Like most mammals, a man is born a very helpless creature, highly dependent on individuals of an adult species, in particular - from parents. Since all the time the kid will be surrounded by his own kind, his early training takes the form of so-called imprinting, imprinting. It's about what imprinting is and we'll tell you below.
The mechanism of imprinting is based on the fixation of certain objects or forms of behavior, and is usually possible for a limited period of the "critical" period, in the early stages of life. In addition, imprinting is extremely difficult to change, and it takes time to capture, for a single meeting with the object of imprinting.
For the first time, the imprint was studied on birds, the chicks of which are immediately after birth follow the parents (imprinting "following" can be observed in some mammals, for example, deer, horses, etc.), and parents "select" chicks from the first seen beings and even objects. The only requirement of the chicks was that the "mom" would move, i.e. so that you can follow it.
Later, the formation of conditioned reactions to odors in puppies was discovered, and the main types of imprinting were also revealed. As it turned out, imprinting is peculiar not only to animals, but also to humans.
Types of imprinting in humans:
- oral imprinting. Attachment to the chest, and with it an oral imprint, occurs from the first hours of the birth of a person. The search for a comfortable zone is programmed in each of us, and the mother's breast is a zone of comfort and safety. This is the point from which the safe zone will expand in the future (as weaning from the chest). From the conditions under which the first oral imprint took place, the position of the person (offensive or defensive-indulgent) largely depends, as well as his survival strategy;
- territorial-emotional imprinting. The launch of this imprint occurs at the stage of development of the territory and approval of its status, that is, at the stage of training for independent movement. The role of man in society depends on the conditions under which learning takes place: dominant or subordinate. In addition, the human kid tries to fight for space, "labeling" his disorder;
- Verbal imprinting is associated with the muscles of the right hand and the thin muscles of the larynx. This depends on speech, thinking and character recognition. The kid determines for himself everyday logic, hangs on the objects around him labels;
- social (socio-sexual) imprinting. This kind of imprinting is aimed at the formation of intraspecific (as well as interspecific) interactions. In addition, he largely determines the further sexual preferences of a person, his family and social role. Sexual disorders often go back to the socio-sexual imprint.
Perhaps you've also heard about such a concept as genomic imprinting, however, gene imprinting is an epigenetic process that occurs on a different level. And if through imprinting in psychology we can trace psychological processes and
In psychology, it is believed that imprinting in a person occurs in a fairly long time - from birth to six months. But the next few years are extremely important for the child, imprinting a model of relations with the outside world. Not without reason, some nations considered children up to six years as sorcerers, contacts with which are strictly regulated. And remember fairy tales, in which young children see the world is not quite the same as adults perceive it.