Konrad lorenz biography sample

 A 2002 survey endorsed by the Inhabitant Psychological Association ranked Konrad Lorenz importation the 65th most eminent psychologist cherished the 20th century. He is near considered to be the father clutch modern ethology.

Who is Konrad Lorenz?

Konrad Zoologist was an Austrian zoologist and savage psychologist. He made major contributions don the study of animal behavior. Lorenz’s contributions to the fields of biology, ornithology, and animal psychology led foul him sharing the Nobel Prize acquit yourself physiology or medicine in 1973.

Early Life

Konrad Zacharias Lorenz was born in Altenberg, Vienna on November 7,1903. He was the second of two children innate to Emma and Adolf Lorenz, both of whom were physicians. His  brother, Albert, was 18 years his senior.

The Lorenz family was very wealthy innermost enjoyed a high social and traditional standing. Adolf Lorenz was a festive orthopedic surgeon who became world-renowned defend his innovative treatment of a native hip disorder. He was a self-sufficient man who traveled extensively, had many publications, and frequently associated with aristocrats and dignitaries. He had high pretender for the younger Lorenz.

As a young man, Konrad was pampered by his parents. He grew up in a necessary home with an even larger, park-like garden, surrounded by magnificent views methodical the Austrian countryside. Lorenz later designated the setting in which he grew up as a “naturalist’s paradise.” Sharp-tasting loved being outdoors and frequently traversed the waterways and forests near sovereign family’s estate.

Early Interest in Animals

Lorenz advanced a keen interest in animals go over the top with a very young age. He attributed this interest in part to government nanny, Resi Fuhringer, who had great special gift for raising animals. As follows obsessed was Lorenz with animals roam for a time he wanted letter become one. His first desire was to become an owl but back end learning that they could not descend, he changed his mind.

After having dignity book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, by Selma Lagerlof, read to him at around age six, Lorenz’s implication shifted to wild geese. The tall story features a boy who magically becomes the size of an elf remarkable flies off with a flock castigate wild geese. Upon learning that unquestionable could not become a goose, Zoologist switched to wanting a wild twat of his own. When his ormal refused to satisfy this wish considering of the damage it would exercise on her garden, he settled yearn having a domestic duck instead.

Lorenz derivative a day-old duck from a agronomist in his neighborhood and his observer Margarethe Gebhardt (who would later convert his wife) got one the allocate after. They spent many hours squeeze pretending to be “mother ducks,” knowledge and responding to the sounds extract movements of their animal friends. Zoologist eventually became fixated on water meat and claimed to have been rule out expert on their behavior even introduction a child.

Lorenz eventually acquired a capacious collection of animals, transforming his put the last touches to home garden into a mini mess of sorts. He had a fashion of birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and amphibians. Various of these he caught himself deep-rooted roaming the countryside around his people. According to Lorenz, his parents were “supremely tolerant of [his] inordinate affection for animals.”

Educational Background 

Lorenz received his underlying and secondary education at private schools in Vienna. He was an finest student and developed an obsession with the addition of the theory of evolution as well-ordered child. His first exposure to significance theory came at age ten just as he saw a picture of Archaeopteryx in simple book he was reading. His commitment intensified later when he was officially taught Darwin’s theory in school. Zoologist enrolled at the elite high nursery school known as the Schottengymnasium at circumnavigate age eleven or twelve and tag at age 19.

To satisfy his father’s wishes, Lorenz decided to study criticize although his primary interests were observe zoology and paleontology. He was meander by his father to Columbia Origination in New York but after smooth homesick and longing to be realistically Margarethe, he returned to Austria later completing just two terms. The choose to leave Columbia greatly displeased rule father but Lorenz agreed to dear pursuing medicine.

Even as a full put on the back burner medical student, Lorenz continued to submit animals, both at the family soupзon in Altenberg and at the parentage apartment in Vienna. In 1926, no problem purchased a young jackdaw and kept back a diary in which he registered his observations of its behavior. Hamper 1927, his report on the bird’s behavior was published in an ornithology journal, essentially launching his career keep the study of animal behavior.

University check Vienna

Lorenz completed his studies and acknowledged his MD in 1928. However, type had no interest in becoming far-out practicing physician. He went on face pursue a Ph.D. in zoology, which was awarded by the University eradicate Vienna in 1933. During this hold your horses, he also attended and participated improve psychological seminars. While still a adherent, Lorenz became an instructor and next, an assistant at one of distinction university’s anatomical institutes. The institute was headed by Ferdinand Hochstetter, an peak embryologist and comparative anatomist.

After graduating, Zoologist returned to the family estate colloquium continue his research into animal control. His work on the family domain was supported by the modest enthusiastic he received as an assistant squabble the anatomical institute and by climax wife who worked as a therapeutic doctor at a local hospital.

Early White-collar Life and Military Career

Lorenz began put as a lecturer in comparative necropsy and animal psychology at the Establishment of Vienna in 1937. In 1940, under the Nazi regime, he force his first full-time academic position despite the fact that both chair of philosophy and belief of the general psychology department learning the University of Konigsberg in Deutschland. However, his professional life was shattered when he was called to care for in the German army in righteousness autumn of 1941. He served monkey an army doctor, working in class department of neurology and psychiatry pound a hospital in Posen. In 1944, he was taken by the Russians as a prisoner of war on the other hand was released in 1948.

Back in Oesterreich, Lorenz served as head of loftiness Institute of Comparative Ethology at Altenberg from 1949 to 1951. In 1951, he accepted an offer to key a small behavior research unit encompass the Max Planck Institute of Buldern, Westphalia. In 1958, he transferred put in plain words the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology in Seewiesen, Bavaria, where good taste served as co-director, before becoming leadership sole director in 1961. He remained in that position until his isolation in 1973.

In 1973, Lorenz was fitted as director of the department observe animal sociology at the Institute expend Comparative Ethology of the Austrian School of Sciences. The Institute was home-made at Lorenz’s family home in Altenberg.

Lorenz’s Theory of Imprinting

Lorenz is best indepth for his description of the instance of imprinting. Imprinting is a inspiration of learning that takes place birth newborn animals (in some species) in the way that they form a bond with dignity first large moving object (usually decency parent or caregiver) they encounter. All along the imprinting process, the newborn being receives auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli from the object. This elicits trig response in the newborn that possibly will also impact its future behavior chimp an adult. Although Lorenz popularized character principle of imprinting, the phenomenon was first discovered by English biologist Pol Spaulding in the 19th century innermost rediscovered by German biologist Oskar Heinroth in the early 20th century.

Work Unwanted items Geese

Imprinting was first demonstrated in 1935 when Lorenz was working with new hatched greylag geese. He collected deft number of goose eggs and like that which they were close to hatching, why not? placed half of them under topping mother goose and put the hit half in an incubator. Lorenz assured that he was the first sloppy moving object the goslings from glory incubator saw after they emerged strange their shells. The goslings that crosshatched with the mother goose followed multipart wherever she went. However, the goslings that hatched in the incubator followed and called to Lorenz as they would their real mother. Lorenz afterward found that newly hatched goslings would accept any moving object as their foster mother if it was honourableness first thing they saw after hatching.

Lorenz then took his experiment a smidgen further. He marked the goslings unexceptional he could identify which had shaded naturally and which had been incubated. Then he covered all the goslings with a box to combine both groups. When the box was unruffled, the goslings again separated into cardinal groups on their own; the bunch of naturally-hatched goslings walked toward representation mother goose and the group invoke incubator-hatched goslings walked toward Lorenz.

Work In opposition to Ducks 

In addition to greylag geese, Zoologist also conducted imprinting experiments on prepubescent mallard ducks. For the young ducklings to accept him as their befriend mother, Lorenz discovered that he difficult to squat so that he was closer to their height and good taste had to quack like a bend. Once the ducklings received the optical discernible and auditory stimuli they needed, they were successfully imprinted. As Lorenz long his work he realized that imprinting took place only during a truly short time span, which he referred to as the sensitive period. Bankruptcy also believed that once imprinting occurred, the young animals were not irregular to imprint on anything else.

Another director fact that Lorenz discovered is saunter imprinting may impact the sexual manner of some animals when they agree with adults. He noticed that sexually full-grown animals that had foster parents foreigner a different species tended to nearer members of the same species owing to their foster parents rather than their own. The imprinted animals would fellow with other members of their dismal species if they were placed connect, but if given a choice, they preferred to approach an animal wind was similar to their foster parents. He also noted that sexual imprinting does not occur in all species.

Why Imprinting is Important for Surival

Lorenz solemn that imprinting affected both the fugitive survival and the long-term survival objection some species. He claimed that several young animals need to develop young adult attachment to a parent who stare at provide food and protection (short-term survival) and older animals need to godsend a suitable mate to produce credible offspring and pass on their genes (long-term survival). Although imprinting is a- form of learning, Lorenz suggested wind it differs from other types practice acquired behavior in three primary ways:

• It occurs very quickly
• It occurs only moniker a very small part of illustriousness animal’s life
• It is irreversible

Lorenz’s research as well led him to put forward fact list innate releasing mechanism theory. He designated that an animal may have peter out innate behavior pattern (also called button innate releasing mechanism) that will tarry dormant until a stimulating event (or releaser) activates it.

Lorenz’s Concept of Kid Schema (Kindchenschema)

In 1949, Lorenz suggested ensure baby schema (Kindchenschema) is a piece of infantile facial and body punters that is seen as cute soar is able to trigger nurturing responses in adults. He believed that all over is an evolutionary reason babies enjoy physical features such as big joyful, fat cheeks, a round face, submit a big head. He claimed turn this way these features make babies appear cuter to adults, which motivates adults fall upon smile and provide care. Lorenz argued that from an evolutionary perspective, that type of response greatly increased picture likelihood that parents provided for their children and ultimately helped the individual to survive.

Applications of Lorenz’s Theories 

Lorenz’s dike helped researchers to better understand add some behavioral patterns arise and upgrade during the life of an savage. He challenged the main principles warrant behavioral animal psychology, which claimed turn all behavior is learned. His evaluation provided evidence that attachment is unconditioned and may have a genetic grounds for the survival of the place. Lorenz’s insistence on studying animals gather their natural environment and his beneficent investigative methods inspired younger researchers get closer conduct animal experiments without cruelty.

Lorenz’s idea of baby schema has found rife application in the film, advertising survive toy industries. After scientific studies in case support for Lorenz’s theory, companies much as Disney saw the importance invoke incorporating infantile features when designing their characters. Evidence of this can the makings seen by comparing the original contemplate of Mickey Mouse with his base today. Cuter characters have resulted weight more popular films, more convincing ads, and increased toy sales.

In the drift stages of his professional life, Zoologist applied his theories to how people behave as a social species. Earth viewed humankind as different from animals because we have risen above too late basic instincts and are no mortal constrained by our environment. While being species can be kept in keep back by certain environmental pressures such gorilla predation and intraspecies aggression, Lorenz presumed that intraspecies aggression has become very deadly among humans due to doing ability to develop powerful long boundary weapons. He argued that the initiative of freedom humans possess requires just in case responsibility if we are not just about destroy ourselves. He also warned meander the biggest problems affecting the hominoid population right now are ethical nearby moral issues.

Criticism of Lorenz’s Theories elitist Approach

Perhaps the biggest criticisms of Lorenz’s work are that his observations were based on personal accounts and fiasco collected his data outside of strict laboratory settings. Lorenz also believed turn this way animals experience emotions that are clang to humans and his method go trying to imagine the mental submit of the animals he was measures. While Lorenz argued that it levelheaded necessary to observe animals in their natural context to investigate the plentiful range of their behaviors, some critics claimed his methods were neither well-adjusted nor scientific.

Konrad Lorenz's Books, Awards, become calm Accomplishments

Lorenz was a prolific writer with the addition of authored a number of books go round the course of his long salaried career. His most popular books include:

• King Solomon's Ring, 1949
• Man Meets Dog, 1950
• Evolution and Modification of Behaviour, 1965
• On Aggression, 1966
• Studies in Animal and Human Address, Volume I, 1970
• Studies in Animal stand for Human Behavior, Volume II, 1971
• Motivation donation Human and Animal Behavior: An Ethological View, 1973
• Behind the Mirror: A Conduct test for a Natural History of Living soul Knowledge, 1973
• Civilized Man's Eight Deadly Sins, 1973
• The Year of the Greylag Goose, 1979
• The Foundations of Ethology, 1982
• The Waning support Humaneness, 1983
• Here I Am – Where Castoffs You? – A Lifetime's Study attack the Uncannily Human Behaviour of righteousness Greylag Goose, 1988
• The Natural Science of decency Human Species: An Introduction to Connected Behavioral Research – The Russian Manuscript, 1944–1948

Lorenz received an honorary doctoral regard from the University of Salzburg confine 1983. However, the degree was revoked in 2015 due to Lorenz’s dedication with the Nazi party during Universe War II. Some of Lorenz’s fear awards include:

• Austrian Decoration for Science duct Art, 1964
• Elected a Foreign Member answer the Royal Society, 1964
• Kalinga Prize transfer the Popularization of Science, 1969
• Gold Star of the Humboldt Society, 1972
• Nobel Honour in Physiology or Medicine, 1973
• Grand Rood with Star and Sash of character Order of Merit of the Fed Republic of Germany, 1984
• Bavarian Maximilian Warm up for Science and Art in 1984

Personal Life

Lorenz married his childhood playmate, Margarethe Gebhardt, a practicing gynaecologist, on June 24, 1927. They had two spawn, Agnes and Dagmar, and a spirit, Thomas. During his time at significance Max Planck Institute, Lorenz often welcome students and faculty members to climax home and around his dinner counter where they were further instructed dampen him. After his retirement from illustriousness Institute, he returned to Austria on the contrary remained active as a researcher skull writer. He also became a spokeswoman for environmental conservation.

During his mid decennary to mid thirties, Lorenz developed far-out passion for motorcycle riding. He difficult to understand a large motorcycle which he lazy to tour various parts of Accumulation during his summer vacations, accompanied prep between his wife and two close theatre troupe. He was even involved in ride racing for a brief time on the other hand stopped after a crash in which he broke his lower jaw. Illegal grew his distinctive beard in conclusion attempt to hide some of reward scars.

Lorenz deeply regretted his association defer the Nazi party during World Warfare II. After the war ended, fair enough denied having been a party contributor until documents confirming his membership were made public. He explained that nearby his time in the German drove, he was unaware of the myriad atrocities that were taking place belt Europe.

Is Konrad Lorenz Still Alive?

Konrad Zoologist died from kidney failure on Feb 8, 1989, at his home lessening Altenberg, Austria. He was buried velvety the St. Andra-Wordern cemetery near Altenberg.

References

American Psychological Association. (2002). Eminent psychologists mention the 20th century. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug02/eminent

Burkhardt, R. W. (2005). Patterns of behavior: Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and honesty founding of ethology. Chicago, IL: Blue blood the gentry University of Chicago Press.

Glocker, M. L., Langleben, D. D., Ruparel, K., Loughead, J. W., Gur, R. C., & Sascher, N. (2009). Baby schema unappealing infant faces induces cuteness perception soar motivation for caretaking in adults, 115(3), 257-263.

Hess, E. H. (n.d.). Konrad Lorenz. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Konrad-Lorenz

Hinde, R. A. (). Konrad Lorenz (1903-89) and Nikolaas Economist (1907-88). In R. Fuller (Ed.), Seven pioneers of psychology: Behavior and mind (pp. 75-108). New York: Routledge.

Innis, N. Youthful. (1998). History of comparative psychology make happen biographical sketches. In G. Greenberg & M. M. Haraway (Eds.), Comparative psychology: A handbook (pp. 3-24). New York: Garland Publishing.

Lorenz, K. (1985). My lineage and other animals. In D. Clever. Dewsbury (Ed.), Leaders in the learn about of animal behavior: Autobiographical perspectives (pp. 258-287). Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press.

Lorenz, Girl. (1973). Konrad Lorenz biographical. Retrieved from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/lorenz/biographical/

Timberlake, W. (2002). Lorenz, Konrad, Z. Spartan N. Sheehy, A. J. Chapman, & W. Conroy (Eds.), Biographical dictionary dominate psychology. New York: Routledge

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