Friday, January 30, 2015

Shades of Konrad Lorenz!



(Or, Why Parents Yell at their Kids)


January 25, 2015


Konrad Lorenz, in his studies on imprinting, noticed that the goslings that got stepped on or otherwise roughly treated by their mothers seemed to imprint better. I think of that at various times, such as the following:

“Don’t leave plastic on the cooktop. It’s dangerous.” (Said in a normal tone of voice.)

“Okay.”

A few days later: “Seriously, don’t leave plastic on the cooktop. All it takes is for somebody to turn on the burner without thinking, and then we have a mess.” (Still in a reasonable tone of voice, but less sweet.)

“Okay.”

A few days later: “STOP LEAVING PLASTIC ON THE COOKTOP!!!”

“Oh. Okay.” (Finally gets the picture.)

I think Lorenz was on to something.



No comments: