imprinting criterion of selecting an imprint object (an albino conspecific hen) in 8 of 10 trials were then given one of three intervening treatments. Subjects were housed for 10 days with only normal hens or albino and normal hens, or they were isolated for the treatment period. A comparison of subsequent preference for the albino in a second series of 10 choice tests indicated that the strength of the imprinted bond is weakened with respect to the type of intervening experience. This outcome is discussed in terms of the persistence construct of the imprinting process.
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Gallagher, J. E.Incest m Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japomca). Paper presented at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association. Los Angeles. 1976.
Gallagher, J. E.Differences in persistence of imprinted preferences due to stimulus property. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association. San Francisco. 1977.
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Gallagher, J.E., Ash, M. Sexual imprinting: The stability of mate preference in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Animal Learning & Behavior 6, 363–365 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209627
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209627